Did I really just see...?

Question

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ak.5Kzo2NBq9AgTFdzuv3Jfty6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20071224134758AASX84y&show=7#profile-info-xu8ALam2aa

...someone refute Jesus was born tomorrow because he'd have died of exposure? Because, you know, it's cold in winter?

I'd just like to point out the Middle East isn't known for its harsh winter storms. Judging by the weather forecast for Bethlehem today, it's about room temperature.

So, with that in mind, do you think we should excommunicate this guy from the Big Secret Atheist Clubhouse, for making us look stupid?

t_rex: I still say we should excommunicate him. Or burn him, for not being a witch.

Q&A Queen: Yah, I know. There are many good reasons to refute it. This is a very bad one ;)

Answer 1

Actually alot of religions believe that Jesus was born in spring or fall. His birth is celebrated tomorrow, because some leaders of (much later) Bethlehem, combined it with the pagan Yuletide celebration, so as not to split up the kingdom and excommunication, is NOT YOUR decision!

Answer 2

Actually, it IS cold in winter in the middle east. It is pretty much commonly agreed these days that Christmas is not really Christ's birthday. If you do some research on the history of Christmas you'll get all the details you need.

Wolfe actually it's not that silly. Maybe not about Jesus dying of exposure, but certainly too cold for the shepherds to be out tending their flock as they were, had it really been dead of winter.

The book Daily Life in the Time of Jesus states: “The flocks . . . passed the winter under cover; and from this alone it may be seen that the traditional date for Christmas, in the winter, is unlikely to be right, since the Gospel says that the shepherds were in the fields.”—(New York, 1962), Henri Daniel-Rops, p. 228.

Answer 3

I personally would like to refute that Jesus was born tommorrow because a town called Bethlehem didn't exist until after the New Testament was written...but that may just be hearsay...

Answer 4

Even though the temperature there now is warmer than normal, they do not have the sheep grazing in the pastures this time of year. That still is a problem with Jesus being born on the celebration of the birth date of one of the pagan gods.

Answer 5

Actually scholars have already laid this to bed. If you follow the details listed in the gospels and compare them to historical facts, Jesus was born on April 15th, 3 B.C.

I will ring your doorbell and run away!!!

Answer 6

Yes you did, does your eyes deceive you that much?

Heres more proof of your winter wonderland lies.

Israeli meteorologists tracked December weather patterns for many years and concluded that the climate in Israel has been essentially constant for at least the last 2,000 years. The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible states that, "broadly speaking, weather phenomena and climatic conditions as pictured in the Bible correspond with conditions as observed today" (R.B.Y. Scott, Vol. 3, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1962, p. 625).

The temperature in the area of Bethlehem in December averages around 44 degrees Fahrenheit (7 degrees Celsius) but can drop to well below freezing, especially at night. Describing the weather there, Sara Ruhin, chief of the Israeli weather service, noted in a 1990 press release that the area has three months of frost: December with 29 F. (minus 1.6 C.); January with 30 F. (minus 1.1 C.) and February with 32 F. (0 C.).

Snow is common for two or three days in Jerusalem and nearby Bethlehem in December and January. These were the winter months of increased precipitation in Yahshua's time, when the roads became practically unusable and people stayed mostly indoors.

This is important evidence to disprove a December date for Yahshua's birth. Note that, at the time of Yahshua's birth, the shepherds tended their flocks in the fields at night. "Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields," wrote one Gospel writer, "keeping watch over their flock by night" (Luke 2:8). A common practice of shepherds was keeping their flocks in the field from April to October, but in the cold and rainy winter months they took their flocks back home and sheltered them.

One commentary admits that, "as these shepherds had not yet brought home their flocks, it is a presumptive argument that October had not yet commenced, and that, consequently, Yahshua was not born on the 25th of December, when no flocks were out in the fields; nor could He have been born later than September, as the flocks were still in the fields by night. On this very ground the nativity in December should be given up. The feeding of the flocks by night in the fields is a chronological fact, which casts considerable light upon this disputed point" (Adam Clarke's Commentary, Abingdon Press, Nashville, note on Luke 2:8).

Another study source agrees: "These humble pastoral folk are out in the field at night with their flock—a feature of the story which would argue against the birth (of Yahshua) occurring on Dec. 25 since the weather would not have permitted it" (The Interpreter's One-Volume Commentary, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1971, note on Luke 2:4-7).

The census described by Luke

Other evidence arguing against a December birth of Yahshua is the Roman census recorded by Luke. "And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered... So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Yaseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Yahdah, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem..., to be registered with Mariam, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son..." (Luke 2:1-7).

The Roman rulers knew that taking a census in winter would have been impractical and unpopular. Generally a census would take place after the harvest season, around September or October, when it would not seriously affect the economy, the weather was good and the roads were still dry enough to allow easy travel. According to the normal dates for the census, this would probably be the season of Yahshua's birth.

One author states that this census "could hardly have been at that season (December 25), however, for such a time would surely not have been chosen by the authorities for a public enrollment, which necessitated the population's traveling from all parts to their natal districts, storms and rain making journeys both unsafe and unpleasant in winter, except in specially favorable years" ("Christmas at Bethlehem," Holy-Days and Holidays, Cunningham Geikie).

Luke's account of the census argues strongly against a December date for Yahshua's birth. For such an agrarian society, an autumn post-harvest census was much more likely.

Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, AND ALL LIARS (Santa, & Easter bunny promoters), shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Answer 7

Do not atheists have the ability to forgive and practice unconditional love as well as those they oppose?

Answer 8

they grow oranges, so it is about Fl. or southern Cal. weather. I didn't know atheists excommunicated people, but it should be done.

Answer 9

You made me laugh out loud. Thank you for your humor. We need it around here today! I didn't know that you had a meeting place lol.

Answer 10

You did
And that fool is no Atheist. check the profile.