Pope: December 25 Not Really Jesus’ Birthdate

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We have now learned that the entire Christian calendar is based on bad information, rather like the intelligence during George W. Bush’s administration.  It appears that none other than the Pope himself, infallible in matters of church doctrine, has said that the so called “Son of God” was born several years earlier than originally thought.


The Pope also weighs in on the debate over Christ’s birthplace Photo: Filippo Monteforte/AFP

The ‘mistake’ was made by a sixth century monk known as Dionysius Exiguus or in English Dennis the Small, the 85-year-old pontiff claims in the book ‘Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives’, published on Wednesday.

“The calculation of the beginning of our calendar – based on the birth of Jesus – was made by Dionysius Exiguus, who made a mistake in his calculations by several years,” the Pope writes in the book, which went on sale around the world with an initial print run of a million copies.

“The actual date of Jesus’ birth was several years before.”

The assertion that the Christian calendar is based on a false premise is not new – many historians believe that Christ was born sometime between 7BC and 2BC.

But the fact that doubts over one of the keystones of Christian tradition have been raised by the leader of the world’s one billion Catholics is striking.

Dennis the Small, who was born in Eastern Europe, is credited with being the “inventor” of the modern calendar and the concept of the Anno Domini era.

He drew up the new system in part to distance it from the calendar in use at the time, which was based on the years since the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian.

The emperor had persecuted Christians, so there was good reason to expunge him from the new dating system in favor of one inspired by the birth of Christ.

The monk’s calendar became widely accepted in Europe after it was adopted by the Venerable Bede, the historian-monk, to date the events that he recounted in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which he completed in AD 731.

But exactly how Dennis calculated the year of Christ’s birth is not clear and the Pope’s claim that he made a mistake is a view shared by many scholars.

The Bible does not specify a date for the birth of Christ. The monk instead appears to have based his calculations on vague references to Jesus’ age at the start of his ministry and the fact that he was baptised in the reign of the emperor Tiberius.

Christ’s birth date is not the only controversy raised by the Pope in his new book – he also said that contrary to the traditional Nativity scene, there were no oxen, donkeys or other animals at Jesus’s birth.

He also weighs in on the debate over Christ’s birthplace, rejecting arguments by some scholars that he was born in Nazareth rather than Bethlehem.

John Barton, Professor of the Interpretation of the Holy Scripture at Oriel College, Oxford University, said most academics agreed with the Pope that the Christian calendar was wrong and that Jesus was born several years earlier than commonly thought, probably between 6BC and 4BC.

“There is no reference to when he was born in the Bible – all we know is that he was born in the reign of Herod the Great, who died before 1AD,” he told The Daily Telegraph. “It’s been surmised for a very long time that Jesus was born before 1AD – no one knows for sure.”

The idea that Christ was born on Dec 25 also has no basis in historical fact. “We don’t even know which season he was born in. The whole idea of celebrating his birth during the darkest part of the year is probably linked to pagan traditions and the winter solstice.”

Many thanks to our friends at The Telegraph for their contributions to this story.

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Professor Mike

Professor Mike is a left-leaning, dog loving, political junkie. He has written dozens of articles for Substack, Medium, Simily, and Tribel. Professor Mike has been published at Smerconish.com, among others. He is a strong proponent of the environment, and a passionate protector of animals. In addition he is a fierce anti-Trumper. Take a moment and share his work.
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Robert Bravo
11 years ago

So it’s all about the Year not the day of December 25th he is talking about?

Jose
11 years ago

As Jehovah’s Witnesses say

11 years ago

[…] El Papa admite que él no tiene NPI de cuándo nació Jesús verdaderamente […]

Jess
11 years ago

I cannot wait to hear what the tamborine bangers have to say about this. Guess it will be soon enough as this gets out there. Now THAT will make for some holiday cheer right there, to see one side bite off the other one’s head because their bullshit is wrong by a few years. Oh yeah, it will be great to watch indeeddy do and I will sit back and relish my popcorn, watching the show that will result from this news. I might even sit in the comfy chair to watch it.

11 years ago

That’s an interesting idea. I have read that “Jesus” was a reasonable common name in that area, even though there were no Mexicans nearby. 😉

I have also read differing accounts of the role Constantine played in the entire scenario.

Reply to  Professor Mike
11 years ago

I agree that it is confusing and I am not sure that’s an accident. The harder it is to understand, the more easily it’s open to “interpretation” so it can mean whatever someone wants it to mean.

Christian
Reply to  James Smith
11 years ago

“And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN.” MARK 4:11-12

“They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend” ISAIAH 44:18

“And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that SEEING THEY MAY NOT SEE, AND HEARING THEY MAY NOT UNDERSTAND” LUKE 8:10

Reply to  Christian
11 years ago

When you quote the babble to make your point, you are admitting that you have no facts, and no rational argument but that you hope others will be as gullible and as willfully ignorant as you are.

Christian
Reply to  James Smith
11 years ago

If you don’t believe in the Bible then you also don’t believe in Science, as the Bible speaks science. Here are some FACTS revealed by the Holy Scriptures thousands of years before even Science discovered it – https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=498670883489513&set=a.152657981424140.27795.137294562960482&type=1&theater

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds.There is no one who does good. Psalm 14:1

Reply to  Christian
11 years ago

You think Facebook is a creditable source? That seems natural. You consider the babble a creditable source, so why wouldn’t you think the same of Facebook?

Here’s how the babble tries to look rational:

On the 11th of September, 2001, two commercial aircraft flew into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing thousands.

Some people believe that this was an act of terrorism by an Islamic fundamentalist organization.

It was really the power of my god (he who must not be named) directing those planes to warn the people of the USA and the world to abandon their wicked ways and praise the only true god.

The first sentence is unquestionable historic fact. The last sentence is a delusional lie but is impossible to prove to be false. The “truth” of all “holy books” is based upon this same technique.

You still have not proved that anything I have posted is not true nor that anything you have ever said in your entire life was not a lie. Avoiding those questions tells more about yourself than you want me to know. Too late, I already know you’re a willfully ignorant theists that has not reservations about lying, using false logic, and stupid excuses.

Christian
Reply to  James Smith
11 years ago

LOL!!!! you almost made me crap myself on this one!!! i gave you a facebook link because someone posted the early scientific declaration of the Bible even before Science itself discovered it, THE VERSES ARE THERE IN THE POST!! you just have to grab a Bible and see if it’s really written there or not!! so the real source there is the Bible NOT FACEBOOK!!! hahahahaha!!!! see how AGAIN careless you are??? I could’ve done it here posting verses and showing the Scientific comparison but i thought it’s easier to just send the link (to give credit also to the one who made it)…you’re just wasting my time here!! you’re not even on the level of an opponent i thought you were!!

Bill Formby
Reply to  James Smith
11 years ago

James, the names “Jesus” was a fairly common name during that time in that era. In fact in one episode of National Geographic they believed they had found Jesus’ family interment cave (boxes, whatever you call the little places where they put their bones) because they had found a box with the name of Joseph and Thomas. However, they also found a box with the name of Jesus. The researcher, at that time indicated that they had documented more than 400 men named Jesus from that time period.

Reply to  Bill Formby
11 years ago

Bill, I think you and I have been reading the same things. Granted, Jesus may not have been as common as say, Jim or Bill, 😉 but that doesn’t make it rare at all.

AnonymousNot
11 years ago

Jesus is the totem of the religious. I suspect that “Christianity” began as a scam that simply became more sophisticated with the passage of time. I think the name “Jesus” was convenient so they used it to market a savior. The rest of the trappings go to making up the character we know today. I believe Emperor Constantine and his senate had a lot to do with this just to keep the newly minted Christians off his back.

11 years ago

The facts are, there isn’t a single bit of proof that the jesus character ever existed at all. Here are a few things I have accumulated that show there is no records anywhere showing he ever existed. So the entire religion is a lie.

As stated by Dr. Bart Ehrman, Professor of religious studies at the University of North Caroline, Chapel Hill, NC said, “In the entire first Christian century, Jesus is not mentioned by a single Greek or Roman scholar, politician, philosopher, or poet. His name never appears in a single inscription, and it is never found in a single piece of private correspondence. Zero! Zip references!”

A Few Noticeable Events in the Life of Jesus

Herod’s slaughter of all the baby boys in Bethlehem.

Jesus’ triumphant entry in jerusalem, where the entire town welcomes him as their king.

Jesus casting out the greedy moneychangers. (in an area about the size of 34 football fields)

Two earthquakes his Jerusalem.

Supernatural darkness covers “all the land” for hours.

The Sacred Temple curtain tears from top to bottom.

All the dead holy men in the cemetery come out of their graves and wander Jerusalem, “appearing to many.”

And yet, contemporary historians in the time of Jesus didn’t write about any of this.

From my own researches:

In the case of the historical Jesus, there is not one contemporary record of his existence. The Romans, who otherwise kept very good records never mentioned a figure who was supposed to be socially, politically, and spiritually so significant as well as publicly performing many miracles; then was executed after a very public trial.

Not until the Gospel of Mark, written from 40 to over 100 years after the supposed crucifixion, (depending upon which biblical scholar you choose to believe) is there any mention of Jesus. If we look at the fables of Horus, Attis, and Mithra, we see amazing similarities. Born in low circumstances on December 25, 12 followers, executed at an early age, son of a god, the list goes on. It would appear that the early church, in need of a powerful central figure, “borrowed” from earlier myths to create a rallying point for their religion.

Christian
Reply to  James Smith
11 years ago

If you were really searching, you won’t miss Tacitus’ ANNALS which was referred by fellow historians as the “pinnacle of Roman historical writing”

“Scholars generally consider Tacitus’s reference to the execution of Jesus by Pontius Pilate to be both authentic, and of historical value as an independent Roman source”

Reply to  Christian
11 years ago

If you were really researching, you would know that Tacitus was not a contemporary not having even been born until 56 CE. But that;’s just one mo9re lie you christians tell to try to justify your bullshit. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacitus

Scholars generally….” What scholars? Where are your references? YOu cannot even lie effectively.

Prove one thing I have posted about this is not true. Prove anything you have ever said in your entire life is true.

Christian
Reply to  James Smith
11 years ago

did you even read your link?? hahaha…read your link first and see what is says about Tacitus being “considered to be one of the greatest Roman historians”

and yes regarding your question about who’s scholars are those?? you can read this – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacitus_on_Christ

BUT PLEAAAASE…read your link first…LOL

Christian
Reply to  Christian
11 years ago

and yes i forgot…just because he didn’t live on the exact date when Jesus was crucified doesn’t mean he’s not a credible source?? Historians do forensic searches and investigations…get your facts right!! Also considering his office…he possibly had access to public documents of Roman Empire to begin with!!!

Reply to  Christian
11 years ago

Before I forget, no, he is not a creditable source. Show me a single contemporary account, like of any of the events I mentioned above. You are so pathetic in how you ignore anything you cannot answer. That does make it much easier to lie, doesn’t it?

If he had access to Roman documents, where are they? Why didn’t he or anyone else ever mention them. You’re an incredibly poor liar.

Reply to  Christian
11 years ago

Yes, I read my link. Did you see the part about his birth date? Being a scholar doesn’t mean you are right, it means you have studied what others have said. You can do that and remain as ignorant as you are. Some truths we hold to be self-evident.

Show me a single contemporary account of the existence of jesus.

There are none. So don’t be even more stupid and quote the usual miserable attempts like Josephus. (born 36 CE)

Christian
Reply to  James Smith
11 years ago

you were the first one who gave a WIKI-link but i guess you don’t even know how the page really works…there are references (numeral links) on wiki-sentences to show where the statement was based…if you’re looking for evidences and contemporary accounts, IT’S ALL THERE IN THE PAGE!! both in your link and mine…it goes to show how careless you are in declaring something…if there is someone here who is not a creditable source, that would be YOU…don’t fool us with your statements of “from my own researches” and “here are few things i have accumulated” crap! you’re just good in swearing, that’s all!!

Reply to  Christian
11 years ago

I’m good at thinking too. That’s something that you are not.

I asked you for contemporary accounts and yu have not provided a one.

I am good at swearing and here’s one for you. Go fuck yourself you ignorant of piece of shit. You have evaded every question, have not shown that anything I have posted is not true, or that anything you have ever said in your entire life is true.

You’re a typical christian, a lying, willfully ignorant, hypocritical fool. All at the same time.

This is the last instant of my time I’ll waste on a complete asshole like you.

Christian
Reply to  James Smith
11 years ago

that is just undeniably a very creditable statement coming from no other than…Mr.James Smith. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! :))))

Christian
Reply to  Christian
11 years ago

“personal assassination” that is a common weapon of an opponent if he cannot break what the other stands for…

Reply to  Christian
11 years ago

Your comprehension deficit prevents you from understanding even the most simple things. I did, in fact, “break” your assertions. You did not prove anything I posted was not true. You did not prove anything you have ever said in your life was true. You did not provide any contemporary accounts of the jesus myth.

If your character was assassinated, you did it to yourself by your lies and failure to respond rationally to any challenge I presented.

What you stand for is lying, rejection of verifiable facts and that you are determined to stay a stubbornly stupid, willfully ignorant example of why religion is fading from the world.

E.A. Blair
11 years ago

Another thing to consider is to what extent the “facts” surrounding the birth of the Christ were fudged to make it appear that certain Old Testament prophecies were being satisfied. As Christianity grew from an obscure Jewish cult sect to become the state religion of the Roman Empire, there would have been enormous incentive to have the latter narratives align with the former.

The need to fulfill those prognostications has distorted the importance of the nativity to Christianity. When considered on purely religious grounds, the central mystery of Christianity is the story of the crucifixion, death and resurrection, the acts which supposedly led to the redemption of humanity. Yet outside the ranks of the clergy, Christmas has nearly eclipsed Easter in significance (you don’t hear Bill O’Reilly blathering on about a “War on Easter, do you?). This means that the vast majority of Christians, whether Catholic or otherwise, have lost sight of the focus of their religion.

Marsha Woerner
11 years ago

But we’ve always known that the whole Christian Bible is a farce, haven’t we? I suppose the news is that the Pope now publicly admits it. Now we’re just waiting for the cook to publicly admit met the whole Jesus thing is a myth, also. (Wait, did I just say that? Oh yeah, I did…)

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