{"id":11721,"date":"2012-12-24T09:02:35","date_gmt":"2012-12-24T14:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=11721"},"modified":"2012-12-24T09:02:35","modified_gmt":"2012-12-24T14:02:35","slug":"what-the-wise-men-forgot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/12\/what-the-wise-men-forgot.html","title":{"rendered":"What The Wise Men Forgot"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><div class=\"separator\" style=\"clear: both;text-align: none\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/files\/2012\/12\/wpid-Photo-Dec-24-2012-805-AM.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/files\/2012\/12\/wpid-Photo-Dec-24-2012-805-AM.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\"><\/a><\/div>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I saw the image above on Facebook and wanted to share it here. The Gospel of Matthew depicts the magi coming to Bethlehem when Jesus is around 2 years old. For all their reputation as \u201cwise men\u201d they didn\u2019t exactly bring practical gifts. Whether he might have already been potty trained is more of a type of question \u2013 Luke depicts the young Jesus as ahead of the curve. And the figures in the image look a bit more like the traditional depiction of Luke\u2019s shepherds than Matthew\u2019s magi. But would shepherds watching their flocks by night have diapers with them?<\/p>\n<p>At any rate, I thought that the image was more than just an amusing bit of Christmas humor. For many Christians, it can be a decisive test of whether or not they are heretics. If the idea of Jesus needing diapers, or having bowel movements, is offensive or outlandish to you, your Jesus is a figure of your imagination and not a real human being. And that is directly contrary not only to the Chalcedonian Creed, but more importantly, the historical evidence.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 I saw the image above on Facebook and wanted to share it here. The Gospel of Matthew depicts the magi coming to Bethlehem when Jesus is around 2 years old. For all their reputation as \u201cwise men\u201d they didn\u2019t exactly bring practical gifts. Whether he might have already been potty trained is more of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":11720,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[131,11,32,34,42,146],"tags":[1209,1852,2668,4098,4103,7932,11198,13799],"class_list":["post-11721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christianity-religion","category-christology","category-gospel-of-luke","category-gospel-of-matthew","category-humor","category-incarnation","tag-birth","tag-christmas","tag-diapers","tag-gospel-of-luke","tag-gospel-of-matthew","tag-nativity","tag-shepherds","tag-wise-men"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What The Wise Men Forgot<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&nbsp; I saw the image above on Facebook and wanted to share it here. 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