“There was no pomp and ceremony in connection with the birth of Jesus - rather the opposite: it took place in simplicity and in poverty.” JesusPovertyBirthConnectionsOppositesSimplicityCeremonyJesus Birth Author:Keith O'Brien
“During the first 13 centuries after the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, no one thought of setting up a creche to celebrate Christmas. The pre-eminent Christian holiday was Easter, not Christmas.” FirstsChristianJesusCenturyBirthSettingSettingsCelebrateHolidayEasterBethlehemJesus Birth Author:Nancy Pearcey
“While brother Joseph was referring to the provinces of God, I was led to reflect that there is no act, no principle, no power belonging to the Deity that is purely philosophical. The birth of the Saviour was as natural as are the births of our children; it was the result of natural action. He partook of flesh and blood - was begotten of his Father, as we were of our fathers.” ChildrenActionFatherJesusChristNaturalResultsPrinciplesBloodBrotherBirthJesus ChristPhilosophicalOur ChildrenFleshBelongingDeitiesOur FatherSaviourProvincesReferringFlesh And Blood Author:Brigham Young
“Turning the pages of scriptural history from beginning to end, we learn of the ultimate pioneer-even Jesus Christ. His birth was foretold by the prophets of old; His entry upon the stage of life was announced by an angel. His life and His ministry have transformed the world. . . . May we ever follow Him.” WorldMayEndsJesusChristStageBirthPagesAngelJesus ChristUltimateProphetTransformedMinistryPioneersEntryStages Of Life Author:Thomas S. Monson
“In broad outline and in detail, the life of Jesus as portrayed in the gospels corresponds to the worldwide Mythic Hero Archetype in which a divine hero's birth is supernaturally predicted and conceived, the infant hero escapes attempts to kill him, demonstrates his precocious wisdom already as a child, receives a divine commission, defeats demons, wins acclaim, is hailed as king, then betrayed, losing popular favor, executed, often on a hilltop, and is vindicated and taken up to heaven.” ChildrenJesusWinningHeavenTakenAtheismDivineBirthKingsHeroLosingDefeatDetailsPositive AtheismFavorsDemonBroadsBetrayedInfantOutlinesArchetypeAcclaimPrecociousVindicated Author:Robert M. Price
“But to make a holiday record that involves favorite American songs and then also get to sing about Jesus birth, it just seemed like a real easy, subtle way to combine a couple of things that I love.” WayRealSongJesusEasyRecordsBirthCoupleHolidaySubtleJesus Birth Author:Amy Grant
“Rendering thanks to my Creator for my existence and station among His works, for my birth in a country enlightened by the Gospel and enjoying freedom, and for all His other kindnesses, to Him I resign myself, humbly confiding in His goodness and in His mercy through Jesus Christ for the events of eternity.” CountryJesusEnjoyChristExistenceKindnessEventsBirthGoodnessJesus ChristMercyEternityCreatorThanksEnlightenedStationsRenderingConfiding Author:John Dickinson
“It is impossible to conceive how different things would have turned out if that birth had not happened whenever, wherever, however it did for millions of people who have lived since, the birth of Jesus made possible not just a new way of understanding life but a new way of living it. It is a truth that, for twenty centuries, there have been untold numbers of men and women who, in untold numbers of ways, have been so grasped by the child who was born, so caught up in the message he taught and the life he lived, that they have found themselves profoundly changed by their relationship with him.” PeopleIfsMenWayChildrenHas BeensMadeDifferentFoundJesusUnderstandingBornNumbersMillionsImpossibleHappenedCenturyChangedTaughtBirthMessagesMen And WomenTwentiesCaughtDifferent ThingsNew WaysCaught UpUnderstanding LifeJesus Birth Author:Frederick Buechner
“What if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus had a real, earthly, biological father named Larry, and archeologists find Larry's tomb and do DNA samples and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the virgin birth was just a bit of mythologizing the Gospel writers threw in to appeal to the followers of the Mithra and Dionysian religious cults that were hugely popular at the time of Jesus, whose gods had virgin births? Could you still be a Christian? Is the way of Jesus still the best possible way to live?” IfsWayStillsRealChristianFatherJesusBitsReligiousDoubtBirthTomorrowProveShadowProofAppealsWhat IfFollowersCultVirginsDnaTombsWay To LiveLarrySampleVirgin BirthBiological FathersReligious Cults Author:Rob Bell
“The Bible represents a fundamental guidepost for millions of people on the planet, in much the same way the Koran, Torah, and Pali Canon offer guidance to people of other religions. If you and I could dig up documentation that contradicted the holy stories of Islamic belief, Judaic belief, Buddhist belief, pagan belief, should we do that? Should we wave a flag and tell the Buddhists that the Buddha did not come from a lotus blossom? Or that Jesus was not born of a literal virgin birth? Those who truly understand their faiths understand the stories are metaphorical.” PeopleIfsWayShouldStoriesJesusBeliefBornMillionsPlanetsBirthHolyOffersFundamentalsWaveBuddhistGuidanceIslamicFlagsVirginsLiteralPaganMetaphoricalCanonLotusesDocumentationTorahVirgin Birth Author:Dan Brown
“Missionaries in the developing world waste a lot of time and money (not to mention the goodwill of non-Christians) proselytizing to the needy. . . . While missionaries do many noble things at great risk to themselves, their dogmatism still spreads ignorance and death. By contrast, volunteers for secular organizations . . . do not waste . . . time telling people about the virgin birth of Jesus. Nor do they tell people in sub-Saharan Africa - where nearly four million people die from AIDS every year - that condom use is sinful.” PeopleWorldYearsStillsUseChristianReligionDiesJesusMillionsFourRiskIgnoranceBirthWasteOrganizationSpreadNobleAidsDevelopingWasting TimeContrastSecularVolunteerVirginsGoodwillNeedyCondomDogmatismTime And MoneyGreat RiskProselytizingVirgin BirthSub Saharan AfricaJesus BirthCondom Use Author:Sam Harris
“I wouldn't put it past God to arrange a virgin birth if He wanted, but I very much doubt if He would.” IfsWantedPastJesusChristChristianityDoubtBirthJesus ChristVirginsVirgin Birth Author:David Jenkins
“For many people, the big feast of the year is Christmas, but for Christians, the truly great feast is Easter. Without Easter, without the Resurrection, we would not have the gift of salvation. Jesus had to rise from the dead or else he would have just been another failed Messiah and his birth would be a forgotten footnote of history.” PeopleYearsBigsWould BeChristianJesusBirthSalvationForgottenResurrectionEasterMessiahFootnotes Author:Robert Barron
“It is difficult to look at any newborn baby and accept that he or she will necessarily encounter pain, challenges, disappointments, and hardships in life. Yet even the Savior needed to "go forth, suffering pains and afflictions . . . of every kind" (Alma 7:11), the only difference being that Jesus, though tempted, did not sin (Hebrews 4:15; see also D&C 45:4). Even harder to comprehend, however, was how that precious Babe of Bethlehem, whose birth we celebrate each Christmas, would one day bear the weight not only of our sins but also all our infirmities.” LooksKindPainSufferingJesusDifficultChallengesDifferencesSinAcceptingBabyBearsBirthNeededOne DayWeightHarderDisappointmentCelebrateEncountersHardshipSaviorAfflictionTemptedBabeHebrewNewbornInfirmityBethlehemNewborn BabySuffering Pain Author:Eric D. Huntsman