Turns out the Christmas story you defend like it’s a court transcript doesn’t even work on its own historical terms. In part one, we take apart Nazareth, Bethlehem, and the Roman census Luke uses to move Jesus across the map—spoiler: historians aren’t impressed. In part two, we go underground into caves, kataluma, and the version of Jesus’ birth the early church actually remembered before we swapped risk for rustic décor. This isn’t an attack on Christmas. It’s an attack on the idea that faith only works if the floor plan is literal and the facts are fragile.

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