Why do we celebrate Christmas in December?

The winter celebration of the birth of Christ dates first appears on a Roman calendar in 336 AD, centuries after the event took place. Scholars believe that there may have been an attempt to co-opt an existing pagan festival that marked the coming of the light after the shortest day of the year. Clues in […]

Who were the three kings from the Orient who visited baby Jesus?

The popular Christmas carol, “We Three Kings of Orient Are” is most likely inaccurate for two reasons: the visitors probably weren’t rulers of nations, nor are they likely to have come from what we think of as the Orient, western Asia. The Kings or “Magi” were most probably Zoroastrian astrologers who were advisers to the […]

Why was Jesus born in a stable?

The short answer is he probably wasn’t. The more important answer is that there was a reason for the humble birth of God’s son–a reason that predates time itself. First, let’s address the place of Christ’s birth. Joseph and his betrothed wife, Mary most likely walked the 100 miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem in a […]

If I’m good, do I go to heaven?

If I live my life to the best of my ability, when I die, I’ll be going to heaven, right? Unfortunately, that’s not right. None of us can live perfect lives. We can never be good enough to enter heaven. We read in the Bible that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of […]