Gordy327
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"The Virgin Birth, the Resurrection, the raising of Lazarus, even the Old Testament miracles, all are freely used for religious propaganda, and they are very effective with an audience of unsophisticates and children." --- Richard Dawkins
For this part of the biblical fallacy series, I will look at what is one of the most famous and celebrated stories of the New Testament, The Virgin Birth. After all, it does have its own national holiday. Never mind the actual origins of said holiday, as that is a separate discussion all its own. But it seemed God needed a makeover from his smite-happy Old Testament self into a kinder, gentler, less smitey New Testament form (at least until Revelations-again, a different discussion). And what better way to do this than by selecting a human vessel to carry and give birth to his progeny, because why not? Anyway, the Virgin Birth story goes something like this:
Mary was a Jewish woman living in Nazareth with her betrothed/husband Joseph. Mary was selected by God because she was supposedly righteous and a virgin. Because apparently, women back then were valued based on their sexual activity, or especially the lack thereof. I suppose a new car is at its most valuable before it is driven off the dealership lot. Regardless, the Holy Spirit magically impregnated Mary with God’s seed and without sexual intercourse (when you think about it, God caused Joseph to became a cuckold). I suppose that was the ancient theological version of artificial insemination. Mary later gave birth to Jesus, who would later grow up to be Savior of mankind and even a macabre “decoration” hung in churches or on some necklaces.
Christian religions and denominations accept this story as authoritative because, religion/faith/feelings. And apparently, some people are programmed to never question religion. Fortunately, I am here to examine this story from a more logical and rational standpoint to see if it is plausible by examining any available evidence. So let’s get to it!
1. Is a virgin birth possible? Well, yes and no : First, a quick biology lesson. Mammals (including humans) reproduce through sexual reproduction. The male inseminates the female and when a sperm fertilizes the egg, a zygote (a single undifferentiated cell) is formed (not yet a human or child, just saying) and after becoming a blastocyst/embryo, implants in the uterus of the female, where it is gestated until birth occurs. The key to this is “sexual reproduction,” as in both a male and female is required. But Mary was impregnated without sexual intercourse. Therefore, she reproduced asexually. Some organisms can reproduce asexually. But here is the catch: While some reptiles and fish can reproduce asexually, humans cannot! Of course, religion explains this away by what is essentially magic. Sorry to break it to theists, but humans are biologically incapable of parthenogenesis. As Professor Jenny Graves of La Trove University (2015) states, “So the answer to the question of whether virgin birth is a real possibility is: yes, unless you are a mammal.”
2. The Virgin birth (unsurprisingly) borrows from other ancient sources : Like many other biblical stories which clearly borrow from previous cultural sources, the Virgin Birth is no different. Egypt is always a good go to source. According to John D. Keyser of Hope of Israel Ministries, about 2,000 years before Jesus, the Egyptian Virgin Queen Mut-em-ua supposedly gave birth to the Pharaoh Amenkept (or Amenophis) III, who built the temple of Luxor, on the walls of which were represented. First was the Annunciation, the god Taht announcing to Mut-em-ua that she will become a mother. Second was the Immaculate Conception, where the god Kneph (the holy spirit) mystically [magically] impregnated Mut-em-ua by holding a cross to her mouth. Third was the birth of the Man-god Amenkept. Fourth was the Adoration of the infant by gods and men, including 3 kings, who offer gifts. Is this story starting to sound familiar?
Continued....
For this part of the biblical fallacy series, I will look at what is one of the most famous and celebrated stories of the New Testament, The Virgin Birth. After all, it does have its own national holiday. Never mind the actual origins of said holiday, as that is a separate discussion all its own. But it seemed God needed a makeover from his smite-happy Old Testament self into a kinder, gentler, less smitey New Testament form (at least until Revelations-again, a different discussion). And what better way to do this than by selecting a human vessel to carry and give birth to his progeny, because why not? Anyway, the Virgin Birth story goes something like this:
Mary was a Jewish woman living in Nazareth with her betrothed/husband Joseph. Mary was selected by God because she was supposedly righteous and a virgin. Because apparently, women back then were valued based on their sexual activity, or especially the lack thereof. I suppose a new car is at its most valuable before it is driven off the dealership lot. Regardless, the Holy Spirit magically impregnated Mary with God’s seed and without sexual intercourse (when you think about it, God caused Joseph to became a cuckold). I suppose that was the ancient theological version of artificial insemination. Mary later gave birth to Jesus, who would later grow up to be Savior of mankind and even a macabre “decoration” hung in churches or on some necklaces.
Christian religions and denominations accept this story as authoritative because, religion/faith/feelings. And apparently, some people are programmed to never question religion. Fortunately, I am here to examine this story from a more logical and rational standpoint to see if it is plausible by examining any available evidence. So let’s get to it!
1. Is a virgin birth possible? Well, yes and no : First, a quick biology lesson. Mammals (including humans) reproduce through sexual reproduction. The male inseminates the female and when a sperm fertilizes the egg, a zygote (a single undifferentiated cell) is formed (not yet a human or child, just saying) and after becoming a blastocyst/embryo, implants in the uterus of the female, where it is gestated until birth occurs. The key to this is “sexual reproduction,” as in both a male and female is required. But Mary was impregnated without sexual intercourse. Therefore, she reproduced asexually. Some organisms can reproduce asexually. But here is the catch: While some reptiles and fish can reproduce asexually, humans cannot! Of course, religion explains this away by what is essentially magic. Sorry to break it to theists, but humans are biologically incapable of parthenogenesis. As Professor Jenny Graves of La Trove University (2015) states, “So the answer to the question of whether virgin birth is a real possibility is: yes, unless you are a mammal.”
2. The Virgin birth (unsurprisingly) borrows from other ancient sources : Like many other biblical stories which clearly borrow from previous cultural sources, the Virgin Birth is no different. Egypt is always a good go to source. According to John D. Keyser of Hope of Israel Ministries, about 2,000 years before Jesus, the Egyptian Virgin Queen Mut-em-ua supposedly gave birth to the Pharaoh Amenkept (or Amenophis) III, who built the temple of Luxor, on the walls of which were represented. First was the Annunciation, the god Taht announcing to Mut-em-ua that she will become a mother. Second was the Immaculate Conception, where the god Kneph (the holy spirit) mystically [magically] impregnated Mut-em-ua by holding a cross to her mouth. Third was the birth of the Man-god Amenkept. Fourth was the Adoration of the infant by gods and men, including 3 kings, who offer gifts. Is this story starting to sound familiar?
Continued....