Dear Rev. Know-It-All,

I want to take exception to your last tirade.  I think it is clear that the Matthew account and the Luke account of the birth of Jesus differ significantly and I think it is reasonable to assume that the story of the magi is a literary device. 

Sincerely,

Isaiah Uterweis

Just because it is good literature doesn't mean it didn't happen. 

As for the discordant accounts, have you ever heard two different people describe the same wedding?  She talks about the dress.  He talks about the food and the open bar. 

The early Christian community was a small group that had easy access to good communication.  Roman roads made an ancient mail system that was quite effective.  Under certain circumstances it was easier to get a letter from the Holy Land then, than it is now.  The Gospel was primarily an oral reality.  The stories, sayings and the works of Jesus were well known and the Christian community probably numbered about 50,000 in its beginning and was concentrated in urban centers where communications were pretty good.

If somebody had made up something out of thin air, such as the story of the magi, I suspect the great majority of Christian leaders and teachers would have said, and I quote, “Huh?”   Still I think we waste a lot of time on both sides of the argument trying to prove that something did or did not happen.

My point is that the usual way for God to speak to us is through the Bible's text, so let as take it seriously.

Yours truly, 

Rev. Know-It-All