Is the Bible Totally reliable ? The Nativity

Well, there are even more problems than that. Any birth date would have to meet certain critieria. According to the gospels, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist when he (Jesus) was about 30 and during his (Jesus’) ministry, John was executed/ beheading by order of Herod (Herod Antipas). If you check Josephus, you will find that he reports John’s death to be around the year 36 CE (this is arrived at obliquely by observing the defeat of Herod by his former father-in-law and the subsequent Roman action in support of Herod that occurred in 37 CE). Luke reports that John began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius’ reign (about 28 CE) and it is believed that John’s ministry lasted only 6 months before his words on Herod’s marriage to Herodias angered Herod and resulted in his being imprisoned. The date would also have to support Jesus being tried before Pontius Pilate. Pilate was recalled to Rome and left in late 36 CE or early 37 CE. It is believed that one reason the Roman Army that supported Herod wintered in Judea was to put Pilate’s replacement in office and send Pilate packing back to Rome. It should now be fairly evident that none of the dates predicated by the gospels (Matthew and Luke) come anywhere near meeting all the criteria necessary. Dates that correspond with Herod the Great’s reign would be much too early and would have Jesus beginning his ministry prior to John the Baptist, and dying prior to John the Baptist, not to mention being prior to Quintilus being in office. If you go by Luke and accept a date during the term of Quintilus, then the dates offered by Matthew can’t be met, plus Jesus would not have begun his ministry until the year John was executed and the final year of Pilates term in office (that is utilizing the earliest day of Quintilus term - 6 CE). There is no way that the gospels can be telling the truth about the birth (or for that matter the death) of Jesus of Nazareth (we won’t even go into the lack of existence of this town in 1st century CE.)