"Christ" born in a cave, a stable, or ...?

Findings during the search for the precise location of Jesus' birthplace further undercut any argument for his Semitic-Hebrew-Jewish background, and open up an entirely new set of leads.

The Biblical Dictionary says: "We do not know when and where Jesus was born." In the four canonized gospels, Luke, Saul's secretary and associate, is the only one who, in accordance with the Messaic ideology and the effort to force Jesus' Jewish lineage, says that Mary gave birth in a stable:

"...Also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)... To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:4, 7).

Other than the bracketed insertion referring to David's lineage and the non-existent “city of David, which is called Bethlehem,” there are other serious problems with Luke's story, beginning with Jesus' parents' supposed travel from (today's) Nazareth to the "city of David which is called Bethlehem." First, nowhere can we find a city called Nazareth around the time of Jesus' birth (believed to be August 11th, 6 BC). Second, pragmatic history reveals that such a trip would fail even today if it were attempted in the manner described by Luke. Today's Nazareth is more than 140 kilometers form Jerusalem in a straight line. Considering the terrain, the distance by road could have been double that. And the village of Beth-Lomon, (renamed Bethlehem centuries later), the so-called City of David was even farther. Therefore, Mary would have had to travel some 2-300 kilometers riding on a burrow (as traditionally depicted), or via any other existing mode of transportation, in her state of advanced pregnancy. Considering the estimated speed of a burrow, or even that of a caravan over long distances, the trip would have taken her weeks to complete—if she were to survive at all in her condition and not miscarry. And, of course, she would have had to pay for food and accommodation for herself, Joseph and, possibly, the animals every night, all out of a carpenter's wages. And then there is the taxation absurdity: Judea, Samaria and Galilee are three, separate jurisdictions. So even if taxation of individuals were in effect—and there is no evidence that it was—the idea of a resident being taxed in a different jurisdiction 2-300 kilometers away is plain absurd. All in all, Luke's fantastic story is not even plausible.

Another evangelist, Matthew, briefly references or suggest Jesus' birthplace:

"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem" (2:1). [No records exist of the magi calling on Herod, in Jerusalem or anywhere else, nor is there any mention of such records.]

Mark calls Nazareth Jesus' hometown (6:1); and John suggests that Jesus is from Galilee (47:41). Since today's Nazareth is in Galilee, we can infer from the canonized gospels that Mary's residence is in Galilee. (A look ahead: The name Jesus of Nazareth is but a fabrication because no such town existed [See below]. The Jews had no idea who Jesus was, so they could not call him by name. All they knew was that he was from Galilee. So whenever he healed the sick or performed other miracles, the Jews called out, “nazarit,” meaning holy man. Since this was a term the rabbis and Jewish priest-princes demanded exclusively for themselves, they were infuriated when their own people called the man the high-priests of the Temple of Jerusalem had declared a demon a “Holy Man.”)

The traditional Christian belief is that Jesus was born in a cave or a stable with animals breathing on him to keep him warm, where the magi came to visit him. In our search for the origin of the "born in a cave or stable" belief, we can find no such reference until the time of Justin in the second half of the second century. What we do find is that Constantin's mother, Helena, reveres and prays to the Greek-Roman god Chrestos, (Osiris, the Egyptian sun-deity), a word for “good.” Once Constantine stops persecuting worshipers of Chrestos, he orders that the until now ridiculed sun-deity is to be worshiped as the Son of God, and that a day in his honor, “Sun-Day,” be the day of rest (321 AD). That is when his mother hastily goes to the "Holy Land" to look for a cave in the small town the Jews point out to her as the City of David, and decrees it to be Chrestos' birthplace. She finds a convenient cave and immediately has a church built on top of it. It is this noble gesture on her part that starts the official worship of the Egyptian sun-deity, Chrestos in former Judea. Little does she know that in less than 100 years, the Saul-Paulists will hijack her sun-god and appropriate his name, reintroducing it in Rome as Christos (note the spelling), the Greek translation of the Jews' word for Messiah (anointed one) (Note: The Hungarian word for Christian does not derive from the word Christ: It derives from the cross within a circle, known as the Hun Cross, “Avar” Cross and Celtic Cross, symbolizing the sun. Judeo-Christianity appropriates the cross symbol in the 3-4th century AD and also nails Jesus onto it—the crucifix—as a subliminal warning to opponents of Jewish authority.)

Now that we know when, how, and by whom the stable or cave idea was conceived—as well as the origin of the name Christ (Christos)—let us see what others say about the site of Jesus' birth. The Jerusalem Talmud says: "Jesus was born in the Royal Palace of Bethlehem" (Ber. ii 5). (Note: There is no trace or mention of any royal palace in Beth-lomon [later renamed Bethlehem], Judea, during Jesus' time. Therefore, the Talmud must be referring to another Bethlehem.) And if we start looking in the direction of a royal palace, then we can put to rest any myth of Jesus being born in a cave or stable.

The idea of a palace as Jesus' birthplace opens up a whole new perspective into the lineage of the Son of God. And in this perspective, the luxurious glassware depicted on the table in Leonardo daVinci's painting, The Last Supper, begins to make sense. And there is more, much more. Christians who find it difficult to consider Jesus as royalty, rather than the son of a Jewish carpenter, might want to heed Jesus' encouragement: "Seek and you shall find me;" "Search the Scriptures!" and "The Truth will set you free." So, in that spirit, let us seek and search for the historical “Prince of Bethlehem.“