The Origins of the Bible, Part 1: Examining the AuraCreated Around the Bible

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on 5 March 2008 4 Comments
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Question

First let me say how much I enjoyed reading Jesus for the
Non-Religious.
It was extremely insightful, debunking the
myths surrounding Jesus to bring out the humanity of the man. I
particularly enjoyed your thesis that Jesus' crucifixion might
actually have occurred in the festival season of Sukkoth. You
explained that, for liturgical reasons, the crucifixion was moved
by Mark to the time of Passover and attached there so that the
commencement of the new faith story would align with the
commencement of the old faith story. This allows Mark to tie his
stories to the Jewish Holy Days and be read on every Sabbath from
Rosh Hashanah to Passover. Matthew then expands Mark's text to
fill in the balance of the Jewish calendar, beginning with Jesus'
genealogy and the birth story. My question is this: Since
Matthew's birth story would have been read sometime during late
April, how did the birth of Jesus come to be celebrated in
December rather than late April? Did it have to do with the
Emperor Constantine blending the birthdays of Mithras and Sol
Invictus (both supposedly occurring on December 25) with that of
Jesus in order to unify the people and various religions? Or is
there another reason, perhaps tied to Jewish rather than pagan
cultures?

Answer

Thank you for your comments on my recent book.

To respond to your question, do note that the
liturgical year developed slowly over the centuries and the
celebration of Christmas was not fixed until some 300 to 400
years after the life of Jesus.

Matthew, who introduced the birth narratives to
the Christian story in the 9th decade, would have used those
narratives to provide Christian readings for use in the synagogue
on the Sabbaths between Passover and Rosh Hashanah, which
represented the five and a half months of the year for which Mark
made no provision. In that part of his gospel, Matthew has given
us the genealogy, the birth narratives, the expanded baptism and
temptation story, and the Sermon on the Mount, none of which Mark
included. It is only when Matthew gets to Chapter 13 that he
tracks closely with Mark. So the birth story would have
originally been read in the synagogue in mid spring.

When Christianity entered the Gentile world, it
seemed to make sense to celebrate the birth of Jesus, who was
known as the "Light of the World," at the darkest time of the
year in the northern hemisphere. There were great pagan
celebrations at that time to mark the end of the sun's seemingly
relentless march into darkness and its return to light. Part of
that celebration was called "the Saturnalia," and was marked with
parties, gifts, great festivity and sometimes with overeating and
overdrinking. When the birth of Jesus became identified with the
Saturnalia, then its complex combination of the sacred with the
secular entered our practice and defines it to this day.

John Shelby Spong

 

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