The 'Christmas Story' as we know it, is derived from a mixture of carols and carol services, nativity plays, children's Bibles and paintings. The Bible itself offers two stories, each quite different from the other, not just in detail, but in tone. Neither of them is reproduced in the familiar Christmas story, and indeed, that story sometimes runs counter to the biblical text. This book, which incorporates some of the authors own stories and poems on the Christmas theme, begins by examining the two biblical accounts in turn: Matthew's, which is a dark tale, or at least as tale of light shining in darkness, Luke's, which is full of light and joy. The author explores the concept of the virgin birth, while acknowledging that the narratives retain a certain ambiguity, and looks at the strangely neglected question: given the world and the God that we know, what story must we tell now? His response is that the church itself desperately needs the vision of the God in a manger, and must allow this vision (together with that of God on a cross) to determine its theology and practice.

About the Author
Trevor Dennis, one-time school chaplain, Old Testament Studies tutor at Salisbury and Wells Theological College, and finally Canon Chancellor and Vice Dean at Chester Cathedral, retired in 2010, but continues to teach and to write. He has a passion for sharing contemporary biblical scholarship with a wider audience (including children: he published a children's Bible in 2003), and his work in the area of preaching through storytelling or poetry, undertaken since the early 1980s and represented in six collections published by SPCK, has been ground-breaking.

Reviews
"'Vivid, imaginative, sentimental at times, but worth the money for the title piece alone, this little book of meditations... sharpen[s] our longing and love for Christ.' Parish News"



Book Information
ISBN 9780281058488
Author Revd Canon Trevor Dennis
Format Paperback
Page Count 160
Imprint SPCK Publishing
Publisher SPCK Publishing
Weight(grams) 222g