Christ was not born on December 25th.

My opponent states : "Cyril of Jerusalem (348-386) had access to the original Roman birth census, which also documented that Jesus was born on the 25th of December" Yet, he didn't provide any proof or sources that backs up his argument. I don't clearly understand his statement : The angel Gabriel made his announcement to Mary (Miriam in Hebrew) "in the sixth month" of Elizabeth"s pregnancy (Lk. 1:26, 36), i.e. any time between 5 and 6 months after June 25th, 7 BC " let"s guess at December 11th (Kislev 22, 3755 AM). The message was "you shall conceive" (Lk. 1:31), so again, it would be reasonable to assume that Mary became pregnant some time during the following month " let"s guess at December 25th (Teveth 6) " if only because that would be remarkably appropriate day! Jesus would then have been born some nine months later " say September 25th, 6 BC (Tishri 15, 3756 AM), which just happens to be the date of the Feast of Tabernacles!" There are sure allot of "guesses" in that paragraph, yet non of them declare December 25th to be his Birth. My Next Argument: "Other evidence that December 25 is the wrong date for the birth of Jesus comes from early writings. Iranaeus, born about a century after Jesus, notes that Jesus was born in the 41st year of the reign of Augustus. Since Augustus began his reign in the autumn of 43 B.C., this appears to substantiate the birth of Jesus as the autumn of 2 B.C. Eusebius (A.D. 264-340), the "Father of Church History," ascribes it to the 42nd year of the reign of Augustus and the 28th from the subjection of Egypt on the death of Anthony and Cleopatra. The 42nd year of Augustus ran from the autumn of 2 B.C. to the autumn of 1 B.C. The subjugation of Egypt into the Roman Empire occurred in the autumn of 30 B.C. The 28th year extended from the autumn of 3 B.C. to the autumn of 2 B.C. The only date that would meet both of these constraints would be the autumn of 2 B.C. John the Baptist also helps us determine that December 25 is not the birth of Jesus. Elizabeth, John's mother, was a cousin of Mary. John began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar. The minimum age for the ministry was 30. As Augustus died on August 19, A.D. 14, that was the accession year for Tiberius. If John was born on April 19-20, 2 B.C., his 30th birthday would have been April 19-20, A.D. 29, or the 15th year of Tiberius. This seems to confirm the 2 B.C. date, and, since John was 5 months older, this also confirms an autumn birth date for Jesus. Another interesting fact comes from Elizabeth herself. She hid herself for 5 months and then the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary both Elizabeth's condition and that Mary would also bear a son who would be called Jesus. Mary went "with haste" to visit Elizabeth, who was then in the first week of her 6th month, or the 4th week of Dec., 3 B.C. If Jesus was born 280 days later it would place his birth on Sept. 29, 2 B.C. Some scholars interpret the 6 months to be in line with the Hebrew calendar or the August-September time frame. Since Mary's pregnancy commenced a little before the sixth month around July, Jesus would be born somewhere around March-June. But does it matter if Jesus was born on the spring, the fall, or on December 25? Does it matter, theologically, when Jesus was born? What do you think, does it matter what day we celebrate His birth? " Sources: http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org... http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org...