Were the Christmas stories meant to be history?

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

More episodes of Faith Lab

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Faith Lab podcast page.