In today’s scientific era is it reasonable to believe Mary, a virgin, gave birth to the Son of God, Jesus? Well, it depends. It depends on a decision (or decisions) you’ve likely already made. My argument for the virgin birth is an argument of coherence, or an internal argument. In other words, belief in the virgin birth is absolutely reasonable within a theistic worldview. It is absolutely ridiculous in an atheistic worldview. Miracles don’t happen within an atheistic worldview.
So yes, it is reasonable to believe in the virgin birth, as well as other miracles, if you believe in God. However, this does not mean the virgin birth, or any other miracle, has occurred. The fact that it is reasonable doesn’t mean it happened. It’s reasonable, in a Christian worldview, to believe Jesus will return tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean it is going to happen.
So, what do you base your belief on? My belief in the virgin birth is predicated on a few other beliefs that I think there is a stronger case for. My line of reasoning would go something like this:
- I believe there is very strong evidence that God exists.
- I believe there is good evidence that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead.
- Jesus treated the Bible as the Word of God.
- I believe the Bible is the Word of God and therefore true.
- The Bible claims Jesus was born of a virgin.
- I believe Jesus was born of a virgin.
Like I said, if you don’t believe premise one then of course you don’t believe my conclusion – and I don’t blame you! Some of our beliefs are based on other beliefs. This is true for all worldviews. So long as the beliefs are coherent with one another, they are perfectly reasonable. Of course, if premise one is proven false (i.e. God turns out not to be real) then the whole web of (coherent) beliefs falls apart.
Christians should definitely believe in the virgin birth as it is central to Christ’s later atoning work on the cross for our sins. The fact that he was born of a virgin and “of the Holy Spirit” makes him uniquely qualified to atone for our sins.
Question: If you were alive at the time, and knew for a fact that Mary was a virgin when she gave birth, how would you prove it?
Merry Christmas everyone!
Haden Clark 
It is impossible to prove certain beliefs whether they are true or false. We just have to depend on faith and prudence.
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I am not christian. But I believe in God. I believe a belief can’t always be scientifically proven cause most scientists may not believe God exists, and then how can they believe in the questioned posed today.
I think Jesus was a pure soul spirit and therefore had to have a purest of birth. And Mary knowing of her pure pregnancy and role the child was to play, meant she loved him but was not attached to him, therefore allowing Jesus to be himself and forefill his story and role. But, what i say is a belief i cant prove… But i feel it is possible. And naysayers will be naysayes to God’s existence.
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Ps thanks for the follow on my blog. You have great blog here… will be interesting to see your next question
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Amen.
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I wouldn’t be able to prove it but I could believe it based on the evidence of her character, and Joseph’s character, their stories matched and the circumstances agreed with prophets who spoke of this happening. Those prophets were believed to be prophets by Jews and Gentiles and their words had come to pass before. If this wasn’t so they would be false prophets.
By the way, thank you for following my blog. I pray it encourages and strengthens you in your walk with the Lord. Also, I like your down to earth answers. I look forward to reading more.
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Thank you!
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Virgin birth can also be interpreted as birth in a state of total purity, without the ability to do wrong. This is certainly true of Jesus the Christ.
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Questions are so incredibly important, without them we don’t get answers. Without answers, we can’t know the truth. Without truth we can’t ever be free. Keep asking questions, they lead us to truth. The truth is Jesus.
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Reblogged this on The Possibility Thinkers Bible.
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Atheists can believe in a virgin birth because they don’t believe in sin, predestination, vocation, a divine plan, or let alone a loving divine entity that would save one person from concupiscense but not anyone else. They can believe people all begin with a clean slate but not out of design but rather a lack of experience.
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Good question. I enjoyed reading your thoughts, and basically agree. We believe that God took a completely formed person or fetus and implanted it in Mary, so Jesus doesn’t at all partake of her genetics. Without that divine intervention, a virgin couldn’t have a baby. If someone wanted to speculate that a cell of Mary somehow fertilized one of her eggs—definitely a miracle—the result would have been a clone of Mary. However, to prove this divine intervention would have been impossible.
Seems to me the main question isn’t whether His was a virgin birth. People can believe in miracles, even so far as God implanting a fetus, without believing Jesus was divine. The real question was, and is, IS Jesus who He claims to be? “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
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Man I just don’t get all this fuss about the believability of the virgin birth. What’s the problem? Is it that we don’t believe in the supernatural – or just not in anything THAT supernatural. Good night, people. The Christian faith itself turns on the fact that a man who had been dead for three days rose from the grave. If we can believe that – and I can and do – what is the problem with the virgin birth?
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Very true, thanks for your thoughts!
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Another thing – Jesus is begotten – God’s only BEGOTTEN son. Not created. God is the Father of Jesus. Not Joseph. Period.
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A lot of people reading this blog won’t like what I will say here. However, this is what I believe:
Tradition has it that around the year B.C. 18, a female child was born to an older Jewish couple named Joachim and Anna in the ancient Roman city of Sepphoris, which was located on a hill, four miles slightly northwest of Nazareth. She was their firstborn daughter, and they named her, Mary.
Mary grew up in Sepphoris, but sometime before B.C. 4, her family moved to Nazareth. There, when Mary was 14 or 15 years of age, she was pledged in marriage to an older man named Joseph who was a builder, working in stone and wood.
Just prior to her being pledged in marriage, or shortly after, Mary was made pregnant by another man. It was said that this man was close to Mary in age and a Roman soldier. His name was Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera.
The names Tiberius Julius were acquired names. Abdes Pantera was his given name. The name Abdes is a Latin form of an Aramaic name, Ebed. Thus, he was semitic, not a native born Roman. Scholarly research has found that he was from Sidon, less than 40 miles from Sepphoris. Bearing the given name of Ebed Pantera, he may have been Jewish.
Ebed was transferred to Germany, along with his cohort of archers, in A.D. 6 from Palestine. He died there at age 62 after 40 years of service as a Roman soldier. His tombstone was found in a Roman cemetery at Bingerbrück in 1859. Today, the tombstone can be found in a museum called the Römerhalle, located in the town of Bad Kreuznach.
Whether or not Ebed knew he had made Mary pregnant is unknown. Also unknown is whether Ebed forced himself on Mary or if she consented because they were in a voluntary relationship.
Whatever the case, Joseph found out that the woman to whom he was pledged in marriage was pregnant; and it wasn’t by him. He may have wanted to back out of the marriage, but he eventually decided to go through with it, but only after the child was born.
To get a break from the scandal of being pregnant before her wedding, Mary left Nazareth for the little village of Ein Kerem to spend three months with a relative of hers, Elizabeth, and with Elizabeth’s husband, Zechariah. Elizabeth may have been Mary’s cousin or aunt; we can’t be sure. We do, however, know that Elizabeth was carrying a boy as was Mary. These two boys would grow up and, eventually, come to be known as Jesus of Nazareth and John the Baptizer.
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Good question at the end of your post. I think I wouldn’t set out to prove anything, I would just engage with people who were keen to know more and hopefully people who were not interested would somehow get involved in the dialogue along the way. Peoples hearts are always being prepared for something. Thank God, God does the changing of hearts.
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I think that God does change hearts, but so do others. Just because someone turns to what someone else believes, doesn’t necessarily mean that it was God who changed the person’s heart (mind).
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Oh I’m sure we could discuss your comment for the next 5 weeks David. I am glad that we agree that God changes hearts. Good stuff, I hope your having an awesome weekend dude.
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You have a good weekend too, Evad.
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What was the point of Isaiah’s “virgin birth” prophecy to Ahaz? What was the consequence of Ahaz’s failure to trust Immanuel? What kind of help was the angel providing Joseph by reminding Joseph of the prophecy to Joseph’s ancestor, Ahaz? see [ https://uplandweb.wordpress.com/2017/12/21/immanuel-a-warning-to-joseph-about-power-politics/ ]
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you ask some good questions, and have some good answers to go along with it…but you are also correct that our world-view directly affects if we believe (and even what we are capable of believing). It takes God to change the heart enough to believe premise one.
God bless, and keep on asking those questions that draw you closer to Him!
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Amen-Amein!! Jesus-Yeshua Christ was Born in Bethlehem Israel-Yisrael, HE died in Jerusalem Israel-Yisrael, and HE AROSE ON the THIRD DAY, and is ALIVE at the RIGHT HAND side of our ONE TRUE GOD THE FATHER who art in Heaven Above!!
God Bless all my Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus-Yeshua and Your Families and Friends!!
Love 💕 Always and Shalom ( Peace ), YSIC o/
Kristi Ann
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