Many Christians and non-Christians alike are already aware that Jesus of Nazareth was not born on December 25th. What many do not realize however is how dramatically this one fact alters the traditional Nativity Story. For hundreds of years, believers and unbelievers alike, clergy and laity, student and scholar, took it for granted that Jesus was born on December 25th. And as a result, their research and teaching on the subject supported this notion because it was simply assumed to be true.
In the mid-1980’s I was introduced to a provocative theory regarding the accurate birth date for Jesus of Nazareth—and you guessed it—it is not December 25th. This theory fascinated me because it was based on detailed biblical, historical, and scientific evidence, and not on tradition.
Like many of you, I wanted to know the truth or at least the facts—I wanted to decide what I believed on the preponderance of evidence and not on tradition. As a result, I have been researching and teaching what the Nativity Story would have really looked like for over 25 years.
The articles, videos, online discussion groups, and other products produced by this project will answer the obvious question, “If Jesus was not born on December 25th, then when was he born?” And many more. Just a sampling of these questions includes:
- Why did God choose shepherds as the first to receive the message that the Messiah had been born?
- Who were the “wise men”? Were there really three of them? What was this “star” that they followed? And, how did they know to “follow” it in the first place?
- Was Jesus really born in a stable? (The answer might surprise you.)
- Did Mary really ride on a donkey while more than eight months pregnant?
This page is dedicated to seekers and learners who want to decide what they believe based on evidence and not on tradition, but may not know where to start.
I hope that you’ll join me. The community that is growing around this subject thrives on digging into the historical, archaeological, astronomical, and biblical evidence that reveals the social, political, and religious realities surrounding the birth of the Christ.