In this book, controversial New Testament scholar Gerd Ludemann investigates all of the references to Jesus' birth and the Holy Family in the writings of the early church and rival Jewish sources. He discusses what the New Testament stories set out to say, reconstructs the traditions used in them, and answers the question of what really happened at Jesus' birth. Here, then, is an honest attempt to wrestle with the "virgin birth" and its validity, or lack thereof, based on historical evidence.