Merry Christmas! As my family goes through the holiday season, we take what opportunities we can to watch Christmas movies. Each of my family members has their favorites, and we rarely get to see all of them each year because there is so much else to do and we simply don’t watch that much TV. I have two that I like the most, the movie titled “The Nativity Story,” and a documentary (yes, a documentary) called “The Star of Bethlehem.”
“The Nativity Story” is enjoyable because it portrays Joseph and Mary as real people with real problems, and it follows them from their betrothal in Nazareth through Mary’s visit with Elizabeth and their journey to Bethlehem. It also tracks the wise men in the east from their decision to travel to Judea to the stable in Bethlehem. There are a lot of assumptions in the movie because it deals with events that the Scripture doesn’t describe in detail, but I like it because of the humanness of the characters, especially the justness of Joseph and the argumentativeness of the magi among themselves. There are some non-biblical things, like the magi arriving the day Jesus was born, but overall I enjoy it more than the all the fluffy Christmas movies.
My top favorite is “The Star of Bethlehem,” which my friend Curt Klingerman lent to me. It is the best examination of the phenomenon of the star mentioned in Matthew chapter 2 that I have seen and I believe it accurately identifies it. What I like best about this explanation is that the man who found it started with the Scriptures. He isn’t an astronomer, or even a scientist, but he first asked, “what does the Bible say about this star?” After careful study, he outlined nine characteristics of the star and then began his search for the heavenly object that would fulfill all those requirements. His discoveries are clearly explained in the movie and on the website: http://www.bethlehemstar.net/ .
All scientific inquiry, or any inquiry for that matter, should begin the same way: “What does the Bible say about it?” Jesus consistently challenged the religious men of his day with “Have you not read…?” The passage in Luke 10 is striking: a scribe asked Jesus the ultimate question for all men, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Christ’s reply: “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
All questions of this life and the life to come are answered in the Bible. Start there, because to start anywhere else is unbelief. That’s why Solomon wrote “the fear of the Lord is the beginning…”
