Dr. Lane McGaughy at Vancouver 1st UMC

Vancouver First United Methodist Church is sponsoring Dr. Lane McGaughy to speak on the formation of the infancy, magi, and three kings narratives in the early centuries of the early Church. McGaughy is a professor emeritus in religious and ethical studies at Willamette University and was one of the founding Fellows of the Jesus Seminar. The presentation will be at 2pm on Sunday, January 11. We would encourage local church members and clergy to attend. We expect a great presentation and a lively discussion to follow. The presentation is free.
Christmas Royalty: Kings, Magi, and the Adoration of Jesus

Why are kings present in the accounts of the birth of Jesus in the Gospels? Surely the birth of a peasant’s son in remote Galilee would not have been noticed by King Herod or Caesar Augustus. And who were the magi in Matt. 2:1-12 and Infancy Gospel of James 21? Were they also kings? And how is all of this connected to Epiphany Day, the celebration on January 6 of God’s prophetic calling of Jesus following his baptism by John in Mark 1:9-11? A close reading of these texts reveals a subversive edge to the birth narratives, as it also shifts the emphasis from the birth of a peasant’s son to the worship of the divine child.
Brief Bio

Lane C. McGaughy is the George Atkinson Professor of Religious and Ethical Studies Emeritus at Willamette University in Salem, OR. He is also a founding Fellow of the Jesus Seminar and is currently serving as the Executive Director of the Westar Institute, a nonprofit scholarly association that sponsors research on the historical figure of Jesus and the origins of Christianity. He is a co-author of The Authentic Letters of Paul (Polebridge Press, 2010).