The modern Christmas themes of peace and joy were in short supply amid the ‘dislocation and danger’ of ancient Judea – as they are in today’s fractured world too.
Articles on Bethlehem
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A new Netflix biopic has resurfaced arguments over whether Jesus, a Jewish man, was Palestinian. Was he? Or are these claims cultural and political appropriation? A historian of religion explains.
Trees that produce resin for frankincense and myrrh – used for thousands of years in healthcare, worship and trade – are facing collapsing populations.
A conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn is giving rise to speculations that it is the same astronomical event as the biblical Star of Bethlehem. An expert explains why it is not.
Recent archaeological studies suggest that early Christians were identifying important sites as little as a century after the last of the gospels.
The differences in the Gospels are hard to reconcile. That’s because, says a scholar, they offer an important insight into the Greco-Roman views of ethnic identity.
Bethlehem looms large in our minds with the approach of Christmas. But the reality for people living there now or tourists wishing to visit the ancient city remains deeply politically fraught.
Banksy’s Walled Off Hotel invites us to consider the value of tourism as a political tool.
Top contributors
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Adjunct professor and adjunct senior lecturer in tourism management, Adelaide University
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Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Ferrum College
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Professor Emerita of Christian Origins and Second Temple Judaism, and Honorary Professor of the Australian Catholic University, King's College London; Australian Catholic University
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Lecturer in Plant Science, University College Cork
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Professor of Archaeology and History, University of Reading
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Assistant Professor of the New Testament, Vanguard University
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Emeritus Professor in the History of Religious Thought, The University of Queensland