Anon appear three bearded and richly costumed men, with presents in
their hands, bowing their heads in ecstatic adoration. Surely enough
this is not history: It does not read like history. The element of
fiction runs through the entire Gospels, and is its warp and woof.
A careful analysis of the various incidents in this _ensemble_ will
not fail to convince the unprejudiced reader that while they possess
all the essentials for dramatic presentation, they lack the
requirements of real history.

The "opened-heavens," "angel-choirs," "grazing flocks," "watchful
shepherds," "worshiping magicians," "the stable crib," "the mother and
child," "the wonderful star," "the presents," "the anthem"--all these,
while they fit admirably as stage setting, are questionable material
for history. No historical person was ever born in so spectacular a
manner. The Gospel account of Jesus is an embellished, ornamental,
even sensationally dramatic creation to serve as an introduction for a
legendary hero. Similar theatrical furniture has been used thousands
of times to introduce other legendary characters. All the Savior Gods
were born supernaturally. They were all half god, half man. They were
all of royal descent. Miracles and wonders attended their birth. Jesus
was not an exception. We reject as mythical the birth-stories about
Mithra, and Apollo. Why accept as history those about Jesus? It rests
with the preachers of Christianity to show that while the god-man of
Persia, or of Greece, for example, was a myth, the god-man of
Palestine is historical.

The dramatic element is again plainly seen in the account of the
betrayal of Jesus. Jesus, who preaches daily in the temples, and in
the public places; who talks to the multitude on the mountain and at
the seaside; who feeds thousands by miracle; the report of whose