What do we actually know about Jesus’ childhood? Not much.
The canonical Gospels say surprisingly little about the birth and early life of Jesus. Matthew gives us only a few verses about the Magi. Luke tells us about the manger and one story of Jesus at the temple at age twelve. After that, the story goes silent.
But early Christians were not satisfied with the silence.
In the centuries after the New Testament was written, believers began creating new stories to answer the questions the Gospels left unexplored. Who was Mary before the birth of Jesus? What was Jesus like as a child? Who were the Magi really?
In this episode of The Dig In Podcast, Johnny Ova sits down with Eric Vanden Eykel, Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Ferrum College and author of The Magi: Who They Were, How They’ve Been Remembered, and Why They Still Fascinate. Dr. Vanden Eykel is a leading scholar of early Christian apocryphal literature and has spent years studying the texts that shaped Christian tradition but never made it into the Bible.
Together we explore the fascinating world of early Christian writings, including:
• The Protevangelium of James and how it shaped what Christians believe about Mary
• Why the three kings of the Christmas story are not actually in the Bible
• The Infancy Gospel of Thomas and the strange stories about Jesus’ childhood miracles
• How early Christians filled in the gaps left by the Gospels
• Why some texts became Scripture while others did not
• How tradition helped create the nativity story most people picture today
This conversation takes us into the questions early Christians were asking, the stories they wrote to answer them, and what those stories reveal about the development of Christian belief.
Check out one of the latest books by Dr. Eric Vanden Eykel.
The Magi: Who They Were, How They’ve Been Remembered, and Why They Still Fascinate- https://a.co/d/0avwBxrt
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