” ‘Don’t be afraid, Mary,’ the angel told her, ‘for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus’ . . .
Mary asked the angel, ‘But how can this happen? I am a virgin.’ “(1:30-31, 34 NLT)
Jesus was definitely a historical person.
However, the virgin birth story originated from over-zealous followers of Jesus, not from actual fact. Any half-way reputable Bible scholar knows that the book of “Mark” in the New Testament was the first-written Gospel, and it does not contain a tale about Jesus’ birth.
Still, this story gives the world a time of (relative) peace at Christmas every year with pleasing images and joyous activities.
Can’t we do something, though, about the crass commercialism that ruins the holiday spirit? Do stores really need to start selling Christmas candies in September?
