I am here, Jesus:

Here I am, again, to write you about the defects in the New Testament as we have been doing, and since we have to continue with the work, I will go ahead and write to you a number of these dealing with my early life.

Now, the first thing I wish to tell you about is the Star of Bethlehem, which in reality was not a star at all but an exploding nova, or supernova, which caused considerable light in the eastern skies over Tyre and Babylonia but not in Judea or Israel; and the three Wise Men who saw this exploding supernova in the heavens, being astrologers with a knowledge of an ancient Chaldean astrological lore, determined that a great event was to take place as a result of the appearance of the great light in the heavens. And in their readings of the Hebrew writings with which they were familiar, and also with Hebrew circles in Assyria, they determined upon a visit to Judea where it was predicted that a Messiah of the Hebrews and for all mankind was to be born.

This seemed to them all the more true since the light seemed to point in a westerly direction and they set out for Jerusalem, the capital of Judea, rather than Israel or Galilee. And it was a long time before they reached Jerusalem owing to the preparations for the trip and the actual trip across the Arabian desert; and the light was no longer with them, having disappeared, having been seen in the eastern skies for several weeks and caused great excitement and anxiety in the land.

They purchased gifts of myrrh and frankincense in addition to a small amount of gold while on their way across the desert in one of the Arabian cities, for the three Wise Men felt that since they did not know exactly what to offer a Hebrew Messiah, to offer something that the Arabians, whom they felt were closer to in kinship to the Hebrews, I would favor, and for this reason the gifts that the three Wise Men offered to me at my birth were not particularly of a Hebrew character in the way of gifts to newborn infants, nor were they especially Persian or Chaldean, but Arabian.

When the Wise Men entered Jerusalem, they went first to the Temple and inquired about the birth of "the Hebrew Messiah for all mankind," one who would be "King of the Jews." And the high priests sent the three astrologers to Herod, for they feared any mention of a "King of the Jews" was political in nature and might be offensive to Herod, with whom they were allied for the maintenance of the status quo in Jerusalem. Herod took alarm and his queries as to the date of the so-called "Star of Bethlehem" were made in order to determine the ages of the Hebrew children of Bethlehem that he would have put to the sword to eliminate any chance of the appearance of this Messiah from the prophecies.

The three Wise Men were able to make their way to Bethlehem to pay their respects to me at my birth, but the appearance of them was due to an event that had taken place in the eastern heavens two years before. At the time of my birth, which was shortly after midnight of January 7, there was no star of great light that guided the three men to Bethlehem nor did the shepherds who were watching their sheep see anything unusual, neither did they see any angels to announce the birth of a Messiah, for there was no Messiah until I had obtained that sufficiency of the Divine Love in my soul that enabled me to have knowledge of my immortality and until I had been anointed as the Christ by John's baptism for me; and the fact is that although it was destined for me to be the Messiah, as I now know, yet the fact is that if my free will had not acted in accordance with the Will of the Heavenly Father there would not have been a Messiah, the Father having left the destiny of my life to my own making and choosing.

But as it was known that a woman was giving birth in a stable on the outskirts of the village, and because my father went out to proclaim the birth of his first born and to invite these shepherds to a bit of wine and cake provided by the owners and paid for by my father, because a bit of festivity is usual amongst the Jews at the birth of a child, especially a son, these shepherds appeared at my birth and there was the usual celebration over the birth of a son, with song and praises to God and thanksgiving for the safe delivery of the mother and well being of the child itself.

And from these joyful moments a legend has been built up regarding the circumstances of my birth in which the supernatural element so beloved by the later writers of the New Testament has been dwelt upon, and causing skepticism among people who seek their religion immersed in reason and reality, and devoid of the legendary and, shall I add, false.

I thought I would write you about these things because my early life is that portion of my life which is most shrouded in ignorance and mystery and needs considerable explanation. I should like to stop now and continue with my educational life and study of the Scriptures under the tutelage of the Heavenly Father, and trace the course of my absolute conviction that I was possessed of the Father's Love and was the promised Messiah to the Hebrews and to all mankind.

I shall stop now and say good night, but not before greeting my good friend the Doctor* and blessing you both with my love and praying to the Father to send unto you His Divine Love in wonderful portions.

Your friend and elder brother, who loves you both and who urges you to keep praying for the Divine Love,

Jesus of the Bible.

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* Dr. Leslie R. Stone.