Would Like to Give Birth ’, ‘ stable ’ wouldn ’ t even come close . An answer like this would be “ Bad luck and thanks for playing !” on Family Feud .
Let me make clear what I am talking about here . This is not one of those nice , cuddly and clean , golden-glow barns that you see on the front of nativity scene Christmas cards . The ones you look at and think , “ Hey ! That looks better than the last place I stayed on holiday with the kids !”
There is nothing romantic about a first-century Middle-Eastern stable . It is a nasty , unsanitary , unhealthy place for a child to be born . It is most likely an open-air affair , little more than one of those picnic sites you see at the park . You know , they have a couple of benches and a roof to keep the rain off ( so long as the rain is coming straight down ). Who in their right mind would choose to give birth in such a place ? And yet this birth , and this place of birth , is a sign . Remember ?
Issue three : Which sign and of what ? While I had issues with the choice of the shepherds and the lack of prestige , these in the end
26 THE CURIOUS SIGN OF THE MANGER
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