Part I
Chapter three of the book Norm talks a lot about the birth of Jesus as well as Mary and Joseph. He does a lot of comparing Matthew and Luke to each other because they both offer different sides to the birth narrative. Matthew focuses on Joseph where Luke focuses on Mary (92). We also learn shortly into the reading that there are two parallels that stand out: the miracle of Mary’s virginity and the location, Bethlehem. Along with that Norm struggles to try and find an answer about whether or not Jesus’ birth was a virgin birth or not (80-84). He then starts questioning himself and wonders how a “normal” conception would alter his perceptions of Jesus (85). When I think about that question it’s really hard to imagine how I would react. We’re so used to imagining Jesus as “perfect” but what if he wasn’t so perfect and not born of a virgin?
Part II
With trying to discover the truth about the virgin birth Norm looks to answers from Guilder. In this chapter there are a lot of conversations between Norm and Guilder as well as charts that compare the Gospels. Guilder goes on to give us several of his thoughts about the birth and one that really stood out was when he was suggesting about how Jesus’ birth may be illegitimate (82). It really took me by surprise that some people may believe that Mary was seduced or raped. Other than the virgin birth the other main question Norm has is about the census that Luke brings up. In Luke 2:2 the census is what brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem (100). Norm struggles to find an answer and discovers that there is no real evidence that that was true. By the end of this chapter Norm discovers that his historical quest for Jesus won’t avoid a literary quest for the Gospels (102).
Chapter three of the book Norm talks a lot about the birth of Jesus as well as Mary and Joseph. He does a lot of comparing Matthew and Luke to each other because they both offer different sides to the birth narrative. Matthew focuses on Joseph where Luke focuses on Mary (92). We also learn shortly into the reading that there are two parallels that stand out: the miracle of Mary’s virginity and the location, Bethlehem. Along with that Norm struggles to try and find an answer about whether or not Jesus’ birth was a virgin birth or not (80-84). He then starts questioning himself and wonders how a “normal” conception would alter his perceptions of Jesus (85). When I think about that question it’s really hard to imagine how I would react. We’re so used to imagining Jesus as “perfect” but what if he wasn’t so perfect and not born of a virgin?
Part II
With trying to discover the truth about the virgin birth Norm looks to answers from Guilder. In this chapter there are a lot of conversations between Norm and Guilder as well as charts that compare the Gospels. Guilder goes on to give us several of his thoughts about the birth and one that really stood out was when he was suggesting about how Jesus’ birth may be illegitimate (82). It really took me by surprise that some people may believe that Mary was seduced or raped. Other than the virgin birth the other main question Norm has is about the census that Luke brings up. In Luke 2:2 the census is what brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem (100). Norm struggles to find an answer and discovers that there is no real evidence that that was true. By the end of this chapter Norm discovers that his historical quest for Jesus won’t avoid a literary quest for the Gospels (102).
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