The doctrine that Mary was the sole natural parent of Jesus is clearly taught in two New Testament passages, referred to as the infancy narratives: Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-38. Infancy narrativesI explained that the term Virgin Birth refers to the virginal conception of Jesus that is, the belief that Jesus was conceived in Mary by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, without the agency of a human father. 1530) depicts the newly born Jesus in Mary’s arms.
Gabriel also announced John the Baptist’s birth.īelow, the Italian painter Allegri da Correggio (c. The annunciation to Mary by the angel Gabriel, below, as depicted by a 19th-century artist. The Shepherds Worship the Child, by Rembrandt (c. Later, walking on the paved expanse of Manger Square outside the ancient church, we discussed the subject at length. The Gospel writers, he speculated, simply borrowed the theme of supernatural birth from ancient pagan mythology.
The man, an agnostic, offered the opinion that Jesus was probably illegitimate, and that the Gospel accounts of the Virgin Birth were attempts to cover up that embarrassing fact. I responded that, yes, I believe that Jesus Christ was miraculously conceived, but I doubted whether the silver star marked the spot of the birth. A silver star inlaid in the marble floor is said to mark the exact spot where the divine birth took place. The fortresslike Church of the Nativity is built over this grotto or cave where, according to tradition, Jesus Christ was born. It was my first visit to the Holy Land, and I was standing in the Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem. "Well, what do you think?" the man then asked.
"I’ll try," I answered, and bringing to bear the full force of my meager Latin, attempted a translation: "Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary." "Can you read that?" The tourist asked me, pointing to a large silver star bearing a Latin inscription: "Hic de virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est."