Gospel Discrepancies: Why Matthew and Luke Tell Different Christmas Stories

Comments · 511

• BI

  @billmcdonald4335 · 1 year ago

  When I read this for myself I found no drummer boy, no reindeer games, no holly, and not a figgy pudding in sight.  What a rip-off.

  83

• JO

  @johnthekeane · 1 year ago

  Different people wrote them, for different reasons, at different times.

  4

• BE

  @bestself2438 · 1 year ago

  What a couple of wonderful people.  So bright and educated.  Sharing intellectual truths while simultaneously helping people heal from religious oppression.  Salt of the earth, irony intended haha.

  20

• VA

  @Valdagast · 1 year ago

  And as we all know, the first person the magi went to was Brian.

  190

• BU

  @BurtonBW3 · 1 year ago

  I really appreciate Bart's enthusiasm for reading critically in terms of determining the understanding that the author is furthering.  I really never enjoyed the Old Testament in particular until I started reading it that way.  When I was much younger in a fairly strict family/church, I actually had some of the same issues Bart had with not feeling safe to read the actual text and not trying to explain away the differences that seemed to be obvious!  Even simple stories were impossible to understand that way...and left me feeling guilty and stupid at the same time, which I am pretty sure was not the "editorial intent":).  Luckily, Classics (especially textual criticism) taught me a different approach, which is often a disturbingly dispassionate process but generally much more satisfying somehow.

  17

• EM

  @emmgeevideo · 1 year ago

  Main event starts at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hap8ZGDNtTM&amp;t=173">2:53</a>

  7

• GL

  @GlorifiedTruth · 1 year ago

  In Sunday School they taught us that the inn in Bethlehem was next to a Texaco station, and that&apos;s how the magi were able to find it by following the star. The things you&apos;ll believe when you&apos;re twelve...

  16

• JS

  @jscire__872 · 1 year ago

  Another terrific podcast! Thank you to both of you!

  6

• DO

  @douglasodonnell6800 · 1 year ago

  Just heard a remarkable statement about Jesse Owen’s tales of why his stories have resonated over the years, and why he told them.

  2

• BR

  @brothermine2292 · 1 year ago

  Although this isn&apos;t mentioned in Luke or Matthew, I can bear witness that it&apos;s annoying to have one&apos;s birthday on December 25th.

  19

• JO

  @johngatewood4638 · 1 year ago

  Going out on a limb here, but perhaps they differ because neither are contemporary accounts.

  3

• MA

  @matthewreichenbach9256 · 1 year ago

  I can see how my training in apologetics allowed me to conduct some pretty amazing mental gymnastics. I had created a &quot;head canon&quot; that allowed me to see these stories as coherent:<br><br><b>*</b><br><br>I believed that, as stated in the gospel attributed to Luke, Joseph and Mary originated in Nazareth. Because of the census, they traveled to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. Maybe it was because Jesus was born there, or maybe it was the charm of the city, but Mary fell in love with the place. They hadn&apos;t intended to move to Bethlehem, so they needed to travel back to Nazareth when Jesus was a few weeks old in order to &quot;hire a U-Haul&quot; and move their home to Nazareth.<br><br>They lived happily in Bethlehem for the next couple of years, buying a home and watching their son grow up. As described in the gospel attributed to Matthew, they were surprised to find visitors from the East bringing gifts, which then led to Joseph&apos;s dream and, to Mary&apos;s chagrin, they needed to leave Bethlehem quickly. They fled to Egypt and then, returning, they ended up going back to their original home of Nazareth.<br><br><b>*</b><br><br>Now that I no longer feel the need to believe that these stories are true, I look back on my head canon and shake my head. I say this, though, to show how powerful the mind is to create workarounds in order to continue to hold onto a belief -- a concept psychologists refer to as belief perseverance.<br><br>As a result, please continue to be patient with people who still hold these views.

  1