do people still believe that 3 shepherds followed a light to jesus?

Question

when in fact sheperds would not be out with their sheep at this time of the year, its colder there than in england. so its all rubbish.
its more lickely to be jul/august time when jesus was born.

Answer 1

Bethlehem (where Jesus was born) is 5 miles south of Jerusalem. Flocks of sheep reserved for temple sacrifice in Jerusalem were kept in fields throughout the year, not just summer when it was dry. So shepherds would be living out in the fields with their flocks all year round. This came as a surprise to me because, like you, I thought it was stupid to think they would be out in December. Still, Jesus wasn't born in December anyway - some think spring, some think end Sept / start Oct. Doesn't really matter. What DOES matter is that the people and events described in Matthew and Luke can be proved.

Emporor Caesar Augustus (31 BC to AD 14) called a census of the Jews. The first one was recorded as taking place between 6 and 4 BC while Quirinius was governor of Syria. King Herod (Herod the Great) had been appointed King of Judea by the Roman Senate in 40 BC and gained control in 37 BC. He died in 4 BC which helps us to place the time of Jesus' birth. (Scholars accept that Jesus was born between 6 and 4 BC - confusion arose with different callenders.) Herod was a ruthless ruler. He murdered his wife, 3 sons, mother in law, broter in law, and uncle, to name but a few. He also started to rebuild the temple of Jerusalem, begun in 20 BC and finished 68 years after his death. All of this stuff can be checked out. It's not fiction.

Regarding the 3 Magi or astrologers - they were probably from Persia or southern Arabia, east of Palestine, and came to Jerusalem looking for the foretold 'king of the Jews'. The star they followed has been identified with the planetary conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. That's verifiable, too.

Thanks for asking the question. I hope my answer helps you. It certainly helped me overcome a misconception I had about the shepherds being in the fields at night.

Answer 2

Well, I don't recall Luke mentioning a number in connection with the shepherds. You may be confusing them with the three kings. The shepherds were told by angels to go get a gander at the baby.

Nonetheless, you are correct. The more likely time for Christ's birth is spring, when the sheep would be heading out to pasture. Not much grazing going on in December.

.

Answer 3

The Bible is a set of historical texts spanning 77 books in the RC case. Perhaps the most researched and authenticated book in the world bar none --- poured over for centuries by scholars of every age. To discount it is to discount the very basis of historical record. Christian history is intimately bound up with that of the Roman Empire, the rulers of which are referenced in the Gospels, yet no-one discounts the existence of Tiberius, Augustus or Herod: Why?
Also I've never hear anyone arguing over the historical authenticity of the books of the Jewish old testament....You folks simply don't know what you're going on about. Cool kids who want to be with it; anything to score a point. Go get a degree or something. Take something seriously and trade on something other than glib opinions and jeans...
But in the end you all come looking for mercy; after of course spending your lifetimes debunking religion and the salvation of Jesus...May you learn all you need to learn sooner rather than later for your sake and the sake of the tradition and the Faith

Answer 4

think you got your stories mixed - it was the magi who followed a star, the shepherds followed angels. If you were a shepherd in a time when wild predators commonly picked off livestock, you'd be out in any weather.

But that's just detail. No, I don't believe any of it.

But there are better reasons not to believe in God than it being cold in Palestine at night.

I prefer the positive reasons to the negative ones. David Attenborough's view is, if you want to know what the universe is, where it came from, etc, the best place to start is by opening your eyes and looking around. That's what science does. Religion does the opposite.

Answer 5

It is probable that Jesus was born in October. And it was 3 wise men following a star. The shepherds (we do not know how many) went where the angels told them to go.

Answer 6

24

Answer 7

These so-called shepherds were Wise Men or Magi. In the hot desert they only could find their way on camels back by looking at the stars. The light of 3 stars in conjonction at that time was a bright alignment of planets which indicated their orientation and which direction to travel to find a child born right under these configurations of stars at that moment.

Answer 8

Worse than that - people still believe that god made Adam and Eve to start off the whole human race in the first week when the Earth was created, and then that some bloke built a boat big enough for two of every animal in the world plus enough food for over 300 days. Gullible lot, aren't they!?

Answer 9

Christmas as we know it is based on a pagan festival. It was hyjacked by christians in an attempt to stamp out paganism, everyone knows its not jesus' real birthday. The sheperds were supposed to have been told by an angel.

Answer 10

1) we know Jesus was most likely born in the spring - no big deal, I still like Christmas being in the winter to brighten up these cold, dark days.

2) The story is that 3 wise-men (you know the sort that would know navigation by stars) followed a star.