Advent Blog Day 13: My Thoughts on The Virgin Birth
I've come across people who identify as Christians, and go to church, and go through the motions of Christian ritual, yet say they don't believe in the virgin birth.
Frankly, this baffles me.
Why is this hard to accept for believers of God? I get why atheists don't believe it. To them either Christ didn't exist, or he was a good teacher.
I've been reading the story of the birth as an advent leading up to Christmas. So it's been on my mind especially when I read of the Annunciation. I have three problems with this theory that Mary was not a virgin. 1. It's saying that Christ is not God. That Christ is just a man. That Mary got pregnant from an earthly man - Joseph or someone else, and Jesus is not the Christ, is not the Redeemer, is not the one who rose from the cross, did not take on the sins of the world, and did not perform miracles. He was just an ordinary man. No God attributes at all. Which pretty much knocks out Christianity. It also knocks out all those prophecies in the Old Testament of a Savior being born to a virgin. Jesus, if he existed, was just some regular guy with some interesting things to say. 2. It takes the stance that God either does not, or cannot perform miracles - or that there is no God. Why is so difficult to believe that the Creator of all, could not put a fertilized egg into a woman through a miracle? If one believes in other miracles that God has done, including many instances of infertile women becoming pregnant, then why is this one so hard to believe? Doctors now can make virgins pregnant so why can't God in all his stupendous glory and ability, have a way of doing it while retaining her virginity? 3. It totally negates Mary and what she did. And this is what I really want to talk about. Mary was not a hapless victim in this nor was she a wily wanton woman. There seems to be this thought that Mary had no say in any of this. Either she was not a virgin and had sex with Joseph before marriage and Jesus is Joseph's offspring, or she cheated on Joseph and then made up the whole story of an angel coming to visit her and she's carrying the son of God, so that Joseph would still marry her and she could be honored and not get into trouble and she's a big fat liar. That's a pretty crappy way to think of Mary. The Annunciation, which is Gabriel visiting Mary to tell her about God's plans for her and the world, is actually mis-titled. Careful reading of the bible reveals in Luke 1: 26-38 a few important things. First off, Mary is not pregnant at the time of Gabriel's visit. This is not an event that has happened and Gabriel comes to explain what was done to her. Secondly, Mary says to Gabriel after learning that she will bear the son of God "How can this be since I am a virgin? (or I know not a man)" Mary herself states that she is a virgin. So you either believe her, or you call her a liar, or you decide that the entire story is all made up. Thirdly, and this is important, Mary gives permission. People miss this. I'll repeat it again. Mary gives permission. Mary says "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word." And then Gabriel leaves. People usually take this event as Gabriel telling Mary what's going to happen or what has already happened and it's already decided and there's nothing Mary can do about it but accept it. But that isn't the case. Gabriel comes before the pregnancy occurs. This was not an announcement. It was more of a request with an explanation of the plan. He does not leave until Mary has agreed to it. Gabriel didn't just fly in and say "oh, well yeah, God says he's going to make you pregnant and you're going to carry His son who will be a leader of nations" and then leaves. He waits to hear what Mary will say. Mary could have said, "No, I don't want to do it." And Gabriel would have had to go back to God and say "she said no," and God would have had to find another virgin. God gave Mary the opportunity to say no. Mary, had EVERY reason to say no. What was being asked of her was a HUGE undertaking. Just being pregnant had an enormous price to pay. 1. It would ruin her reputation. That's important in the time and place where Mary lived. 2. It would end her betrothal to Joseph. He would naturally assume that she cheated on him and would surely divorce her - which was exactly what Joseph, in his understandable grief, was going to do. 3. It would leave her a single mother. Being a single mother is hard at any time. In these times it would be very difficult. 4. It could ruin her chances to have another marriage. Again, an important step to survival and standing in Mary's world. 5. It could very well cause her death. The punishment for adultery is stoning. 6. It might make her an outcast from her family and community. There were big prices to pay for her agreement. And yet she gave it. She agreed to it, putting her faith in God that He would make it all work out for her. On top of that, she was to be the mother of God. Think about that. How do you raise a god? How do you raise Him to be the answer to everyone's prayers and hopes. How do you raise Him to be the righteous ruler of nations. How do you treat and teach and love this little boy, who calls you Mommy and looks to you to guide the way? How do you make sure that He grows up to be a good human being worthy of the mantel placed upon him? Because if you fail, then the WHOLE PLAN fails. And, you might very well have to do it all alone. Assuming that Mary was not the virgin that she said she was, takes so much from her. It takes almost everything from her. Mary, is the mother of God, a prophetess, a woman of faith, a courageous soul, and loving, kind, and righteous. Jesus Christ, got his humanness from His mother, Mary, and his Godliness, from God the Father. It was a miracle. Miracles happen. Miracles still do.
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