Spirituality

Pope disputes the date of Jesus' birth

By T.K. Randall
November 23, 2012 ·  125 comments

Image Credit: Paulina Grabowiec In a new book the Pope explains that the calendar we now use which was devised by 6th century monk Dionysius Exiguus is wrong on the basis that he made a mistake with his calculations. In the Gospel of Matthew it states that Jesus was born at the time when Herod the Great ruled in Judea, however Herod died in 4 A.D. Also in the Gospel of Luke it suggests that Jesus was born when Quirinius was governor of Syria in 6 A.D.

With so much conflicting information, the exact date of Jesus' birth has been a point of debate for theologians and scholars for centuries. Now that the head of the Catholic Church himself is leading the charge in questioning the established time-line, spiritual leaders and followers alike will no doubt be keen to reassess what they think they know of Biblical history.[!gad]In a new book the Pope explains that the calendar we now use which was devised by 6th century monk Dionysius Exiguus is wrong on the basis that he made a mistake with his calculations. In the Gospel of Matthew it states that Jesus was born at the time when Herod the Great ruled in Judea, however Herod died in 4 A.D. Also in the Gospel of Luke it suggests that Jesus was born when Quirinius was governor of Syria in 6 A.D.

With so much conflicting information, the exact date of Jesus' birth has been a point of debate for theologians and scholars for centuries. Now that the head of the Catholic Church himself is leading the charge in questioning the established time-line, spiritual leaders and followers alike will no doubt be keen to reassess what they think they know of Biblical history.

Source: Telegraph | Comments (125)

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