Today is the day that Christians all over the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, but tell me, on what date was He REALLY born?
I heard once monger. It was a secular date - I'll try Goggle!
"Today we know that Christ was not born on the 25th of December, but somewhere in March. December was chosen to coincide with the pagan Roman celebrations honouring Saturnus, the harvest god. The early Christians did not celebrate the birth of Christ - Christmas is not mentioned in the Bible. In 320AD, Pope Julius I specified December, 25th as Christ's date of birth. In 325AD, Constantine the Great officially introduced Christmas as an immovable feast. Still, in most countries Christmas was not a legal holiday until the 19th century."
He also was not borned in the year 0. What year was he borned?
In A.D. 349, Pope Julius formally selected December 25 as the day for Christmas. This date was already widely celebrated in the Roman world as citizens observed the Natalis Solis Invicti (the Birthday of the Inconquerable Sun) in honor of the sun god, Mithras. The festival took place just after the winter solstice, when the days become longer.
In 325AD, Constantine the Great, the first Christian Roman emperor, introduced Christmas as an immovable feast on 25 December. He also introduced Sunday as a holy day in a new 7-day week, and introduced movable feasts (Easter). In 354AD, Bishop Liberius of Rome officially ordered his members to celebrate the birth of Jesus on 25 December.
In Germanic countries (better: German speaking countries), December 25 became a church holiday in 813 and was recognized as legal holiday since 14th century.
The custom to celebrate Christmas Eve with the -today most important- tradition to give gifts, started in 17th and 18th century.
Walter, Good info to share on this day. Thanks again. c.i.
Thanks for the info on 25 December celebration of Christ's birth.
Which year was it officially canonised? 325AD or 349AD?
Monger: you said, "Biblio, the verse you quoted is only talking about Adam's daughters born after Seth."
Not necessarily, my friend.
There is no clear chronological connection between the two portions of Genesis 5:4. The statement about Adam having had sons and daughters is a matter of historical fact, within the Genesis record, however, it is does not mean that the order in which it appears in the text is the order in which it ocurred chronologically.
Monger: you asked, "Biblio, what are your thoughts on the idea that, according to the beloved story, it's entirely possible (if you forget about many churches' interpretation that sexual congress was the original sin) that Adam & Eve had children while in the garden of Eden, under the instruction of God to "be fruitful & multiply"?"
In the absence of clear and unassailable evidence, I would say that it is possible, but more than likely improbable. :wink:
BG: are you saying that adam/eve where the first persons/humans on earth?
Dys: not I my friend, but the Bible says it!
Can you quote me a scripture that says something different or to the contrary?
BG" i grew up as a child in the middle east in the late '40's during the birth Israel but in a Muslim nation, i have seen the god of abraham up close and personal having been surrounded by Muslims, Jews and Christians, for modern "theologic minded" persons to sit in their upholstered chairs in their paneled rooms of intellectual discourse and ruminate over the musings of clerics that wrote about the sayings of a man, a rebel, a renegade, generations past his life, in diverse languages, from diverse cultures of the myths of centuries of folk lore and then to take it as a literal/factual document of history is a bit beyond my ken. no offence intended.
Dys: in the context of this topic and in response to your previous question, you may be interested to know that Jesus is referred to as the "LAST ADAM!"
See 1 Corinthians 15:45.
yes i am familiar with the "first adam" "last adam"
Dys: I understand your views better than you might think!
I was brought up in an athiestic and humanistic home which had no time for "religion" of any description, and where the order of the day was "prove it to me from a naturalistic perspective, or else, everything you say is human invention, myth and fairy tale."
Dys: why did you ask the question about Adam and Eve being the first persons on the Earth?
just determining you "literalist" position
Hello Bib, and Merry Christmas to one and all.
I would direct attention to the following verse from Luke:
"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night."
I have read that in the hill country of Judea, the only time of year when the weather is suitable for keeping sheep in the field at night is the summer season. There doesn't appear to be any biblical mention of "a cold winter's night that was so deep" by which we traditionally regard the first noel in its climatological aspects. But then, sans scriptural comment, we have also developed the notion there were three maji.
This is a very lengthy and interesting discussion on numerous points, of which I have read every jot and tittle. Thanks very much, Bib.
Even if he never existed now we know what he looked like.
From science and computers, a new face of Jesus
CNN) -- The Jesus pictured on the cover of this month's Popular Mechanics has a broad peasant's face, dark olive skin, short curly hair and a prominent nose. He would have stood 5-foot-1-inch tall and weighed 110 pounds, if the magazine is to be believed.
http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/12/25/face.jesus/index.html
This picture would be much closer than the "Anglecanized" Hollywood image we are use to! I say this picture once before, somewhere else. It seems more National Geographic than Popular Mechanic - Ha!
The picture looks more like Russell Crowe than Mel Gobson. I heard Mel Gibson is going to play Jesus in a up coming movie.
