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THE TRUTH ABOUT THE
FOUNDER OF CHRISTIANITY |
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Questions Surrounding Jesus' Birth
But Was Jesus Really Born in Bethlehem?
By Dr.
John Ankerberg and
Various Scholars |
Ed. note: This article is based upon the transcript from programs
produced by the John Ankerberg Show. Additional material has
been added for this print version.
But Was Jesus
Really Born in Bethlehem?
Dr. John
Ankerberg: Now, if one follows the logic of the
critics who say the events surrounding the birth of Jesus were created by
the church after Christ lived and the story of Bethlehem was simply
fabricated, then if this story was made up, there should also have been
other competing stories that were made up about the place where Jesus was
born. But that’s not the case. I asked Dr. Stephen Pfann, "In terms of
Bethlehem again, were there any other spots, geographical spots, that
tradition grew up around that Jesus was born there, or is it only this
spot?"
Dr. Stephen Pfann:
There’s only one tradition concerning Jesus’ birthplace, and that’s
Bethlehem.
Just as every science has to
have some kind of a gradient in terms of credibility on any subject, as
archaeologist we also have to create a gradient which we can use against
the evidence that we have. And I’ve been working with an A B C D rating,
a four-step rating for credibility. "A" would be that it’s certain, "B"
is probable, "C" is plausible, and "D" is rumor or speculation. Now it
all depends upon what kind of facts you have on the ground.
And only the most certain
types of facts is that something is still in existence there with an
inscription or something of this sort that actually helps you to
understand that this is really certainly the place.
Probable means that you have
all kinds of corroborative evidence from archaeology, from the
literature, methographic studies, that would maintain something being
probably the way that it was.
Then it goes down the line
that way as the evidence becomes weaker and weaker.
Dr. John Ankerberg: In
terms of Bethlehem, what grade would you give it?
Dr. Stephen Pfann: I
would say that at this point, in terms of all that we know about
traditional sites, that it’s probably the place where Jesus was born.
Dr. John Ankerberg: Okay,
you don’t want to give it A or B?
Dr. Stephen Pfann: I
would say I’d give it at least a B rating. The A rating would be
reserved for if the site was still intact, but I’d say it’s somewhere
between B and A at this point.
Dr. Claire Pfann: The
Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem has strong evidence to support it as
being the place of the birth of Jesus. Certainly, the church lies on the
heart of ancient first century Bethlehem, that small Jewish village of
extended patriarchal homes. And if we look at the archaeology of that
type of hillside, terraced homes with courtyards, cave basements, and
sleeping units attached, we would see, if we could just lift that church
off, the kind of archaeological pattern that would characterize
Bethlehem in the first century. Tradition has held it as the birthplace
of Jesus for all these centuries, a tradition that was probably kept
alive by the Jewish Christians in the land from the time of the
Resurrection of Jesus as they searched back into His origins.
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THE JOHN
ANKERBERG SHOW |
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DR. JOHN ANKERBERG'S RESPONSE TO CREATION QUESTIONS
Dr. John Ankerberg answers your
questions on creation in the following article available both as
a downloadable PDF and broken down into individual questions for
online reading. Click the link below to read:
Does Scientific Evidence Today Show
that God Created the Heavens and the Earth? And What Does the Bible Say
About When He Created?
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Copyright 2006, Ankerberg Theological Research Institute
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