Whats the deal with the three wise men?
Dear Straight Dope: Did the three wise men actually come to visit Jesus when he was born, as the myth says? If three wise men from the Orient were willing to track down Jesus when he was born, why wasn’t there a conversion of faith where they were from? It kind of seems like European ego boosting to me. — Ben Reeves, Tempe, AZ Okey dokey, let’s do a little deconstruction here. First, let’s look at the verses in question. Since it’s the most familiar, we’ll use the King James version as our jumping off point. Here’s Matthew 2:1-12: Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him,
