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Baby Jesus Birthday Biography
If you’re a fairly conservative Christian, one who believes that the stories of the Bible, including the story of Jesus’s birth, are true, then the articles in Time and Newsweek may be upsetting to you. Then again, they may not be particularly troublesome. After all, they’re mostly just retreads of old ideas. If you’ve been reading secular accounts of Christmas for as long as I have, then you’re response to Time and Newsweek may be “Been there, done that.” Although both articles have a few novel insights, for the most part they repeat the sort of thing that has been appearing in secular media for years and years. You can count on the fact that when major Christian holidays approach, secular “news” sources will publish stories that seem to undermine the whole point of the holidays.
Now in fairness to the writers and publishers of such articles, I should add that they may not intend to be as corrosive of Christian faith as they seem to be at first glance. The authors, whose personal faith commitments are not obvious in their essays, are obviously at home in the worlds of secular biblical scholarship and liberal Christianity. In these worlds it’s commonplace to deny the historical accuracy of the biblical narrative without necessarily disparaging the perceived essence of Christian faith. One can believe that God truly loves humankind and has reached out to save us, it is assumed, without also believing that Jesus was actually born in a manger from a virgin mother. Whether, in the end, it makes logical sense to believe this way I’ll save for another series. My point, however, is that the people behind articles that seem to debunk Christian faith may not have this intention in mind. They may in fact see themselves as offering a genuinely faithful alternative for those who can’t quite stomach the miraculous and exclusive claims of Christian orthodoxy. As I read the articles in Time and Newsweek, this is the impression I received.
My main concern about articles such as these is that they certainly appear to undermine classic Christian belief, even though they acknowledge the pervasiveness of this belief and don’t directly condemn it. Nowhere do they actually say: “Though many Christians believe the Christmas stories are true, in fact they’ve been duped, both about the stories and about Christian faith.” But, although many believers who read these cover stories will chalk them up as “same ol’, same ol’,” others may be worried. Perhaps, some Christians may wonder, what we believe about Christmas really was made up by the early church. Perhaps the Christmas story is really nothing more than a collection of pious and propagandistic legends.
Furthermore, stories like we find in Time and Newsweek stoke the fires of unbelief. When read by a non-Christian person, they may confirm the suspicion that Christian orthodoxy has no grounding in actual historical events. Thus the story of Jesus is not the story of God’s entry into human experience, but simply one story among many religious and philosophical options. After all, if the baby Jesus was really God in the flesh, then all people ought to take him seriously whether they’d like to or not. But if the account of his miraculous birth was fabricated by early Christians to compete with Roman emperor worship, then non-Christian folk can feel free to continue to ignore Jesus.
In this post I want to begin a short series that examines the articles in Time and Newsweek, using this examination to speak more broadly on the issues of history, scholarship, faith, and Christmas. I don’t envision this series as a systematic attempt to deal with the birth of Jesus (as I have done with several other Jesus series, for example: Was Jesus Divine? The Early Christian Perspective). Rather, I want to use the recent articles as jumping off points for a more informal conversation. The form of this series will be a critical commentary on the articles themselves. I will cite various passages from the articles and then offer my critique.
Before I do this, however, I want to note that much of what is contained within these articles is both true and helpful. I haven’t actually counted the words, but I’d expect that I agree with well over eighty percent of what is found in each article. In my commentary I will note some of my agreements with the articles, but for the most part I want to focus on places where I differ from the articles. I will begin by focusing on the Newsweek piece because it is, in my opinion, less supportive of traditional Christian faith and understanding.
One final point: Though orthodox Christians believe that the accounts of Jesus’s birth are historically accurate, we don’t use these accounts as compelling arguments for Christian faith. This stands in contrast to the case for the resurrection of Jesus, for which there is strong historical evidence, and which Christians often use to persuade others of the reasonableness of Christian faith. When it comes to the Christmas stories, however, we don’t have the kind of historical data that we have for the resurrection. Thus, while many Christians can say, “The gripping evidence for the resurrection of Jesus helped me to become a believer,” virtually none would say, “The overwhelming historical proof for the virgin birth led me to faith in Jesus.” Belief in the virginal conception of Jesus comes as a result of our belief in Jesus and in the essential trustworthiness of the New Testament gospels, not the other way around. Thus most Christians would say something like this: “Because I believe Jesus is the divine Son of God, and because I believe that the gospels accurately tell the story of Jesus, therefore I accept the Christmas stories as factually true.”
How many candles would I need
If I was to bake You a birthday cake?
Then to send it up to Heaven,
Whose taxi cab should I take?
I hope You know frankincense and myrrh
Are too expensive for me to buy?
Oh yes I’m certain that You do
For You hear every time I cry!
I looked up to the stars last night.
Mommy took me to the Christmas parade.
I did not see Your streets of gold,
But I hear that’s how they are made!
I have grown to a very big kid.
Yes I’m in kindergarten now!
My grandparents would be proud of me,
But they live with You somehow!
I Know some day I will visit them,
But first I’ll kiss You right on the cheek.
I know someday You’ll make me strong
After I’ve grown all old and weak!
I see a bright star up by the moon.
Is it the shepherd’s star I see?
Maybe You are winking with one eye
And You are doing it to me!
So I just sent to You a wink,
And I hope that You are pleased!
So, Happy Birthday Baby Jesus!
From my family and especially me!
Robert Edgar Burns
Now kids hang on just a second before we start
You know there’s a reason we are all
here in front of Grandma and
Grandpa’s
Christmas tree
And if Trevor and E.P. would quit
fighting long enough and be real
Quiet
This little song might help ya understand
Long ago in a stable there was a baby being born
His parents were Joseph and Mary
And Joseph’s big ole heart was torn
Cause he couldn’t find a decent place
for Mary to have her child
But Mary said it just seemed just right
and she blessed it with her
Smile
Chorus:
Cause what made it special was the baby in her arms
God sent Him down to give the world a
second chance for you and I
That’s why we have Christmas at this time each year
It’s the baby’s birthday party that
brings us so much cheer
Now kids the presents that all of
you exchange on Christmas
Represents the gifts that baby Jesus
received the night he was born
He got all his presents from three wise men
Who followed a star
And walked a long long way to the stable
So everytime you tear open one of your presents
Think about that baby and say
Happy birthday Jesus
I’ll open this one for you
Continue reading http://www.songonlyrics.com/happy-birthday-jesus-lyrics#ixzz2J4ocbpea
Baby Jesus Birthday Biography
If you’re a fairly conservative Christian, one who believes that the stories of the Bible, including the story of Jesus’s birth, are true, then the articles in Time and Newsweek may be upsetting to you. Then again, they may not be particularly troublesome. After all, they’re mostly just retreads of old ideas. If you’ve been reading secular accounts of Christmas for as long as I have, then you’re response to Time and Newsweek may be “Been there, done that.” Although both articles have a few novel insights, for the most part they repeat the sort of thing that has been appearing in secular media for years and years. You can count on the fact that when major Christian holidays approach, secular “news” sources will publish stories that seem to undermine the whole point of the holidays.
Now in fairness to the writers and publishers of such articles, I should add that they may not intend to be as corrosive of Christian faith as they seem to be at first glance. The authors, whose personal faith commitments are not obvious in their essays, are obviously at home in the worlds of secular biblical scholarship and liberal Christianity. In these worlds it’s commonplace to deny the historical accuracy of the biblical narrative without necessarily disparaging the perceived essence of Christian faith. One can believe that God truly loves humankind and has reached out to save us, it is assumed, without also believing that Jesus was actually born in a manger from a virgin mother. Whether, in the end, it makes logical sense to believe this way I’ll save for another series. My point, however, is that the people behind articles that seem to debunk Christian faith may not have this intention in mind. They may in fact see themselves as offering a genuinely faithful alternative for those who can’t quite stomach the miraculous and exclusive claims of Christian orthodoxy. As I read the articles in Time and Newsweek, this is the impression I received.
My main concern about articles such as these is that they certainly appear to undermine classic Christian belief, even though they acknowledge the pervasiveness of this belief and don’t directly condemn it. Nowhere do they actually say: “Though many Christians believe the Christmas stories are true, in fact they’ve been duped, both about the stories and about Christian faith.” But, although many believers who read these cover stories will chalk them up as “same ol’, same ol’,” others may be worried. Perhaps, some Christians may wonder, what we believe about Christmas really was made up by the early church. Perhaps the Christmas story is really nothing more than a collection of pious and propagandistic legends.
Furthermore, stories like we find in Time and Newsweek stoke the fires of unbelief. When read by a non-Christian person, they may confirm the suspicion that Christian orthodoxy has no grounding in actual historical events. Thus the story of Jesus is not the story of God’s entry into human experience, but simply one story among many religious and philosophical options. After all, if the baby Jesus was really God in the flesh, then all people ought to take him seriously whether they’d like to or not. But if the account of his miraculous birth was fabricated by early Christians to compete with Roman emperor worship, then non-Christian folk can feel free to continue to ignore Jesus.
In this post I want to begin a short series that examines the articles in Time and Newsweek, using this examination to speak more broadly on the issues of history, scholarship, faith, and Christmas. I don’t envision this series as a systematic attempt to deal with the birth of Jesus (as I have done with several other Jesus series, for example: Was Jesus Divine? The Early Christian Perspective). Rather, I want to use the recent articles as jumping off points for a more informal conversation. The form of this series will be a critical commentary on the articles themselves. I will cite various passages from the articles and then offer my critique.
Before I do this, however, I want to note that much of what is contained within these articles is both true and helpful. I haven’t actually counted the words, but I’d expect that I agree with well over eighty percent of what is found in each article. In my commentary I will note some of my agreements with the articles, but for the most part I want to focus on places where I differ from the articles. I will begin by focusing on the Newsweek piece because it is, in my opinion, less supportive of traditional Christian faith and understanding.
One final point: Though orthodox Christians believe that the accounts of Jesus’s birth are historically accurate, we don’t use these accounts as compelling arguments for Christian faith. This stands in contrast to the case for the resurrection of Jesus, for which there is strong historical evidence, and which Christians often use to persuade others of the reasonableness of Christian faith. When it comes to the Christmas stories, however, we don’t have the kind of historical data that we have for the resurrection. Thus, while many Christians can say, “The gripping evidence for the resurrection of Jesus helped me to become a believer,” virtually none would say, “The overwhelming historical proof for the virgin birth led me to faith in Jesus.” Belief in the virginal conception of Jesus comes as a result of our belief in Jesus and in the essential trustworthiness of the New Testament gospels, not the other way around. Thus most Christians would say something like this: “Because I believe Jesus is the divine Son of God, and because I believe that the gospels accurately tell the story of Jesus, therefore I accept the Christmas stories as factually true.”
How many candles would I need
If I was to bake You a birthday cake?
Then to send it up to Heaven,
Whose taxi cab should I take?
I hope You know frankincense and myrrh
Are too expensive for me to buy?
Oh yes I’m certain that You do
For You hear every time I cry!
I looked up to the stars last night.
Mommy took me to the Christmas parade.
I did not see Your streets of gold,
But I hear that’s how they are made!
I have grown to a very big kid.
Yes I’m in kindergarten now!
My grandparents would be proud of me,
But they live with You somehow!
I Know some day I will visit them,
But first I’ll kiss You right on the cheek.
I know someday You’ll make me strong
After I’ve grown all old and weak!
I see a bright star up by the moon.
Is it the shepherd’s star I see?
Maybe You are winking with one eye
And You are doing it to me!
So I just sent to You a wink,
And I hope that You are pleased!
So, Happy Birthday Baby Jesus!
From my family and especially me!
Robert Edgar Burns
Now kids hang on just a second before we start
You know there’s a reason we are all
here in front of Grandma and
Grandpa’s
Christmas tree
And if Trevor and E.P. would quit
fighting long enough and be real
Quiet
This little song might help ya understand
Long ago in a stable there was a baby being born
His parents were Joseph and Mary
And Joseph’s big ole heart was torn
Cause he couldn’t find a decent place
for Mary to have her child
But Mary said it just seemed just right
and she blessed it with her
Smile
Chorus:
Cause what made it special was the baby in her arms
God sent Him down to give the world a
second chance for you and I
That’s why we have Christmas at this time each year
It’s the baby’s birthday party that
brings us so much cheer
Now kids the presents that all of
you exchange on Christmas
Represents the gifts that baby Jesus
received the night he was born
He got all his presents from three wise men
Who followed a star
And walked a long long way to the stable
So everytime you tear open one of your presents
Think about that baby and say
Happy birthday Jesus
I’ll open this one for you
Continue reading http://www.songonlyrics.com/happy-birthday-jesus-lyrics#ixzz2J4ocbpea
Baby Jesus Birthday
Baby Jesus Birthday
Baby Jesus Birthday
Baby Jesus Birthday
Baby Jesus Birthday
Baby Jesus Birthday
Baby Jesus Birthday
Baby Jesus Birthday
Baby Jesus Birthday
Baby Jesus Birthday
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