Oh Holy Crap! is the the History Channel in trouble

[underpants]

Stupid godless hippies :grr:
http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/tdih.jsp?month=10272964&day=10272990&cat=10272946

This Day In History | General Interest

CHRIST IS BORN?:
December 25, 6 B.C.

Although most Christians celebrate December 25 as the birthday of Jesus Christ, few in the first two Christian centuries claimed any knowledge of the exact day or year in which he was born. The oldest existing record of a Christmas celebration is found in a Roman almanac that tells of a Christ's Nativity festival led by the church of Rome in 336 A.D. The precise reason why Christmas came to be celebrated on December 25 remains obscure, but most researchers believe that Christmas originated as a Christian substitute for pagan celebrations of the winter solstice.

READ MORE

[ET Awful]

1. I'm still surprised Discovery Channel didn't get lynched for their

documentary on the plausibility of the Noah's Ark story.

That was actually a very cool show. Some very interesting historical and scientific facts to point to where that story actually may have originated from :P

[rkc3]

13. That was a good show - I too was shocked there hasn't been a

boycott on the channel after its airing.

Unfortunately, the nutters easily dismiss facts in defense of their views.

[demobabe]

23. Nutters don't care about history

They look to the future - all waiting for the apocalypse.

Why on earth would they watch the History channel? None of that applies to them. Pointless.

[FreedomAngel82]

28. Didn't you know?

They're too busy with the so-called "War on Christmas." It must've gone passed their radar.

[FreedomAngel82]

27. I wish I saw that

I like stuff like that. I really like anything that makes me think and question and wonder. It doesn't make me a bad Christian to wonder and look at things. It makes me want to know more. My faith in God and Jesus won't waver.

[ET Awful]

43. They re-run it occasionally.

Basically, they present Sumarian and Babylonian tablets recounting a flood story that involved not a winemaker (such as the biblical Noah), but a merchant who ferried goods up and down the Euphrates.

They go on to mention that there is no universal sedimentary deposits as there would have been in the case of a global flood, but there IS a universal sedimentary deposit in the Euphrates River basin. They theorize that perhaps the flood referenced was one that encompassed the "known" world for the most part.

They also present logical theories about the pairs of every species, etc. and present the possibility that rather than the impossibly large vessel necessary to carry two of every living thing on the planet, it referred to the specific animals in the region referenced as being clean or unclean (which were exactly specified in the Bible along with the requiste of one pair or seven pair of each).

Their premise is MUCH more plausible than the fundie biblical account, and is, in fact, a highly believable story of a merchant who most likely had a vessel already in place for ferrying goods and during a period of intense rain (accompanied by snowmelt from the mountains to the north), was fortunate enough to be able to salvage his family and much of his stock.

[kay1864]

2. Oh dear

Looks like the ACLU has taken over yet another cable network. Where will it all end??

[Toots]

9. No I am pretty sure it is part of the "gay agenda"

ACLU is pretty busy defending Rush...

[waiting for hope]

3. I've seen

a few shows from the History Channel/Discovery/National Geographic/A&E that has highlighted the origination of how Christmas came to be celebrated.....I guess a whole crapper full of fundies just don't watch TV - oopps. I meant "good" TV..

[xultar]

4. Discovery Channel did a show and they calculated that Jesus was

born actually born between February and April...I think it was March some time. I think. I can't remember but it certainly wasn't 12/25. Something about what was said on the fields that were actually being harvested and the position of the stars makes the December timeframe false. Plus they did a thing on the 3 wise men and their journey and the north star doesn't reach that position until after the first of the year. Something like that.

[underpants]

6. That was what I always understood

that he was probably born in the Spring time.

I saw that show. It was very interesting and very well done.

[iamjoy]

8. I Heard It Was Autumn

Jesus was born around the Hebrew Harvest (& Pilgrimage) festival of Sukkot.

And it wasn't a star at all, it was Venus the Three Kings saw.

[AllegroRondo]

10. They speculated that the "star"

was actually a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 3 BC.

[xultar]

18. Yup I remember hearing something like that too, that it wasn't a star.

[FreedomAngel82]

29. Isn't that pretty bright too?

Planets are a bit brighter aren't they?

[AllegroRondo]

39. Very bright. Jupiter is the third brightest object in the night sky.

after the Moon and Venus.

A conjunction of that nature would have been obvious to any civilzation of the time, and given astrologers a great time.

[TrogL]

42. I've seen several shows thinking it was a comet

Astrologers of the time would know all about the apparent positions of the planets.

I can't remember the details but the date has to be between 3-7 B.C. because of something related to Herod.

[AllegroRondo]

44. The show I saw didnt think a comet was likely

because no other civilization recorded one around that time. Particularly the Chinese, who were well advanced in astronomy and astrology by then.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

11. I read on a thread here once

that the reference to lambs would place it in March.

[FreedomAngel82]

30. Sheep grazing in the fields

You can't graze when there is frost and/or snow on the ground. Makes it kinda hard dontcha think?

[MountainLaurel]

37. There's not exactly a lot of snow

In the Middle East, now is there?

[Lisa]

45. also, don't they shelter the flocks during the rainy season (winter)?

That's apparently the usual practice in the Middle East -- so the shepherds wouldn't have been out there in the fields all night, in December.

[On the Road]

5. Don't Worry, They've Made Up for It With the Series on the Prophets

I had the station on last night, and they were discussing Biblical prophecy as fulfilled in the history of Israel. *NOT* a historical treatment in any way. I thought better of the History Channel. They should at demonstrate an understanding of the historical method.

[FreedomAngel82]

31. Of course that makes sense

it would be of Israel. They lived there and everything. I think very very few things are of the whole world but more than likely more so about Israel itself. Both as a people and as a country.

[JPZenger]

7. No Surprise

It is no secret that the exact date of Jesus' birth is not known. A date was picked that is symbolic.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

12. Okay, explain this for me

Do fundamentalists actually believe December 25th is the absolute exact date of the birth of Christ?

I mean, I'm a lifelong Christian and I never learned it was anything other than a commemorative date, chosen to make use of an existing holiday celebrating a natural event. DO THEY DISPUTE THIS??

[underpants]

19. I had it explained to me once

Something about how the dinosaurs PROVE that the whole thing is real.

I dunno it made sense at the time.

[rkc3]

24. Fossils are the handiwork of the devil.

Satan created them to divert our faith from God to science.

So not only is Satan evil, he's also got a tool shed.

[FreedomAngel82]

33. I think with them

they recognize December 25th as an appointed day to celebrate Jesus' birthday even though there is no proof of anything and majorly everything we do is from the pagan tradition.

[dkofos]

38. No telling what they believe.

And with the right spin from the fundies, they will believe something different tomorrow.

[tx_dem41]

14. Every Christian I know, including a few Fundamentalists, are quite..

aware that the date December 25th doesn't have any true bearing in fact. It's not a big deal to them. Only to some of us apparently.

[Historic NY]

15. Come on we all know the reason we have Christmas...........

is so people can stay at the Holiday Inn, instead of a manager in a barn. :hide:

[Nimrod2005]

16. HA HA HA AHA HA HA HA HA AH AH FAIRY TALES

FAIRY TALES, we told you so....

[Nimrod2005]

17. Why do you hate America?

[opihimoimoi]

20. According to Mangers Birth Records...Jesus was born on Feb 30

to a couple known for not being married. Stoning for having sex outside of marriage was the Law in those days.

To save themselves from the Stones, the couple used the "God Made Me Pregnant Card"

And...it worked...Peeeps are so easy to FOOL.

[FreedomAngel82]

34. LOL

What happened is Joseph and Mary were to be married but Mary got pregnant and it wasn't by Joseph so they had to hide her pregnancy so she wouldn't get stoned and all that because they lived in the old laws (that are in the OT). The reason they had to go to Jerusalem and stay at the inn was because they had to go there for Joseph to do the census. Back than you had to go to your birth home town (so I would have to go back to Charlotte, NC) and be placed in the book(s). The whole town was so full of people who had moved away and come back and all the inn's were full so they had to stay in the barn. :)

[xultar]

21. When the Catholic church sought to destroy the Pagan(naure) religion

they did things such as evil-ize or th Pagan symbols and put Christian holidays on or around pagan holidays to strangle the Pagan days to death.

[maxsolomon]

22. What a retarded article

1st they state: "The precise reason why Christmas came to be celebrated on December 25 remains obscure", and then proceed to lay it out in precise detail.

CONSTANTINE PUT IT ON THAT DAY. DUH.

[MadHound]

25. Not only did Constantine move Christmas to 12/25

In order to coincide with the holy days of both Mithras and Sol Invictus, but at the Council of Nicaea he put the question of Jesus' divinity to a vote. See, up until then various Christian sects were of opposite minds on that issue, some thought Jesus divine, others a mere mortal. Well, they put the whole thing to a vote at the Council of Nicaea, and divinity won out, but it was a very close vote.

This is also the same council where the modern Bible was laid out, which gospels to include, which to exclude. In fact some of the gospels that pre-dated MMLJ, that were more accurate because they were based on first hand accounts were in fact left out of the Bible, while others, that were less accurate, were included.

So much for these things being the work of God:eyes: Mankind and his ways had entirely too much to do with it.

[FreedomAngel82]

35. Oh of course

I remember seeing a special once on the History channel about the protestant Bible we know today and tons of books were left out including a book written by Mary of Magdelene. She probably wrote some stuff they didn't like and she is seen as a hero to Christian women and she was close to Jesus. Men always have the final say and we women are put on the back burner and that's just another good case of that happening.

[FreedomAngel82]

26. There's no date in the Bible

that mentions Jesus' birthdate. It would be there if there was proof or at least updated at churches. My preacher has never talked about any updated version. Most Biblical scholars believe Jesus was born in or around April and I've also heard September.

[rocktivity]

32. I've read that Christ was probably born five years sooner than believed

But how could he have been born BEFORE the birth of Christ?

:crazy:
rocknation

[FreedomAngel82]

36. And how so when there is no date?

[ucmike]

40. at some point jesus' birthday became confused with santa's

every year at christmas i tell my weird conservative catholic aunt that and get her going.


later on christmas day one of my brothers will remind her that bill clinton's greatest accomplishment was sending elian gonzalez back to cuba and the hilarity ensues.

our holiday celebrations have come to include her annual wine induced tirade about "the christ child" elian and the evil that is castro....memories to last a lifetime.

[AX10]

41. Interesting take.

I have read many different aspects from history that can back this theory.

[cantstandbush]

46. According to the Bible, Christ's birthday is sometime in October.

The historical events recorded in the Bible texts when matched with other historical records of events place the date in October.

[opihimoimoi]

47. NO...not the 31ST.?? ........Oh the Horrors....

[ebayfool]

48. .

:rofl:

Got me, that one did!

I must not eat while reading, mama always said ... you proved her right!