Bear Grylls faces criticism for calling Mary, mother of Jesus, 'Palestinian refugee'
British adventurer Bear Grylls is facing criticism after referring to Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a "Palestinian refugee" in a Christmas message shared on social media.
The 50-year-old outdoorsman posted a message on X, formerly Twitter, delivering a Christmas reading in which he described Mary as a "young, poor, and no doubt terrified Palestinian girl."
"In these next few days billions of us around the world celebrate the birth of a Middle Eastern refugee who, 2,000 years ago, changed the course of the world forever," he said in the original post.
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"Let me tell you some of his story. This is just a short extract from near the beginning of the adventure. When Maryam, a young, poor, and no doubt terrified Palestinian girl, gives birth in a run-down animal pen, to a baby who was foretold for hundreds of years. Yet she was not alone. And she never would be. Because this was the moment that God Almighty broke into our fallen world in person. … To many of us, it is undoubtedly: The Greatest Story Ever Told."
The message drew swift backlash from critics, including the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which responded by saying Mary "was a Jewish woman from Judea, under Roman rule."
"The region wasn't called 'Palestine' until 100 years later when the Judeans (Jews) were exiled and Emperor Hadrian renamed it Syria Palaestina after the Bar Kokhba Revolt to try to sever the Jewish connection to the land," the group tweeted.
"A lot of people over the millennia since have believed his propaganda. While Mary's family fled to Egypt to escape King Herod's persecution, calling her a 'Palestinian refugee' not only imposes modern terminology on ancient history but completely eradicates her Jewish identity. It's historical nonsense, with an agenda. If you want to honour her story, tell it properly."
In an op-ed for The Telegraph, writer George Chesterton said that calling Jesus Palestinian ignores historical realities, as "Palestine" was a Roman term used after Jewish rebellions, and Jesus was born in Judea during a Roman census, not as a refugee.
Such claims, Chesterton warned, are "dangerous" and part of a trend to politicize Jesus and undermine Jewish historical ties to Israel.
"If you leave aside the theological and historical absurdity — equating a Jewish man from 2000 years ago with a political identity that didn't exist — this is the nub of the problem. It promotes the idea that Jews are systematic baby killers. This is the sort of thing that is screamed at elderly people on the streets of London, Glasgow and Brighton. That's not something Jesus would have approved of. He was Jewish, after all," he wrote.
Mark Wallace, chief executive of Total Politics, asked: "In what sense — historical, archaeological, political, religious, geographic, ethnic, literally any sense at all — would Mary have regarded herself as a Palestinian?"
A community note on X was added beneath the post, debunking Grylls' claim.
"They were not refugees. Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken. Joseph and Mary traveled to Judea, to the town of Bethlehem (the town of David) because Joseph belonged to the house and line of David."
Following the initial backlash, Grylls took down the post and reuploaded it, removing the word "Palestinian."
"Just as way of a response to all the argument going on here about the area of the world Mary lived in. I referred to this area as Palestine as per the maps you will find in most Bibles," he wrote. "Scholars will always go and back forward debating the technicality of exact dates that various regions became known by their names, but in this case I am simply setting the scene for the Greatest Story Ever Told. I refer to Palestine as the general area that Mary lived in. I am not referring to her nationality or ethnicity. She was clearly Jewish."
"In response to whether Jesus was a refugee, yes he was. Mary, Joseph and Jesus were forced to flee their homeland to live as refugees in the Egyptian desert. They were escaping Herod's decree to kill all the young male babies in Bethlehem. They returned finally four or so years later to their homeland and to Nazareth."
He later added, "And if you think Mary's country of origin is controversial, wait until you read the bulk of what is in The Greatest Story Ever Told! When you read the words of Jesus, you'll discover that is where it gets truly disruptive."
This isn't the first time Grylls has sparked controversy with his views.
In a 2023 interview with The Christian Post, the bestselling author, who is slated to host "The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls," made waves after suggesting Christians stop going to a physical church if it betters their spiritual life.
"I think Jesus would really struggle with 99% of churches nowadays," he said at the time. "Our job in life is to stay close to Christ and drop the religious, drop the fluff, drop the church if you need to because that means so many different things to different people anyway. Keep the bit of church which is about community and friends and honesty and faith and love. All the masks, performances, music and worship bands and all of that sort of stuff — I don't think Christ would recognize a lot of that."
In a later interview with CP, he described faith as a "journey," adding: "Faith and doubt are two sides of the same coin. I have many doubts, many struggles, and many days, I think it's all crazy. But through it all, I feel Christ has been a light to a dark path and strength to a failing body. Through many valleys and summits, jungles and deserts, He's always there. We need that in life. For me, it's not a Sunday thing. I really need Him every day. That's how I kind of approach life."
