Christmas Unwrapped
Author: Ian Wallis
Ian Wallis, a former Principal of the Yorkshire Ministry Course, Vicar of St Mark’s Broomhill and Chair of St Mark’s CRC, continues to teach and write in the areas of biblical studies and contemporary theology. |
In this article Ian Wallis examines the birth narratives and surrounding Christmas stories in detail, giving us chapter and verse on how the narratives point to more than a simple historical story.
‘We propose that the Christmas stories … are primarily … parabolic overtures … based on biblical tradition rather than on historical fact. Each is its gospel in miniature. When, therefore, Matthew 1–2 and Luke 1–2 are combined into a single Christmas story … that story is the entire Christian gospel in miniature. Get it, and you get everything; miss it, and you miss all. (The First Christmas, Borg & Crossan, pp 52-53).
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Reproduced with permission of the author.
Photo Credit: Alasdair Elmes on Unsplash |