Closer to The Real Christmas Story: Insights into the biblical text, history, culture and geography

by Jared Burkholder

Closer to The Real Christmas Story explores an alternate telling of the popular Christmas narrative. Much more than a children's Christmas story book, readers of all ages will be challenged to take a closer look at what the biblical text does and does not say, what historically we do and do not know with relative certainty, and culturally what we should and should not expect logically. Read and studied individually, as a family or in a small group, this discipleship tool will promote healthy dialogue, sharpen critical thinking skills and develop principles of Bible interpretation.

110 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2012

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Closer to the Real Christmas Story by Jared Burkholder gets 5 stars from me. This is a direct quote from the book “ Christmas is without question the most festive event on the Christian calendar, and the birth of Jesus is arguably one of the most popular Bible stories”. That said is what this book is about, it explains that the traditions beliefs that Jesus was born in a barn and that the “Three Wise men” came after Jesus was a young child instead of an infant might not have happen the way we have been taught. The author does said The Bible is true, it is just the way we have believed the Christmas story. The book is divided into two main sections, The first half is the story itself in 16 short chapters and the second half consists of endnotes and commentary. The endnotes factually and Biblically cross-reference and /or logically discuss specific aspects of the story. The chapters are each illustrated with a water color picture by professional artist Heather Marx. The points he made really could have been the way it was and not the way it is told in Sunday School. Again He doesn’t say Jesus isn’t real, just saying maybe some things really aren’t the way they have been portrayed. I received a complimentary copy of, (Closer to The Real Christmas Story) as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team.
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[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

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I received a complimentary copy of Closer to The Real Christmas Story as a member of the Dorrance Publishing Book Review Team. Visit dorrancebookstore.com to learn how you can become a member of the Book Review Team.

Closer to The Real Christmas Story is a great reminder of why we celebrate Christmas. It discusses the birth of Christ and why Christ was born. Though at first glance, it looks like it could be a children's Christmas storybook, Closer... can actually be read by both adults and older children alike. The language is not difficult and the story is a smooth read. It is broken into very small chapters of 2-3 pages with what you could call a moral at the end of each chapter. Each chapter ends with a thought and a prayer that sums up what you were supposed to take away from the chapter. This can be an especially good feature for a book club or Sunday school that is reading this book around Christmas time. The chapters are so individual that chapters can be picked and chosen for special purposes (lectures, discussions, etc) to reach a certain topic for discussion.

I would recommend this book for book discussions more so than individual reading though that isn't to say that this book is useless for individual reading. It just seems better fit for groups.