The virgin birth, neither fact nor fiction?

A HUMAN being is conceived when a sperm fertilises an egg, whether in or outside of a woman’s womb. It is not possible outside of these two situations, except if the woman is the Virgin Mary. Her baby, Jesus, it is written, was conceived immaculately. No sex was involved.

But, millions of people the world over do not believe this fantastic story. A virgin pregnancy and birth are not biologically possible, they are contending, and a divine conception falls outside the dimension of logics. How can a baby appear just like that in a woman’s womb, they are asking?

The Encyclopedia Britannica says, “The doctrine that Mary was the sole natural parent of Jesus is based on the infancy narratives contained in the Gospel accounts of Matthew and Luke. It was universally accepted in the Christian church by the 2nd century, was enshrined in the Apostles’ Creed, and, except for several minor sects, was not seriously challenged until the rise of Enlightenment theology in the 18th century. It remains a basic article of belief in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and most Protestant churches. Muslims also accept the Virgin Birth of Jesus.”

In answering the question ‘can a virgin give birth?’, Melinda Wenner Moyer, writing on December 21, 2007 in the EXPLAINER section of the online SLATE Magazine says, “Yes, but it’s very, very, very, very unlikely.”

“Yes, in theory. However, a number of rare events would have to occur in close succession, and the chances of these all happening in real life are virtually zero. For a virgin to get pregnant, one of her eggs would have to produce, on its own, the biochemical changes indicative of fertilisation, and then divide abnormally to compensate for the lack of sperm DNA,” she says.

“That’s the easy part: These two events occur in the eggs or egg precursor cells of one out of every few thousand women. But the egg would also need to be carrying at least two specific genetic deletions to produce a viable offspring … So, while it’s possible for a human baby to be born of a virgin mother, it’s very, very unlikely.”

It seems, then, that the birth of Jesus was extraordinary, beyond the scope of human understanding. Miraculous, perhaps? Dawn Wilson, contributing writer for Crosswalk.com, in an updated article called, ‘Why Did God Choose Mary to Give Birth to Jesus?’, published on December 14, 2022, writes, “Beyond the Gospel account, Galatians 4:4 says God sent His Son, ‘born of a woman’. Only God could perform this miracle; Jesus was born fully human (from Mary) and fully God (through the Spirit).” But, why was Mary, a central figure in Catholicism, the chosen one?

“God chose Mary for what might be called the most important job in world history, bringing the Messiah into the world. Her life would take a sharp detour from planning her marriage to preparing for the Messiah in her womb. Mary’s story is woven into God’s plan to send His Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14),” Wilson writes.

“In essence, God chose Mary because she was of the right lineage, she was from Nazareth, she was engaged to a man whose lineage set up a trip to Bethlehem, she was a virgin, and she was a young woman of good character. Fleshing out these insights fosters not only appreciation for Mary, but also God’s preparations for His Son’s mission.” And, how did Joseph factor in the equation?

Wilson says, “One of the reasons God chose Mary was Joseph! Their engagement was instrumental in getting them to the right place at the right time. Though many young virgins were likely from King David’s line, not many would be in the little town of Bethlehem at exactly the time when Messiah would come …

“One of the most crucial factors in God choosing Mary was her virginity. This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 7:14. Matthew also noted that the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy verified the Lord’s identity. Mary was espoused to be married to Joseph but they had no sexual relations until after Jesus was born.”

However, Anglican priest Father Sean Major-Campbell, dean of Kingston and rector of Christ Church in Vineyard Town, Kingston, does not agree with the assertion that Jesus had no earthly biological father, and believes that the virgin birth is neither fact nor fiction.

“It is instead consistent with a literary style of writing used in religion. Virginity has from ancient times been symbolic of purity and holiness. In fact, it is not unique to Christian literary theology. If God is God, then God does not need a virgin to accomplish the work of salvation. What mattered was that Mary, in obedience, availed herself for the will and mission of God.

“The Church teaches that Jesus was truly human while also being divine. If truly human, he was born just like you and I. Unfortunately, a preoccupation with virginity has led to much unnecessary demeaning of women who have moved beyond the possession of a hymen”.

So, the obvious follow-up question to that middle-ground response was: So, did Jesus have a physical father? “Had to!” was his quick and terse response. Jesus was conceived naturally and physically. Responses to the question posted on social media are equally in agreement with both sides of the question, fact or fiction.

There is, “FACT. References in the Bible alludes to God’s power to do the impossible” versus “Fiction like Santa Claus! Virgin birth is a physical impossibility. It and Santa Claus are products of the fertile imagination of people ... akin to the imaginary friends of children!”

From Texas USA comes this one: “If a person believes in God they also believe in the virgin birth … Anything is possible when you believe in God … A person does not have to know the how or why to believe. It is called faith. We have a soul but nowhere in our body can we point out the soul, which I consider the essence of our being … Yes. It’s all about your belief system. Life is not always logical or we would be robots.”

A writer from Canada says, “People looking up at the heavens simply applied (rich) narratives to those movements and to the natural world in general. Time progressed and some people take those narratives literally. I broke the spell by simply looking up and seeing things as is, but also knowing there is a SOURCE.”