Wheeling majority. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1907-192?, 1910-12-29

The earliest documents rejecting
the beliefs of the early christians that
we have are the letters of Paul. They
are older than the oldest account OF
the life of Jesus, the gospel according
to Mark. They are much older than
the gospels according to Luke and
Matthew. In examining the letters Of
Paul we find very little about the life
of Jesus, and absolutely nothing about
his birth. We find nothing about his
birth and early life in Marks gospel.
The first picture Of Jesus chat Mark
gives us is his coming to the Jordan
to be baptized by John. It is Luke
and Matthew who give us our birth
stories. Even in the Fourth gospel,
which, is much later than these, the
birth of Jesus is disposed of with the
single sentence: "The word Chat is
the Greek philosophic Logos) became
flesh and dwelt among u.s.
When we turn to the birth stories
in Matthew and Luke, we find that
they disagree in practically every
important point, except that the birth
occurred, in Bethlehem in accordance
with the traditional belief that the
Jewish Messiah was to be born in that
little town. In Luke the story is that
there being no room in the inn, the
child was born in stable and laid
in a manger. Shepherds watching
their flocks nearby are told Of the
birth by an angel who is accom-
panied by a heavenly host singing
"Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace among men, They
hasten to the place and tell the mother
of the wonderful visit of the angel
and what it had said concerning the
child.
In Matthew there is no manger and
NO shepherds; no heavenly host sing
ing of peace on earth. Indeed, there
is really no story of the birth itself.
We are simply told that when Jesus
was born in Bethlehem, in Judea," GER
tain wonderful things took place. But
they are not the same as are related
as having taken place in the story OF
Luke. ! Wise men from the East are
pictured as coming in search of him
who is born King of the Jews. 1t is
| interesting to notice that there is no
mention of their number in the gospel.
These wise men appeal to Herod and
learn from the chief priests and the
scribes, whom he calls together, that,
according to the tradition the Messiah
is to be born in Bethlehem. Herod
gets the wise men to promise to- re
turn and tell him when they find the
child, so that he might also go and
worship him. The wise men depart
and 80, the star which they had seen
in the east went before them, till il
came and stood over where the young
child was" And then we are told
they went into the house" mot the
"stable") and worshipped the child
and offered him gifts. Then follows
the story of their being told by an
angel not to return to Herod, because
he wanted to kill the child. and Of
their return to their country by an
other way; of the instructions of the
angel to Joseph, and of his flight, with
the mother and child into Egypt and
the slaughter of all the male infants
in Bethlehem and in all the borders
thereof and their return to Palestine
and settlement in the town of Naza
reth after the death of Herod.
Now, none Of this is related in Luke
There are no wise men from the east
no star, no flight into Egypt, nc
slaughter of the infants. Instead, Luke
tells us that after eight days the par
ents of Jesus, like any other good
Jews, took the child to Jerusalem tc
be circumcised, and then returned tt
Nazareth. where the child grew and