EPISODE · Dec 25, 2025 · 4 MIN
No Room in the Inn. An Alternative Nativity Story. (Probably more accurate than the one you learned as a kid).
from StocktonAfterClass · host Ronald Stockton
Send us Fan MailWhen I was in Turkey I visited a caravan serai. It was a place where a caravan would stop along the way. (And where travelers could find a place to spend the night). When we read that there was "no room in the inn" and Mary had to deliver in the stable, what does that mean? I suspect it was not nearly as harsh as I learned when I was a kid. Two updates might be helpfulFirst, scholars have not found evidence of a caravan serai in Bethlehem. Second, scholars believe that many stories in the Bible are metaphors, not facts. Some scholars believe that Jesus was not born in Bethlehem. That is more like one of the parables of Jesus, which everyone recognizes is a story designed to make a point
What this episode covers
Send us Fan Mail When I was in Turkey I visited a caravan serai. It was a place where a caravan would stop along the way. (And where travelers could find a place to spend the night). When we read that there was "no room in the inn" and Mary had to deliver in the stable, what does that mean? I suspect it was not nearly as harsh as I learned when I was a kid. Two updates might be helpful First, scholars have not found evidence of a caravan serai in Bethlehem.&nbs...
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No Room in the Inn. An Alternative Nativity Story. (Probably more accurate than the one you learned as a kid).
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