The Conversation - Was Jesus really born in Bethlehem?

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Even though Christmas festivities are muted this year, Nativity scenes common in Christian households continue to recreate a familiar biblical story: The three wise men, a guiding star and Joseph and Mary surround the baby Jesus. In the backdrop is Bethlehem, a small town in the Palestinian West Bank, considered, in popular lore, to be the place where he was born.

The story was part of my childhood, and I too associated Jesus with Bethlehem. But was he really born there? Fuller Theological Seminary’s Rodolfo Galvan Estrada III explores the Gospels’ varying and contradictory descriptions of Jesus’ birth and explains how Bethlehem became so important to the story told and sung every year at Christmas.

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Kalpana Jain

Senior Religion + Ethics Editor

A doll representing the infant Jesus in St. Catherine’s, the Franciscan church in the town of Bethlehem. David Silverman/Getty Images

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The Conversation - Was Jesus really born in Bethlehem?

Was Jesus really born in Bethlehem? Why the Gospels disagree over the circumstances of Christ’s birth

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Oppression in the kitchen, delight in the dining room: The story of Caesar, an enslaved chef and chocolatier in Colonial Virginia

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Here’s why Christmas movies are so appealing this holiday season

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