Apr 3, 2012 -- 4:55PM, BillWitt wrote:

Apr 1, 2012 -- 10:34AM, theinterpreter wrote:

For starters, He was born in Bethlehem, fulfilling a Messiah prophecy in MIcah 5:2

Interpreter, where did you get the crazy idea that Micah 5.2 was a prophecy about the Messiah being born in Bethlehem??  It wasn't.  Haven't you read and studied your Bible carefully.  Neither a TOWN, or the TOWN of Bethlehem was ever mentioned in Micah 5.2.  Go back and read it carefully.  No mention of any TOWN, and no mention of the town of Bethlehem.  There is no prophecy anywhere in the OT claiming the Messiah would be born in the TOWN of Bethlehem. 

If Micah 5.2 should even be considered a prophecy about the Messiah (it's shouldn't be), it said that he would "come forth" from Bethlehem-Ephratah.  Bethlehem-Ephratah was not a town, it was the CLAN of Bethlehem and his father Ephratah.  You can find more information about Bethlehem, his father Ephratah, and their clan in 1 Chr.2:18, 2:50-52, and 4:4. 

In the poorly translated Greek writing in the Septuagint (this is what the author of Matthew was using - he apparantly couldn't read Hebrew), it is unclear what Bethlehem-Ephratah was referring to.  He made an error in thinking it was a town.  It was not, it was a CLAN.  The English translation is not clear either on what is meant by Bethlehem-Ephratah.  In all of the earliest Hebrew writings of Micah 5.2, it is very clear that it is a CLAN, and not a town.  Here is Micah 5.2 (5.1) from the Hebrew writings of the Tanakh.

Tanakh, Micah 5:1; And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah-you should have been the lowest of the CLANS of Judah-from you [he] shall emerge for Me, to be a ruler over Israel; and his origin is from of old, from days of yore.

Well, great Interpreter, you blow it again, as usual.  You don't know what the heck you're talking about.  You haven't even read, or studied your Bible carefully. 

A more important question, Interpreter, is why do you consider anything in the Gospel of Matthew to be true??  It's not!  It is a fictional story madeup by some unknown author 50 years after the supposed death of Jesus who didn't know him (if he did exist), apparently didn't know Hebrew, didn't know Jewish believe about the Messiah, didn't know Jewish institutions like the Sanhedrin, and didn't even seem to know the region of Palestine very well.  His writing have hundreds of contradictions with other parts of the Bible, as well as many false statement and false stories, and there is no evidence anywhere that any of his stories about Jesus are actually true.  Why do you assume that they are??  Have you been brainwashed?

Apr 3, 2012 -- 4:59PM, Tpaine wrote:

Apr 2, 2012 -- 7:01PM, theinterpreter wrote:

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but not on December 25th. The Star in the East (I.e, Venus) appeared over Bethlehem near high noon on March 27th, 4BC (during a solar eclipse).

There was no total solar eclipse in the year 4 BCE. There was a partial solar eclipse on March 8, 4 BCE, but it was only visible south of Australia. There was a lunar eclipse on March 23, 4 BCE and according to Josephus Herod the Great died between the date of that eclipse and Passover of that year. Link

Distant Suns shows a near-total solar eclipse over Jerusalem and Bethlehem on March 27. 4BC

Apr 4, 2012 -- 5:34PM, theinterpreter wrote:

 Why are you blaming me? It was King Herod and his wise men who said the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem.

No, I'm blaming you.  You said that Micah 5.2 was a prophecy for the Messiah being born in Bethlehem.  This was your claim, and I don't care what anyone else claimed.  No matter what they claimed, you should have known better if you had read and studied your Bible carefully.  

Apr 4, 2012 -- 5:20PM, theinterpreter wrote:

Apr 3, 2012 -- 4:59PM, Tpaine wrote:

Apr 2, 2012 -- 7:01PM, theinterpreter wrote:

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but not on December 25th. The Star in the East (I.e, Venus) appeared over Bethlehem near high noon on March 27th, 4BC (during a solar eclipse).

There was no total solar eclipse in the year 4 BCE. There was a partial solar eclipse on March 8, 4 BCE, but it was only visible south of Australia. There was a lunar eclipse on March 23, 4 BCE and according to Josephus Herod the Great died between the date of that eclipse and Passover of that year. Link

Distant Suns shows a near-total solar eclipse over Jerusalem and Bethlehem on March 27. 4BC

And NASA says there wasn't. I'll go with actual scientists rather than a software designer named Mike Smithwick

Oh my goodness, he really is getting his astrology from a software designer!

theinterpreter, you need to get your information from a legitimate scholarly site, as TPaine suggested, NASA. Double check (or triple check) everything that comes from a non-traditional site published by people without acceptable education and background who are not respected by those within the field.