Johnny Scholar

As a professional who strives for excellence in every endeavor, I am becoming more and more conflicted in my job. I am a pastor who teaches the Bible as truth. Enough said.

I taught a Bible class last night about the recognizable hints of a coming messiah in the Old Testament. I drew from several texts of Scripture, one of which was from Isaiah.

One of the keys to Christ’s divinity is in his virgin birth. In order to be sinless, it makes sense that this man Jesus had to have been born of Spirit, not from human seed. Now, if that proposition isn’t already full of multiple problems, I don’t know what to say.

It is strange however, that this classroom full of seemingly intelligent people just swallow my lines without any critical thought whatsoever. Is this why the church is called a bunch of sheep?

So, I stood behind the podium delivering my spiel. “Jesus was born of a virgin,� I said.
“Matthew 1:18 says, ‘This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.’�

“Ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a!� They bleated in agreement.

Since I couldn’t tell them what was really on my mind, I now write what I wanted to say last night…

Friends, tonight I wanted to talk a little about the virgin birth of Jesus, but I think it is only fair that I give you all the facts, not just the position of this church.

The truth is, the assertion that Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit is full of problems, but since I’m not going to convince you that the spirit doesn’t exist or that Jesus isn’t God, I want to at least give you the problems surrounding this miraculous birth.

Matthew 1:22-23 goes on to say that the virgin birth is a specific fulfillment of a specific prophecy in Isaiah 7:14. The author of Matthew quotes the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. The problem with this is the Septuagint mistranslated the word “virgin� in the Greek. The original Hebrew word “almah� simply means “young woman.� Why didn’t the Septuagint use the word for “almah,� which is “neanis�? Instead, they translated this word as “parthenos,� which strictly means “virgin.� If this is Isaiah’s intent, he would have almost certainly used the Hebrew word for virgin: “bethulah,� right?

The scary bottom line is this: Nowhere in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament do we read of a son being born of a virgin. Nowhere!

But this problem is only the tip of the argumentative iceberg. When we look closer at the context of the Isaiah 7 account, we are confronted with more difficulties.

Who first decided that this was a prophecy about the distant future? The context seems to indicate otherwise. In Isaiah 7, the venerable prophet is trying to persuade the King of Judah that God is their ally, and that two enemy kings would soon be defeated.

Isaiah 7:13 Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also?
14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The young woman will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right.
16 But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

Verse 16 is clear that this son would be born very soon, and that before he reaches an age to willfully do wrong, their enemies would be vanquished.

What’s up with curds and honey? Isaiah seems to be saying that in about nine months, the living conditions will have already improved for you enough that your newborns will be eating better. And within two or three more years, before those children can choose right or wrong, the kings will be defeated. Isaiah is trying to communicate the speed of victory, not some mysterious sign of a coming messiah, much less a messiah coming from the seed of the Holy Spirit.

In fact, the child referred to here is most likely the same child referenced in Isaiah 8:34, which says that before the child can cry, “Mama� or “Daddy,� the enemy will see defeat.

Have you ever wondered why Paul never mentions the virgin birth? You’d think that it would be a significant point to make, especially when trying to persuade people that Jesus is God. (Galatians 4:4 would have been the perfect and logical opportunity to speak of the virgin birth: “But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law.�

Further, Mark, the earliest Gospel doesn’t mention anything about a virgin birth either. In fact, in Mark 3:21, Mary thought Jesus was out of his mind. Would this be an appropriate response from someone who had a child without ever having slept with a man?

Or is it possible that the Immaculate Conception detail took shape gradually over time? The final nail in the coffin, at least for me, is the knowledge that Immaculate Conception is not a new idea inside of Christianity. In fact, the pagan religions thrived with accounts of virgin births where their deities were concerned. Also, Romulus, the founder of Rome and Augustus, emperor during the time of Jesus, were both born of virgins.

I guess what I want to say more than anything is that since we have the capacity to think critically about these things we ought to do so. I understand how strong a hold religion has on the human mind, because I was once (and still am at times) gripped by its allure. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 says, “Challenge everything; keep what is good.� That’s my own personal translation, of course, but the truth is there. I, for one, refuse to stay in a flock of mindless sheep.

Plognark

You owe me a new keyboard buddy :rolling:

Good post. I'm continually impressed that you can keep from going insane considering the position you're in.

Godless Wonder

Wow, It is difficult for me to imagine being in the situation you find yourself in. I'm guessing you don't imagine yourself still doing this job ten years from now. Here's hoping you are able to find a smooth easy transition to something more suitable and better sometime not too terribly long from now, and that it isn't too disruptive in your personal relationships.

Naked Ape

Hey Johnny,

sounds like it is time to tell them the truth, the greek name for virgin birth is Parthenogenesis
In bees and ants, the parthenogenic offspring are male by default, in aphids they are clones of their mother.
Therefore, Jesus was an drone insect (like a worker bee or ant), or a female (if s/he was a mammal). :rolling:

(Just trying to cheer you up man.)

Cheers,

Naked Ape

Anne Fidel

I literally laughed until I cried at that. :rolling:

I often wonder why more people with extensive Biblical knowledge don't arrive at the conclusion you have about the virgin thing (amoungst numerous other issues). My father knows the Bible inside and out, and still believes totally. He can't answer a lot of the questions I've had throughout the years, because he's too intelligent to give me the 'just have faith and ignore your doubts' answer. He knows that the Bible is full of holes, and the translations are dubious, but he won't or can't let go of the belief in it. He's quite an intellectual, and exposes himself to other ideas all the time. Sometimes I have to wonder what he really thinks. My mother wouldn't be able to deal with him not believing totally. She's smart, but she's not an intellectual, if that make sense. She can accept without questioning. I wonder sometimes if he hasn't for years been going through the hell that you are right now. He's only a Deacon, so he at least he isn't having to preach it often.

It torments me to wonder if he can see the obvious flaws (and he seems to), but somehow makes himself believe. He seems to base most of his faith upon the idea that something great must have gone on for Paul to have been so transformed and impressed.

Patcher

That was great and very well explained. So simple to see. And effectively faith crushing. I think I've now bleated for the last time.

Julian

Excellent post, Johnny Scholar. No need for me to copy your bleating line, suffice it to say that it made me laugh out loud as well...

Julian

Wallener

Trivia time! What great 80s dance hit managed to - successfully, no less - use the word "parthenogenesis" in a song?

John A. Broussard

Don't listen to these goats. You are much better off as a sheep. Why do you want to reconcile the birth of Christ with the OT? Just believe. You'll be a lot more comfortable if you just forget all of your doubts. Science and logic are for doubters, religion for believers.

After all, if the White Queen could believe as many as six impossible things before breakfast, you should be able to handle just one.

Chris Weimer

Johnny Scholar - you might find this interesting.