Misconception #37
Jesus Was Born on December 25th
Why does it matter what time of year Jesus was born? Isn’t it enough just to know He was born? And if it is so important to know, then why isn’t there anything in The Bible to help us determine when His birth took place?
Granted, for many who believe in Jesus Christ, nothing anyone says or does will change how they feel. For them, the time of year He was born simply doesn’t matter; all that concerns them is to know He was born, and so they’re perfectly satisfied to leave it at that. But unfortunately, the flipside of that conviction is that being a Christian doesn’t just involve believing what we believe for our own sakes and being done with it. It also involves having a responsibility to others—to ask ourselves how specific beliefs about God and Jesus relate to those around us. Consequently, we must face the fact that a great many people are confused by this debate. Many have come to a crossroad over this very issue, in which answers to questions about when Christ was born will inevitably lead them down one path or another.
And as these undecided ones stand at this crossroad, gazing up at the signs that aim them down various avenues, what do they see? The most obvious sign, of course, points to Jesus as being merely a savior among dozens of other saviors, all who are said to have died and risen again, and all—speaking directly to our present misconception—who are said to have been born on the 25th of December.
Story Continues Below
To hear Kent and Zen Garcia talk about correcting biblical misconceptions, from September 9th, 2021, CLICK BELOW.
Story Continues From Above
For example, the Babylonians worshiped a heroic figure by the name of Tammuz, who was miraculously born of Semiramis, the wife of Nimrod. Now, when I say miraculous, I don’t mean that Tammuz was born by way of a virgin—not even close, in fact, because clearly Semiramis had been married to Nimrod long before the birth of Tammuz. What we’re talking about is a miracle in the following sense: Long after her husband had died, Semiramis found herself pregnant; and because Nimrod had been worshiped as a god, Semiramis, hoping to capitalize on this, came up with the inspired idea of claiming that Nimrod’s soul had descended upon her in the form of a sunbeam and impregnated her. Thus, Tammuz was born, his “miraculous” birth equated ever after with the rebirth of the Sun, and so, too, was the legend of the Sun-god born, on … you guessed it … December 25th.
So powerful was this story of the rebirth of the Sun-god, which was clearly linked to the Winter Solstice that marked the shortest day of the year and the promised return of Spring, in no time a holiday observing the Sun’s rebirth was being held throughout the ancient world. Among the various personifications of the Sun-god: Horus of Egypt, Mithra of Persia, Dionysus of Greece, and Bacchus of Rome—all supposedly born at this same time of the year, and all associated with legends that spoke of their having been resurrected from the dead.
