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Media Watch: Christmas
Christmas is one of only two occasions throughout the year when talk of religion is allowed, nay expected, in the media by the general populace (I am afraid that I must apologise for I have watched too much Austen these holidays!). So, what did our newspapers, or at least The Sydney Morning Herald have to say this Christmas …
Represented in the paper were the messages of the heads of three Sydney denominations: the Anglican, Uniting, and Roman Catholic churches.[1] However, within the one article, the Anglican Archbishop, Peter Jensen, pointed to the authority of the Bible to confirm and explain our experience of human leadership whilst Rev Niall Reid of the Uniting Church undermined the historicity of the Bible saying:
Bible stories of Jesus's birth are full of inconsistencies [...] but they are not meant to be a detailed account of what really happened. "Essentially they paint a portrait of faith, at times using the brushstrokes of history, with the intent of bringing to light the God a people of faith have discerned and come to know in Jesus Christ."[2]
And this brings us to the "dig" that the media had at those who believe what the Bible says about the first Christmas: the Bible is not history. Although I expected something scandalous to be dug up about the Bible's version of events – the same way that the media reports of archaeologists finding yet another set of Jesus' bones each Easter – I did not expect if from a church leader.
The media's dig found itself expressed this Christmas in an editorial entitled 'The Christmas call to fulfilment'.[3] The author likened the biblical account of Jesus' birth to the story of Santa Claus: 'without it the world would be a dreary place'. It is difficult to know where to begin to refute this editorial. Should I start with the author's claim that 'no serious biblical scholar accepts that the gospel accounts of the birth of Jesus constitute history'? Or their claim that Matthew and Luke's faith nullifies their claim to be reporting historical truth?
Or, perhaps, I should comment on the irony of an article by John Dickson (Director, Centre for Public Christianity) in which he states that 'the core historical realities [of the Christmas story] are not easily swept away'.[4] Dickson comments that,
Scholars of antiquity often note we probably have in our possession less than 1 per cent of the literary works that existed in the first century. Ninety-nine per cent of our evidence is lost.
and
It is true that there is no corroborating evidence for the finer details of the Christmas story but it is wrong, and wrong-headed, to turn this into evidence that they are untrue. People are free not to trust what the Gospels report, but this is a choice based on a preference, not an argument arising from evidence.
Dickson concludes by saying,
Sceptics will continue to mock. That’s their right and preference. But such cynicism is not a natural consequence of a sober examination of the historical realities. The traditional Christmas story won’t be going away. It will continue to be a source of wonder and hope for millions of believers and curious alike.
Over the past few years many resources have been developed to help people who aren't historians understand the historical truth surrounding the person and work of Jesus as reported in the biblical Gospels. Such resources include:
- Paul Barnett, Is the New Testament History? (Aquilla Press, 1986; repr. 2004), 216 pp.
- Paul Barnett, The Truth About Jesus (Aquilla Press, 1994; repr. 2004), 152 pp.
- John Dickson, The Christ Files: How historians know what they know about Jesus (Blue Bottle, 2006; repr. 2007), 101 pp.
- John Dickson, The Christ Files (DVD)
- Andrew Errington, Can we trust what the Gospels say about Jesus? (Matthias Media, 2009), 31 pp.
If you're uncertain about the historical truth of the biblical accounts of Jesus' birth, life, death, and resurrection, and even if you're not, why not pick up one of these resources over summer and have a read?
By Loren Becroft
[1] Jacqueline Maley, 'Now is the time to forgive, say church leaders' (SMH, 23-24/12/2009), 9.
[2] ibid.
[3] 'The Christmas call to fulfilment' (SMH, 23-24/12/2009), 16.
[4] John Dickson, 'Despite the sceptics, there is real truth in the story of Christmas' (SMH, 23-24/12/2009), 17.
