First, there is no authority whatsoever for Jesus' birthday being December 25. No one knows the exact day he was born.
Second, there is no authority in the Gospels for the "three wise men" being named Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. The Gospel of Matthew--the only one, I believe, that includes this story (check me on that if you care to)-- does not even say there were three of them; it just says "wise men from the East." This is one of many medieval "accretions," additions that somehow came to be made to stories which are to be found in the Gospels.
Third, do you think you know what Jesus looked like? Sure, you've seen his likeness in paintings, religious statues, even calendars. The fact is, there was no photography in his day, and we don't have any contemporary portraits of him, either. Our notions of Jesus stem mainly from medieval and Renaissance paintings. He seems to be depicted as having long blond hair, blue eyes, and a beard. But surely he was much more Semitic-looking than that.
Ditto for the Virgin Mary. The absence of reliable images of these personages ought by itself to give the lie to all those sightings of Jesus or Mary on tortillas or walls or water towers.
Last, we all know that in Roman times, Christians were thrown to the lions in the Coliseum, right? Well, according to an article in Smithsonian magazine, there is no good evidence for that, either.
So—a lot of what we believe just ain't so.
Copyright © 2010 by Richard Stein
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