I walked through the living room as my son and middle daughter sat on the couch watching an episode of the hit TV sitcom "Young Sheldon."
We've cautiously permitted them to watch the show, trying to toe the line between setting boundaries for entertainment and being overprotective "helicopter" parents. Knowing the show played off humorous clichés about faith and unbelief (the protagonist is a brilliant, young atheist, while his loving and wise mother is a Christian), I often will laugh at some of the banter, but then without being overbearing, instruct my kids how there really isn't tension between what we believe as Christians and the scientific world around us.
I always think about that at this time of year too - a season when most of our culture facilitates and celebrates fun, nostalgic myths and made-up stories. I wonder if we're doing a good enough job reminding both our children and the non-believing adults around us that there's a distinction between red-clad, bearded men squeezing down through chimneys, magical elves that hide on shelves, and the nativity scene that sits on the mantle.
Are we careful to affirm that there exists no tension between what we believe about Mary, Joseph, and a manger in Bethlehem, and historical reality? That when we read and hear the narrative of the Gospel writer Luke, we are better off comparing him to historians of antiquity like Thucydides or Herodotus rather than fabulists like Aesop or Hans Christian Andersen.
While the general population may be blissfully unaware, the New Testament historian Luke, author of both his own self-titled gospel and the seminal history of the early church, "Acts," is revered by both Christian and secular scholars as one of the most accurate, meticulously researched, and precise historians of all time. He easily navigated and documented some of the most complex geopolitical landscapes in history, describing with pinpoint accuracy names, dates, ports, offices, and events.
For instance, the late Cambridge research fellow Colin J. Hemer put Luke's reliability as an historian to the test, and what he discovered was astounding:
Luke noted accurate sailing times compared to distance toward ports, directions of sailing, and relevant meteorological factors.
He correctly named obscure villages not even relevant to the narrative he was writing.
He used proper nautical jargon known now as Greek transliterations of Latin descriptive terms.
Luke used correct labels when describing local officials despite the eclectic and complex differences between regions: the governor of Cyprus was a "proconsul," while the governors of Philippi were called "magistrates," while they were called "politarchs" in Thessalonica, while they were called "town clerks" in Ephesus.
He geographically pinpoints 32 countries, 54 cities, and 9 islands, including those that were mistaken or confused by other secular historians of this era.
Does all that mean we have independent verification and authentication of every historical claim Luke makes in his thoroughly researched biography of Jesus - one that includes the famous "Christmas passage" of Luke 2? Of course not. What it does mean is that of the historical claims Luke makes which are verifiable, every single one of them, to the smallest detail, has been verified.
Without error.
Without misstatement.
Without exaggeration.
That greatly increases the credibility of Luke as an accurate historian with meticulous attention to detail. Let's remember that these next couple weeks as we hear - and share - the truth of what one of history's greatest historians recorded for us nearly 2,000 years ago…
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. (Luke 2:1-7)
