Embedded into the Christmas story, and in the birth and narrative of Jesus into this

world, is a dark story of loss and of tragedy, of tears and of pain.

Matthew 2.16 has been traditionally called the massacre of the innocence.

There were told about the killing of all boys two years old and younger in the region

of Bethlehem.

The event is deeply unsettling, but it's also part of the historical record of the birth

of Christ.

Or is it?

Did this actually happen historically, or was this massacre of the innocence story invented

by the early Christians?

And if the event is historically real, if such a public slaughter really happened, why

are there no other historical records to corroborate the event?

For answers, we welcome special guest, Dr. Paul Meyer, a widely respected historian, and

what will be a little longer of an episode than usual.

Until his retirement, Dr. Meyer served as the Russell H. Seabirt Professor of Ancient

History at Western Michigan University, and he is the author of many fictional books,

and many non-fiction books, including in the fullness of time, a historian looks at

Christmas, Easter, and the early church, as well as several books for children, including

the very first Christmas.

Dr. Meyer, thanks for joining us.

I want to ask you if Matthew 2.16 really happened in history.

There's a question mark on this event, of course, but before we go there, who is this

...