nlt@duke.UUCP (N. L. Tinkham) (04/20/85)
Eliyahu Teitz writes: > My question is a simple one. I was told, by someone on the net > a while back, that Mary and not Jesus was of virgin birth. Did I mis- > understand the person or are there differing theologies as to who was > the child of a virgin. I don't remember the quote to which you refer, so I don't know what the speaker intended. But: As far as I know, no theology claims a virgin birth for Mary. The strongest claim made for Mary's conception in Christian theology is that it was "immaculate", meaning that she did not inherit original sin. (This belief is held in Roman Catholic tradition but not in most Protestant traditions.) The virgin birth of Jesus (not Mary) is claimed by a long-standing tradition common to Catholicism, Protestantism, and Orthodoxy; it is currently disputed by many Christians. N. L. Tinkham duke!nlt (Duke University)
nlt@duke.UUCP (N. L. Tinkham) (04/23/85)
[*] Ken Swanson writes the following, in regard to my article on views on the immaculate conception (of Mary) and the virgin birth (of Christ): > The virgin birth of Jesus Christ is claimed by a long-standing tradition > common to Catholicism, Protestantism and Ort[h]odoxy; it is currently > disputed (as it has been through the centuries) by SOME Christians(?) > who obviously must not believe in the inspired and infallible > written word of God, the Bible. [References to Matthew 1 and Luke 1 are given.] Due to the nature of the original question (What are the major views on...), I tried to give as neutral a summary as possible. And I think it is correct to say that many modern Christians doubt the virgin birth of Christ; in fairness to them, this view should be included in a summary of the existing viewpoints. Ken is correct, however, to point out that the accounts in Matthew and Luke support the doctrine of the virgin birth. It is also correct to say that most who deny the virgin birth would not describe the Bible as "the inspired and infallible written word of God" (though many of them would say that the Bible is in some sense "inspired" and conveys to us the word of God). N. L. Tinkham duke!nlt
slb@drutx.UUCP (Sue Brezden) (04/24/85)
Dan writes: > I am only aware of two different views. The Roman Catholic theology > states that both Jesus and Mary were virgin born. NO, NO, NO. I am a Buddhist, and _I_ know better than that. The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception has nothing to do with the doctrine of the Virgin Birth. The Catholic view is that Mary was born without original sin--her mother was not a virgin. Before you start condemning people's views as non-scriptural, be sure you know what those views are. -- Sue Brezden Real World: Room 1B17 Net World: ihnp4!drutx!slb AT&T Information Systems 11900 North Pecos Westminster, Co. 80234 (303)538-3829 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Honk if you love Shiva! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~