Jesus was not born in a Barn

Or at least that's the cleverly and clearly argued conclusion of Stephen Carlson.

Check out the New Testament Studies article here or the convenient summary of his article here.

Thanks to Anthony Le Donne for highlighting this article here.

Irenaeus on Prophecy

I came across Irenaeus' description of prophecy and thought it worthy of sharing in light of the advent season and the readings of infancy narratives, particularly Matthew's, full of "fulfilled" scripture:

"If any one, therefore, reads the Scriptures with attention, he will find in them an account of Christ, and a foreshadowing of the new calling [. . .]. His human nature could not be understood, prior to the consummation of those things which had been predicted, that is, the advent of Christ. [. . .] For every prophecy, before its fulfilment, is to men [full of] enigmas and ambiguities. But when the time has arrived, and the prediction has come to pass, then the prophecies have a clear and certain exposition." (Against Heresies, 4.26.1; Translation ANF 1.496).