The Nativity Story

Dec. 15, 2006— -- When it comes to sheer storytelling power, few narratives in human history can rival the birth of Jesus.

Every year, in the churches and homes of the world's 2 billion Christians, hymns, carols and manger scenes depict the story of the Nativity: how the Baby Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary in a Bethlehem stable, after she and her husband, Joseph, were turned away at the inn. A miraculous star shining brightly over the humble scene announced the birth of the son of God to shepherds and three wise men who came bearing gifts.

But how much of the story is historically true? What do we really know about the birth of Jesus? Was Mary a virgin? Was Jesus born in Bethlehem, and who were the first witnesses to his birth?

The only accounts of the birth of Jesus are found in two of the four synoptic Gospels of the New Testament -- the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. The word "gospel" means "good news," and the Gospels were written some 70 to 100 years after the event to spread the good news of Jesus to an audience waiting for the savior predicted in the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament.

The two Gospel stories were written independently of each other and differ significantly in their accounts of the birth of Jesus. In Matthew's Gospel, an angel appears to Joseph in a dream, and in Luke's Gospel, the angel appears directly to Mary in the scene we know as the Annunciation.

In both Gospels, Jesus is born in Bethlehem, but they give different reasons for why and how the holy family arrives in the City of David. In Luke's account, Jesus is born in a manger and the witnesses to his birth are shepherds, but in Matthew's, Jesus is born in a house and three wise men from the east are led to the birth by a bright star heralding the arrival of the Messiah.

The Nativity story that we depict in manger scenes today actually combines the two Gospel stories. Despite the discrepancies between the Gospels, many Christians read the birth narratives as history. In a recent Newsweek poll, 67 percent of adult Christians surveyed said they believed the Christmas story, the blended version, to be historically accurate.

Scholars debate the significance of the discrepancies between the two Gospels, and how the Gospel stories should be read.

"The Gospels are interpretive reflections. They are really more like sermons than historical accounts," said Marvin Meyer, the Griset professor of Bible and Christian Studies at Chapman University. "In the case of the birth of Jesus, they were less concerned with the historical facts of the birth and much more concerned about the meaning of Jesus."