A 1994 60-minute documentary, part of the Mysteries of the Bible series, hosted by Richard Kiley and Jean Simmons. Executive Producer Brian Roos. Produced by David Frank.

Talking Heads include John Dominic Crossan (DePaul), Michael Cook (Gonzaga U), Ronald Huck (USC), Rev Daniel Harrington, Donald Hagner (Fuller Theological Seminary), Dr. Gregory Riley, and astronomer John Mosley (Griffith Observatory).

The show consists of footage of paintings depicting Christmas, mostly from the Middle Ages and early Renaissance, as well as some shots of modern day Bethlehem.

On the positive side, this show indicates that much of what is portrayed in the gospels cannot be verified and thus is left to faith. They also indicate that much of Matthew's gospel is based on OT prophecies and descriptions.

On the negative side, there are lots of errors. Here's a few:

• Matthew was writing his gospel in the year 66. First of all, there's no evidence that the gospel labeled "Matthew" was ever written by a person named Matthew, and even if it were, it certainly wasn't written as early as 66 AD.
• The bible equates "stable" with "manger". In fact, the manger refers to the water trouth that Jesus was placed in, not the stable, which in fact was more likely a cave.
• Herod killed the children because Jesus escaped into Egypt. First, there is no evidence for the "slaughter of the innocents", but even if there were, he would have had them killed to kill Jesus, not for revenge that Jesus escaped.
• Constantine was converted to Christianity early in the 4th Century. In fact, Constantine was converted on his death bed. He removed Christianity from the list of illegal religions in the early 4th Century, but remained a follower of Mithra right up until the bitter end.
• Constantine found the place where Jesus was born. In fact, it was his mother.
• Followers of Adonis began to worship the place where Jesus was said to be born after it was discovered by Constantine's mother. In fact, it was a shrine to Adonis before Constantine's mother arrived, which is how she found it.
• The Magi were 3 wise men. In fact, their number is never given. Later tradition created the legend of 3, and called them Kings.
• The virgin birth is at the heart of the Christian faith. Nonsense. The heart of the Christian faith is the resurrection. Even the Pope admits that the concept of the virgin birth is peripheral.
• The "star of Bethlehem" was a conjunction of Jupiter and Venus on June 17, 2 BC. First of all, there was no star. Second, Jesus was born in 6 BC before Herod's death, not after.