Exploration of the Virgin Birth That Maybe Wasn’t

[Sheryl]

It is not a simple matter of accepting/rejecting  the Bible. There is an intelligent conversaton to be had as to what the original Gospels probably  actually said and what it means.

 

The original versions/source materials  are not available today so translation is very much an issue.

 There is an ancient  Hebrew term meaning "young woman" that may have been erroneously translated as "virgin". 

 

It is noteworthy that several places in the synoptic gospels it states  Jesus had direct descent ftom the house of David. This was a patrilineal society so would need to have come via his father. Joseph had descent ftom David.

 

In  short it is possible that  the notion of a virgin birth was not a part of early Christianity but came in later, perhaps fueled both by mistranslations and by the evolution of Mary into a figure of worship -- itself a later occurrence  -- in a cultural context which might have perceived a need for a woman to be a virgin in order to be sanctified.