When researching the story of the Magi visiting the Christ child in Bethlehem, it is not long before one discovers the scholar’s opinion that the Magi story is likely to be a story concocted by the early Christians—and probably Matthew himself, in order to show Jesus to be the long-looked-for Messiah and fulfillment of the […]
The late Steve Masty’s “The Test of the Magi” is a novel that displays a powerful religious imagination and a profound knowledge of the history and cultures of the ancient world, as well as personal experience with the geography and anthropology of the middle east. The Test of the Magi, by Johannes Bergmann (254 pages, […]
It is easy to understand why skeptical New Testament scholars have relegated the magi from Matthew’s gospel to the realm of fantasy. Were they fanciful figures from the imagination of Matthew, or historical figures who existed at the time of Christ’s birth? Every good fantasy story needs a magician. Dorothy encounters the Wizard of Oz. […]
“The Gloucestershire Wassail” is a traditional English carol associated with the eve of Epiphany, when revelers drank wassail punch, a hot-mulled sherry- or brandy-based cider, sweetened with sugar and seasoned with other spices, and including yeast, apples, and toast. According to British Food History, “wassailing predates the Battle of Hastings and is thought to have […]
Why celebrate Christmas? Why throw a party, instead of going to church, in the first place? Is not this religious holiday, by nature calling us to quiet contemplation? Did you know that Christmas celebrations were banned in Scotland until 1958? I certainly did not, not until my son started working on his sixth-grade “Christmas around […]
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