THE BIRTH OF JESUS. EXPLODING THE MYTHS!

TWO PEOPLE YOU CAN'T LIE TO SANTA. AND JESUS!!

(Ed. NOTE: This is the time of the year, at least recently, that the socialists and militant islamists come out to spoil the holidays for all of the good little children of Western Civilization. We here at SFLCOn have had enough and instead of going Money Changers at the Temple Jesus on the nayesayers, we instead bring you this scholary take on the Book of Luke...probably better known to you as Linus' speech in Charlie Brown Christmas.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's to You all. End the War)

Once upon a time—around the reign of Caesar Augustus, when Rome ran the neighborhood with impressive paperwork and even more impressive taxes—a young carpenter named Joseph packed his bags. Not to sneak across a border. Not to evade authorities. But to comply with them.

Rome had ordered a census. Everyone had to register in their ancestral town. This is where the story gets boring for myth-makers and fun for historians.

Joseph wasn’t wandering aimlessly. He was of the House of David, which meant his family roots were planted firmly in Bethlehem, Judea—his rightful homeland. So off he went from Nazareth (also under Roman control) to Bethlehem (also under Roman control). No visas. No passports. No border guards. The entire region—Judea, Galilee, and nearby areas—was one Roman-administered system. Think “county to county,” not “country to country.”

Mary went with him, because families registered together. And while they were there, Jesus Christ was born. Not in Nazareth, not on the run, not hiding—in Bethlehem, exactly where both Roman law and ancient lineage pointed.

Now, about the neighbors. Judea and Galilee were overwhelmingly Jewish (Judean). Samaria next door was home to Samaritans, a closely related monotheistic group with their own mountain and long-standing family disagreement. Beyond that, you had pockets of Greco-Roman pagans and some Arab polytheists farther out.

Samaritanism and Judaism share the Torah but disagree on where God chose to dwell and which tradition preserved Israel’s true continuity. The religion is still alive today!

What you did not have was a people called “Palestinians.” Not yet. Not even close.

“But wait,” says the myth, “wasn’t it called Palestine?”Only much later. In 135 AD, long after Jesus’ lifetime, Rome—under Hadrian—renamed the province to Syria Palaestina after crushing a Jewish revolt. That was a map change, not a people change. Romans renamed lands all the time; they didn’t magically rename ethnic groups. Jews didn’t wake up the next morning as “Palestinians.” They were still Jews (or Judeans), just living in a province with a new label—like changing the name on a filing cabinet.

So let’s recap, with a smile:

• Jesus wasn’t born an “illegal immigrant.” There were no borders to cross illegally.

• Joseph wasn’t a foreigner. He returned to his ancestral home, on orders from Rome.

• The land was Roman-controlled and Jewish-populated, with Samaritans in Samaria and pagans around the edges.

• “Palestine” was a later Roman administrative name, not a people—and certainly not in Jesus’ lifetime.

• No one at the Nativity was called a Palestinian. Not by Rome. Not by neighbors. Not by themselves.

In other words, the Christmas story is radical enough on its own. It doesn’t need modern politics smuggled into the manger. History already did the heavy lifting—quietly, clearly, and with dates attached.

BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR, GUYS!! For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord," LUKE 2:11