The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey by Roger Highfield

Author:Roger Highfield [HIGHFIELD, ROGER]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Science, Physics, SCI055000
ISBN: 9780316054515
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Published: 2008-12-14T00:00:00+00:00

Christmas Cards Get It Wrong (Agai

In Bavaria and the Black Forest, children traditionally go from house to house singing carols, while carrying lanterns and a paper star representing the star of Bethlehem. In the light of the previous discussion, they should perhaps discard the star for an icon or object better able to convey the subtle astrological symbolism.

A stellar announcement is only one of many aspects of a Western account of the Nativity scene that turns out, in fact, to be dubious. According to this account, the Holy Family arrived in Bethlehem late at night, where the local inn had no vacancy. The exhausted couple found that there was nowhere to stay but a stable, where Jesus was born.

This popular version of events is flatly disproved by the text of Luke, argues Ken Bailey, director of the Institute for Middle Eastern New Testament Studies in Beirut. The gospels translate the Aramaic speech of Jesus and his disciples into Greek. The careless translation of key words of biblical Greek has led to misinterpretations, particularly with the burden of a modern Western perspective.

The Bible tells us that Mary gave birth to her first son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger. The traditional interpretation of this event, in the West at least, is the following: “Jesus was laid in a manger. Mangers are naturally found in animal stables. Ergo, Jesus was born in a stable.”

But this reading ignores the traditional design of peasant homes in Palestine and Lebanon at the time, Bailey argues. Farm animals shared the same living area as the family, so that the beasts could help warm the house in winter and be kept safe from thieves. Sometimes there was also an adjoining guest room.

The family lived on a raised terrace (Arabic mastaba), while their “central heating” — oxen, donkeys, and so on — resided some four feet below on the floor (Ka'al-bayt) near the door. The animals’ mangers, or troughs for fodder, were found on this floor or at the edge of the terrace. This reinterpretation still supports the idea of Jesus being born in poverty, says Bailey. “That is, he was born in a simple peasant home with the mangers in the family room. He was one of them.”

Bailey also questions the reference to the local inn being full. He explains that the word inn in our English versions of the Bible is a mistranslation of the word kataluma, which has several meanings. It can mean “inn” but also “house” or “guest room.” Reading kataluma as “inn” creates several problems. First, Luke uses another word, pandokheion, for a commercial inn. Second, the only other use of the noun kataluma is in Luke 22:11 and Mark 14:14, where “guest room” better suits the context (“And ye shall say unto the good man of the house … Where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?”). Third, if Joseph had stayed at an inn, he would have insulted any members

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