
Were the Christmas stories meant to be history?
From Faith Lab by Nate Hanson & Shelby Hanson
February 18, 2026 · 26 min · Episode 6
About this episode
The episode discusses the interpretation of ancient birth narratives and whether they were intended as historical accounts.
For decades, scholars have claimed that ancient birth narratives were never meant to be taken as history. Then one scholar went and actually read them.
People in this episode
Hosts: Nate Hanson, Shelby Hanson
Topics covered
- Christmas stories
- birth narratives
- historical interpretation
- scholarship
- religion
- spirituality
Keywords
- Christmas
- birth narratives
- history
- scholars
- interpretation
- religion
- spirituality
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Christmas stories
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- What if the Gospels are more reliable than you were told? · March 25, 2026 · 20 min
- After the apostles died, did the faith survive? · March 18, 2026 · 13 min
- N.T. Wright: Christians don't go to heaven? (Part 2) · March 11, 2026 · 21 min
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