LRC, Houston - the weekends-free church in Houston, Texas

A week of commentaries on the Christmas story? Caution! You’re about to enter a NO SPIN zone!

Could you handle that? Well, I guess we will see because that is what I am going to write about (so I think). I am somewhat amused and yet at the same time saddened that Christians make so much noise about this being “the reason for the season”, while knowing little about the season. Don’t hear any condescending attitude. I am far from that! I only wish I had more truth, more answers because to go where sacred cows do gather is not good, especially when one is hungry and looking for milk or meat!

The fact that LRC is not having services on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day is amazing some. How could we go without church for two Sunday’s? But where in the Bible is church mandated on Sunday? We’re having church, but on Friday the 23rd and Friday the 30th, instead so families can get together. At least two people have said, “You can’t do that as people won’t come on Friday, and how can you go two weeks without a church income”? They might be right. I’ll letcha know come January 2nd.

I am going to go slow all this week as I unwrap the the Christ birth story, so be patient. Let me begin by saying if it weren’t for Matthew and Luke, we’d know nothing about the birth of Jesus! Twenty five of the 27 NT books say nothing about his birth. Mark, the earliest gospel, which was written 10-15 years before either Matthew or Luke, says nothing about the birth. Wonder why? The majority of the Biblical scholars have Mark writing his gospel around 68-70 AD with Matthew around 80-85, and Luke around 85-90.

So, one of the four gospels (Mark) said nothing. The point is? The point is neither did the gospel of John (but having been written around 90-100) he was a different bird than the synoptic gospels anyway. So, why only two of the four gospels and the earliest one written says NADA?

Okay then what about Paul? He began writing (I Thes. and Gal. as an example) around 48-50. Why did Paul call Jesus, the son of man, after the flesh, and mention nothing about His birth, let alone something as speatcular as a virgin birth? Hard to believe, but then, anything is possible. Why was he silent on such a spectacular event in history? And then what about the lost Gospel of Q, written around 40AD (the earliest work suppossedly)? Just a few questions to set you up for tomorrow when I’ll look at the only two places where we get a clue- even though the two that wrote Matthew & Luke (who were those guys anyway) couldn’t agree (read Matt. 1&2 and Luke 1&2) on their stories and attempts to harmonize, actually demonize one’s thinking.

A final reminder: the end game here is to BUILD your faith in Jesus Christ, but all too often that can’t be done until you tear down the false worship paradigms of Baal! Sorry, there aren’t any easy ways to make the journey