{"product_id":"the-first-christmas-what-the-gospels-really-teach-about-jesuss-birth-isbn-9780061430718","title":"The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Birth","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Who could argue with the message the authors draw from the Bible’s Christmas stories? Light in the darkest time of the year, hope in a period of creeping despair—these are powerful and universal themes that can give everyone a stake in Christmas.”\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe First Christmas\u003c\/i\u003e Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan—top Jesus scholars and authors of \u003ci\u003eThe Last Week\u003c\/i\u003e—help us see the real Christmas story buried in the familiar Bible accounts. Basing their interpretations on the two nativity narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Borg and Crossan explore the stories’ meaning in their first-century historical context, focusing on the inner truth—rather than literal historical facts—to offer a clear and uplifting message of hope and peace. With \u003ci\u003eThe First Christmas\u003c\/i\u003e readers get a fresh, deep, and new understanding of the nativity story, enabling us to better appreciate the powerful message of the Gospels.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis fascinating work of biblical scholarship unpacks the layers of meaning behind the familiar carols and pageants: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eHistorical Jesus Studies:\u003c\/b\u003e Go beyond the Sunday school story to see how the nativity accounts reflect the political and social realities of the first-century Roman Empire.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eMatthew vs. Luke:\u003c\/b\u003e A clear analysis of the two distinct, and often contradictory, Christmas stories, exploring why each was written and for whom.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eAnti-Imperial Theology:\u003c\/b\u003e Discover the surprising political message of Jesus’s birth as a direct challenge to the claims of Caesar Augustus.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eParabolic Overtures:\u003c\/b\u003e Learn to read the nativity narratives not as literal history, but as theological introductions that frame the major themes of each Gospel.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA Message of Hope:\u003c\/b\u003e Find a deeper, more resonant understanding of Christmas that moves beyond historical debates to uncover a powerful message of peace for today.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e | \u003cp\u003eIn \u003cem\u003eThe First Christmas\u003c\/em\u003e, two of today's top Jesus scholars, Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan, join forces to show how history has biased our reading of the nativity story as it appears in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. As they did for Easter in their previous book, \u003cem\u003eThe Last Week\u003c\/em\u003e, here they explore the beginning of the life of Christ, peeling away the sentimentalism that has built up over the last two thousand years around this most well known of all stories to reveal the truth of what the gospels actually say. Borg and Crossan help us to see this well-known narrative afresh by answering the question, \"What do these stories mean?\" in the context of both the first century and the twenty-first century. They successfully show that the Christmas story, read in its original context, is far richer and more challenging than people imagine.\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“The First Christmas enriches our understanding of Jesus in desperately needed ways.  Readers will find here profound and convincing insights into the meaning of Jesus’s birth—and life—for the early church and will be challenged to discern their meaning for the world today.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBrian McLaren, author of A New Kind of Christian and Everything Must Change\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Finding in the Nativity Stories not only poetry and piety but also parable and politics, Borg and Crossan recover the challenge of Christmas for the first century and the twenty-first.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAmy-Jill Levine, author of The Misunderstood Jew\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Borg and Crossan are evangelists of a modern reinterpretation of the Christian message. . . . The birth narratives in the gospels of Luke and Matthew are ‘overtures’ to the principal theme of the story of Jesus: ‘Do we think that peace on earth comes from Caesar or Christ?’ This juxtaposition of ‘peace through military victory’ (the empire) or ‘peace through justice’ (the kingdom of God) summarizes, for them, both the original gospel message and its relevance for us today. . . . Well-written and interesting.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDallas Morning News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“With meticulous scholarship and accessible language, “The first Christmas”... uncover(s) the genuine meaning of...the Birth of Jesus.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Progressive Christian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Extremely erudite, clearly written and densely packed with historical and literary material. Readers who make the effort to follow the authors’ explication will find the results quite impressive.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBiblical Archaeology Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Borg and Crossan re-examine the nativity stories through the lens of historical context, with a particularly close eye on the oppression of Jews by the Roman Empire of Caesar and King Herod. The thrust of the Gospels’ Christmas message, Borg and Crossan write, is the possibility heralded by Jesus of a world in which power and violence no longer reign, in which peace and compassion finally prevail. . . . Who could argue with the message the authors draw from the Bible’s Christmas stories? Light in the darkest time of the year, hope in a period of creeping despair—these are powerful and universal themes that can give everyone a stake in Christmas.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperOne","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44887810932965,"sku":"NP9780061430718","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780061430718.jpg?v=1730227517","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-first-christmas-what-the-gospels-really-teach-about-jesuss-birth-isbn-9780061430718","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}