New artwork for my Christmas card this year

My drawing skills are nowhere near that.

Wow that is a very Catholic image!

@GreatfulGoy

Yes indeed.

Nowhere near swarthy enough to be a honest representation of semi-nomadic Arabian tribespeople.

My seasonal festivity cards will feature a cute little Robin perched in a holly bush, in accordance with the true pagan message of seasonal rebirth, happiness and good luck.

Nonetheless, it's only November 19th. and I refuse to start indulging in the materialistic hypocrisy that is Christmas. The guy was actually born in September.

No MAGA logo on the head piece?

Why is she a stranger after 52 years of marriage?

They were not Arabian. They were firmly Jewish and Mary was explicitly stated to be fair skinned for a Jew.

I also don't think he was going for realism over vibe there.

Arabians did not exist yet. Canaanites did and were the main ethnicity that later fused into what is now known as Arabs.

Nowhere near swarthy enough to be a honest representation of semi-nomadic Arabian tribespeople.

Of course not. Mary was neither semi-nomadic nor Arabian, but, nice try; Mary was 13 or 14 generations from Abraham and the origin of common blood with Arabian tribes.

Lost 2,000 years?

I did not say Mary was the stranger; I said, putting words in her mouth, that Jesus was the wondrous little stranger

Firstly, Arabia is a regional generalisation and for sure regional peoples have a tendency to be swarthy and dark haired, but not necessarily so.

But what is certain, is that none of us know what the characters Mary and Joseph looked like, and nor do we have any Idea who fathered Jesus.

And such Middle Eastern tales, suggest an unsettled people.

And what is also certain is that Faux's stylised representation of said mythical characters is as GG stated, based upon much later preferred European imagery. Supplanting old ideas and rituals was a common enough practice, which as I stated is why Christians celebrate the birth of their mythical mangod during the winter solstice rather than when he was actually born. Not that there is any definitive agreement on either the year or month in which he was born, though the month of September seems to be the best guess.

Anyway, today is November 20th, so still a month to go before the solstice celebrations.

jesus us more popular than Mary. Mary is only known for losing her virginity.

Nope. Mary is known for her principle role in the marriage at Cana before Jesus began his ministry to ask him to see to the wine availability. Why else would she be necessarily so aware that one was in low supply if this was not a marriage of m ore than just acquaintences; she likely has familial relationship with the marriage.

She is visited by Gabriel, an angel who reveals to her that she will conceive of God and bear the Messiah.

She visits her cousin, Elizabeth, also with child, which unborn child leaps in the womb at her mother's greeting of Mary, now also with child. Elizabeth's son is John, known as the Baptist.

And as if every female's loss of virginity does not result in pregnancy, or birth. She is, regardless, known for giving birth, and being visited by magi offering valuables not every mother will have or ever will receive.

She is known to have fled Galilee, through Judea, into the wilderness to Egypt to flee the in te3nt of Herod to sly her child, jealous of her child's royalty with the child's generational claim on Herod's throne.

She and her husband marvel at the marvel of the temple priests, to whom her son read and interpreted scripture at twelve years old. She is not clueless of her son's vital role to be fulfilled.

She is often with her son during his ministry.

She is witness to her son's trial with Pilate, and his crucifixion.

There's more, but just that much is absolutely known btw a complete read of the scriptures, word for word.

In terms of global recognition and historical impact, 

Jesus is more famous than Mary. Jesus is the central figure of Christianity, one of the world's largest religions, and is considered God by Christians, while Mary is revered primarily for her role as his virgin mother. 

Nothing unusual about the bond between child an mother.

Though like most myths and associated legends, the central characters are obviously the crux of the story.

The thousands of other people who were doing other stuff never get a mention.

What about the Han dynasty, where are they mentioned in the book.

In summary, Jesus lived with his mother for the vast majority of his life (around 30 years) but lived apart from her during the approximately three years of his public ministry.

Did I ever say that Jesus was not the most significant person ever born on Earth? No. Don't think that I have. But we're talking about

Mary, his mother, and her expanded biblical account which you ignore, presumably because you have not read it. I have, in four languages, cover to cover.

look, I am not Catholic. I do not worship Mary, do not pray to her. But I do acknowledge her as worthy of praise on par with Eve.

What about the Han dynasty, where are they mentioned in the book.

Oh, well, now we are expecting 'the book" to speak to all peoples and events in history? Sorry, doesn't do that and was not its intent. For that, you must consult the four magi in 'South Park, CO.

Obviously not.

Because the tales and sketchy recollections that later became the basis of the Christian myth, were only relevant to a few Middle Eastern tribes.

Yep, in summary:

A Mummies boy who eventually moved in with his boyfriends and made a public nuisance of himself.

Joseph initially planned to divorce Mary quietly because he was a righteous man who believed she was pregnant before their marriage and did not want to disgrace her publicly. However, an angel appeared to him in a dream and explained that the child was conceived by the Holy Spirit, after which Joseph obeyed God and took Mary as his wife.

Yep, in other words, Godfrey suitably rewarded Joe, allowing Joe him to upgrade from a donkey to a mule hybrid, and invest in a new well equipped carpentry workshop.

And of course, Mary avoided a good stoning.

Would have been foolish to turn down the offer.

And yes, latter day tales are a tad whimsical and fanciful.

Mary had more kids with Joseph and shared her virginity with him.

Yes the myth does go on to suggest more children, but an indefinite number. I looked it up and like a lot of the bible, away from the main plot details are seemingly made up by latter day enthusiasts.

Though if Godfrey did fu*k Mary, then she was no virgin afterwards. Because come what may, the process of gamete fusion, foetal development and birth will undoubtedly render a mother unvirginal.

Mormons believe God had sex with Mary since they believe God has a body. True Christians believe it was a miracle.

Jesus was the only son of Mary. That’s why Jesus gave her to John at the cross.

Oh, yeah. There was something Mormons did, they changed the defintion of virgin from “someone who has never had sex” to “someone who has never had sex with a human.” Or maybe they really changed it to “someone who has never had sex with one of God’s children,” since Mormons believe God and man are the same species. Incest 101.

Jesus was the only son of Mary. That’s why Jesus gave her to John at the cross.

According to the Bible, Jesus had four brothers and two sisters, the brethren's names were James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, the two sisters are not named.

How do you know they were biological siblings? They could have been adopted or been step-siblings.

Matthew 27:56 suggests they weren’t even brothers at all but instead cousins.

In Genesis 14:14, Lot is called Abraham’s brother, even though he is actually his nephew.

Anyway, today is November 20th, so still a month to go before the solstice celebrations.

Christmas creep was really bad this year. I love Christmas, but I'm usually sick and tired of it by the time it gets here.

My wife started with the 24/7 Hallmark Christmas movies like 3-4 weeks ago, I already want to kill myself and there's still four more weeks to go,