Bethlehem, the Year Jesus Was Born: Unwrapping the Theology Behind Christmas
Series: Organic Faith, Book 2
By: Scott Douglas / Narrated By: Gary Whitaker
Length: 2 hrs and 34 mins
Scripture-laden, except when Douglas merrily goes off-script. Enjoyable!
Okay, here’s a shameless plug for the magNIFicent Chirpbooks.com: Dude! you can absoLUTEly NOT read a Publisher’s Summary but can purchase an audiobook for, like, cheeeeap via one o’ their Limited Time Deals based solely on, like, cover art… or title…
So you see, knowing that we here at Audiobook Accomplice are so very fond of our Special Occasions and that I am >ahem< a trifle manic as all heck when it comes to Christmas, a title such as Bethlehem, the Year Jesus Was Born had me chucking the pittance of a price tag, all with nary a thought as to what it might be. I mean, consider it: I do a LOT of popular secular-types of Christmas stuff, so to get an audiobook that has, like, Jesus? The Reason for the Season (Just don’t get m’ husband started with his Happy Saturnalia! crowing… sigh…)?
ON IT!!!
And when I listened to it, oh my gosh. I truly think it should come with a bit of a warning because it indicated that author Scott Douglas has a sense of humor, and he obviously believes in a Loving -and- INCLUSIVE God! Seriously, the man has Scripture to back his quips and statements… for the most part… and then he wildly swings out and takes swipes at individuals who go to Church on Sunday and then would throw their fellow man to the wolves on Monday. Dude, what’s not to love over on this end?
Okay, and this is where I add my Part 2 of buying sans info, all willy nilly, when there’s a sale: I reeeally thought this was going to be a Scripture-based look at Bethlehem the Year Jesus Was Born. Uhm, it’s not.
Rather, this is a breaking down of Christmas and what Scripture does and does not tell us. It starts with the Virgin Birth scenario and why it shows up in only two of the Gospels. The Gospels were written with different audiences in mind, and in one it is to edify a group of people who truly need to have the word Incarnation sussed out for them. To Douglas, the Virgin Birth is the Word of God (Sinless) made Flesh. I always flinch when I consider Dogma that cannot bear Mary as anything other than Completely and Unutterably Without Sin for, like, her enTIRe life. So I’m outing m’self as a Catholic who developed a disTINCt Squid’s Eye along the way.
Fortunately, author Douglas has room for those of us who flinch and squint, and he embraces ALL of those of us who listen/read his work. His is an amiable stance, an openness for all the flock to be included. And this tone is throughout the 2 1/2-hours of this book. My favorite part was the manner in which he addressed Joseph. In Scripture, Joseph was here and there referred to as a 90+ year old man who took on a 12-year old Mary to be his bride, but he had the decency to wait until she was 14 to marry her. Now, what I like is that, from my early Catholic upbringing, where was Joseph? To me, he had to be The. Most. LOVING man on the face of this earth to stick around and love without anything in it for him. Indeed, Douglas posits that Joseph and Mary in all likelihood suffered greatly from her being with child before marriage, so that remaining united was an act of love and faithfulness to both each other and to God.
Plus? Douglas offers that some of the best traits of Jesus could come only from what he was exposed to. Namely, a loving and compassionate and hardworking Joseph who did what he could to provide for his family and their safety.
Narrator Gary Whitaker does an admirable job in the blending of tongue-in-cheekiness with dead seriousness. Douglas offers lines like: Why was it important that Mary married Joseph and not Joe the Plumber? Now, that could conceeeeivably be taken as a bit sacrilegious but by the time that line’s gotten to, Whitaker has carried a LOT of the lighter lines written, and he’s balanced it all with the more sober and compelling concepts, so that on my end, at least, I didn’t shudder and feel a bolt of lightning was headed my way. Nah, Whitaker made this a vastly enjoyable Listen as I believe it was meant to be.
Douglas offers it all up earnestly but not in the mode of: I’m Out To Kill Your Fun Traditions.
So this might not be the Serious Scripture-Laden Listen you might be after this Season (Indeed, sometimes he goes waaay off-Scripture with his attitudes; and sometimes? He offers Scripture knowing just how brutal it might sound to Modern Ears). If you ARE looking for a non-secular contemplation, look to ANY Max Lucado.
But if you want a bit of knowledge offered without being shamed, or having your Squid’s Eye upset? -AND- if you’re up for a bit of a chuckle, and a LOT of Compassion?
Dude, you could do worse than to give Bethlehem, the Year Jesus Was Born a Listen.
It’s a nice thing, a good thing, to smile and feel a lightness of heart during the Season, especially since it’s a Celebration of the Birth of a pretty fanTAStic Reason!
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