God With Us: Seeing the Christmas Stories with Fresh Eyes - Paula Gooder (2019)

Renowned New Testament scholar, Dr Paula Gooder, unravels some of what the well-loved and familiar Christmas stories really tell us about Jesus' birth and why God chose this ludicrously risky way to redeem the world. Recorded at St Paul's Cathedral on 27 November 2019.

[@chrismacbruithin4532]

Wonderful!Thank you St Paul’s for making these talks by giants available to all of us online!

[@amandabeck8405]

Love this so much. thank you Paula

[@douglasthain2920]

Brilliant - Thank you so much, Laura!

[@PopGoesTheology]

Thanks, St Paul's! The highlight for me was this bit 21:22 to 27:37. She really makes it accessible to the person in the pew.

[@jamesbarker5326]

If God is with us why does so much suffering continue. Why the destruction of the planet. What is the purpose of God if not to address these issues.

[@v.jonathanhartfield8458]

The precariousness of the birth story is reflected in the pregnancy itself. It was an unmarried mother to a couple in a low socio-economic group. Mary was 13 or 14 years old, too young to be safe, better 16 - 18 yrs. It was a first pregnancy, - a second pregnancy so much safer and easier. That long walk or ride in the last part of her pregnancy was risking low birth weight and pre eclampsia. Birth in a ' stable' down stairs with all the risk of neonatal tetanus for the baby , and puerperal infection for the mother. No family around to give her encouragement and help, - only strangers, did the village midwife come to help? one hopes so. It was very much 'woman's business' but did Joseph have to help? And after the birth, more difficult to establish feeding with a first baby, even more difficult in overcrowded conditions. Escape to Egypt would possibly still be in the time of lactation - 22-24 months. It was a high-risk pregnancy as we would call it now , the only mitigating factor being that it was planned. But looking at it as an obstetrician it was risky planning. For best survival He should have been a girl! So precarious as Matthew implies and identification with the least fortunate in our world. jonathan Hartfield.