Virgin birth 2: Signs of truth in the birth stories

Here I talk about the importance of not conceding that the birth narratives of Jesus are late additions coming from who-knows-where. Not only is there no evidence that the Gospel authors felt free to make up stories, and not only is there evidence for their care and veracity otherwise, there are signs of truth in the birth stories themselves. Here I emphasize their Jewish character. The stories appear early, even seeming to encourage messianic expectations of an immediate earthly reign. They aren't at all the kind of thing you would make up as late inventions to try to commend Christianity. I also talk about how the narrative in Luke, in particular, is steeped in the Jewish sacrificial context of pre-70, before the fall of Jerusalem. We shouldn't think of the infancy narratives as having the phony "independence" that results when different authors freely invent based upon a common core of tradition. Rather, they look like they are independently telling authentic stories coming from people who were "in the know."

Here is the article in Themelios on incorrect claims of independent attestation that I mention in the episode. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/finessing-independent-attestation-interdisciplinary-biblical-criticism/ Check out this roundup of Christmas apologetics resources from Jason Engwer and the Triabloguers. Lots of good stuff here: http://triablogue.blogspot.com/2020/11/christmas-resources-2020.html#more

Originally uploaded to YouTube Dec 8 2020