Expert: Father Dave Bechtel - 12/29/2011

Question
I was watching the live midnight mass from Southwark Cathedral (as I do every Christmas Eve) when the Christmas proclaimation was made and started reeling off a large number of dates. The service was archived on a online player and having listened to it again find my self very confused. Are the following list an estimation of the date of the birth of Jesus based on Catholic teaching or the offically sanctioned dare of Jesus's birth from the Pope himself?

Jesus was born in the 21st century after Abraham left Ur, in the 13th century after the Exodus, in the 1,000th year after David was anointed King, in the 65th week of the prophecy of Daniel, in the 194th Olympiad, in the 752nd year since the foundation of Rome and in the 42nd year of the reign of Caesar Augustus

Answer
The answer to your question depends on who you ask. If you as a Baptist Fundamentalist the Baptist would say that the dates are literal dates and literal history---therefore the Earth is 6000 years old.

Catholics however do not view it this literally.  Catholics believe this about the Bible: Everything the Bible teaches is literally true, but not necessarily true literally. The authors of the Bible and those living in Biblical times did not view time the way modern Americans view time.  Modern Americans view time literally---A then B, then C and so on. In Biblical Times time was viewed more fluid--that is to say according to purpose.  When the authors wrote the Bible they were not so much concerned to show linear succession of events so much as they were concerned with the purposes of God in dealing with the people of Israel.  

The proclamation therefore should be viewed in this light, not as a literal succession of events, but according to purpose as well as tying in Jesus genetic lineage to Abraham. After all Jesus was not literally born on December 25 in the manger as popular culture represents it.  The Church simply marks out December 25 as the day when she will commerate the birth of Christ.  The Feast of the Annunciation is older then Christmas and is celebrated on March 25.  December 25 was chosen because if you count forward from March 25 nine months you come up with December 25. The Gospel of Mark gives no infancy narratives, Matthew narrates the flight from Egypt and the murder of all children under 2 years of age.  Matthew does not narrate the manger nor the shepherds-that is found in Luke.  John also gives no infancy narratives but starts from the standpoint of the eternal existence of the Son together with the Father before all time.