Jesus was born years earlier than thought, claims Pope

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Jesus was born years earlier than thought, claims Pope
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The entire Christian calendar is based on a miscalculation, the Pope has declared, as he claims in a new book that Jesus was born several years earlier than commonly believed.
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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.
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“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.
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“The actual date of Jesus’s birth was several years before.”
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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.
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telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/9693576/Jesus-was-born-years-earlier-than-thought-claims-Pope.html

I can not think this would have much of an effect on anything, if at all.
 
There’s nothing at all that is new about this idea. Furthermore, I don’t know why it would matter at all to anyone’s faith.
 
My “so” is that the story about the monk who calculated the calendar is not new, and it should not be earth-shattering to anyone who reads it.

It was meant to be disrespective to the Pope.
 
So does that mean we are really in the year 2014-2019 Anno Domini? :confused:

Just a shame people reject Christianity now…no hope for a new Benedictine Calender! 😃
 
Scott_Lafrance said:
The world is going to end in a month from today, so what’s the point? 🤷
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The Dec. 21, 2012 doomsday prophecy is another miscalculation, Mayan-style. But just in case, I promised my students I would have the grades in before that date.

In regard to Jesus’ birth, for many years I had heard that 4 BC was the date.
 
Nothing new. I’ve seen 4 BC listed as the probable years for Jesus’ birth the most often, and 6-4 BC once or twice. Also I recall that a Catholic Answers apologist has made a case for 2-3 BC.
 
I wonder if the Magi miscalculated as well and showed up 5 or 6 years too late?

Seriously, the idea that Jesus was several years earlier than our calendar would indicate is not news, and it is not new. I have been reading that for years. King Herod of the Nativity story died in 4 B.C. I guess I am surprised that people were not aware of this.
 
chaunceygardner said:
I wonder if the Magi miscalculated as well and showed up 5 or 6 years too late?
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Unlikely, since Harod the Great was still alive. Unless Christ was born even earlier than commonly thought.

His death is generally given as 4 BC, which would be the reason most people think Jesus could not have been born after that. I assume that those who think he was born as late as 2 BC reject this date for Harod’s death.

Edit: According to Wikipedia, “Since the work of Emil Schürer in 1896[25] most scholars have agreed that Herod died at the end of March or early April in 4 BCE.[26] However, Schürer’s consensus has not gone unchallenged in the 20th century, with several scholars endorsing 1 BCE as the year of Herod’s death.”

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herod_the_Great#Death
 
It makes me happy that the Church is still seeking to expand it’s knowledge, even in areas that have been generally accepted for centuries. I, for one, look forward to our new Calendar. Until I get a new driver’s licenses I can claim to be seven years older than I am. 😃
 
My wife claims her birthdate is years later than it actually is, but she’s still terrific and I still lover her…so, this changes nothing!😃
 
Don_Jackson said:
My wife claims her birthdate is years later than it actually is, but she’s still terrific and I still lover her…so, this changes nothing!😃
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I hope she was of age when you married her!

Do you think this would be a good time to let the OP and others know that it is very unlikely that Jesus was born on December 25th? That may be too many shocks in close proximity.
 
chaunceygardner said:
I hope she was of age when you married her!

Do you think this would be a good time to let the OP and others know that it is very unlikely that Jesus was born on December 25th? That may be too many shocks in close proximity.
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🤷 It’s my impression that for all we know he could well have been, and that when Christmas was started it was because Christians already believed that to have been the date of Christ’s birth.

The most common reason given for denying a winter birth is that the shepherds were watching their flocks by night, but it would have been too cold to do this in the winter. However it’s often claimed in rebuttal that shepherds in fact do watch their flocks by night at all times of the year in that region.
 
chaunceygardner said:
Do you think this would be a good time to let the OP and others know that it is very unlikely that Jesus was born on December 25th? That may be too many shocks in close proximity.
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Jesus was born during the time of year when shepherds stayed out all night. Shepherds stayed out in the fields all night during the lambing season. This was in the spring of the year.

Ergo, the Lamb of God was probably born during the lambing season, in the spring, and not at the winter solstice. However, since we already had one major Jesus holiday in the spring (I think it was the resurrection…) it seemed appropriate to select another date to focus solely on and celebrate the great gift of the incarnation.

If anything, the appropriateness of this timing (born with the other lambs) should strengthen our faith.
 
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