At this season of the year, it is good to take a minute or two of time to review some of the things we do not know about Christ's birth. Among them are these facts:

(l) The year Christ was born in.

(2) The month He was born in.

(3) The day He was born.

(4) The specific location in Bethlehem of the birth.

(5) The number of 'wise men." (We know the number of presents they brought but not the number of people who brought the gifts.)

(6) What country or countries the "wise men" were from.

(7) What their racial or ethnic ancestry was.

(8) What their names were.

What we do not know about Christ's birth has been the fertile breeding ground for tradition, tradition that Protestants have often unthinkingly adopted from the Roman Catholic Church that gave birth to it. Is it not rather odd that the very same people who will obstinately reject the Catholic tradition concerning Mary's birth and life will adopt that same Church's tradition concerning the details of Jesus' birth?

Protestant friend, the next time you hear your preacher speak of the month or day or year in which Jesus was born, the next time you hear him refer to the number or country of origin of the "wise men," take a little of your time, hand him your Bible and ask him to prove what He has said from the pulpit. You will quickly discover that He has no Scripture but only tradition to rely on.

If he attempts to dismiss your question with a remark such as "it doesn't really matter" why not ask him, "What happened to our claim to be a Bible believing church?" At this point you are likely to be greeted with either indignation or a stony silence. Either way you will have the answer to your question: That instead of being part of a church that really accepts the Bible you are part of a church that has substituted Roman Catholic tradition for Scripture.

At that point we would urge you to seriously investigate the church of Christ, a church that refuses to accept Catholic tradition concerning the birth of Christ. There and there almost alone are you going to get away from the spiritual relics such as Christmas observance that Protestantism has inherited from Catholicism.

Truth Magazine XXI: 48, p. 762
December 8, 1977