i was wondering something...In the story of the Immaculate Conception...it is believed that Mary was a virgin, right? And she gave birth to Jesus, right? So does that mean that you all believe that she somehow formed a baby inside of her and gave birth? I mean SERIOUSLY believe that a woman however many years ago, in a manger gave birth to a child without having her egg fertilized? Thats not possible, unless you believe in some time of magic, right? or miracles? It seems to me that the only miracles that this religion believes have happened hundreds of years ago with no proof besides someone "saying so". I just don't understand why so many people say " yup, thats what happened because thats what my mom and my grandma and my neighboor and my aunt say happened". I dont get it.....so there is no proof, just a story that was passed down from generation to generation?? doesnt that mean that most of them just "go with the flow?" please elaborate(without the word faith...thanks in advance=0)
2006-10-23 13:42:05 · 29 answers · asked by thatgirluknow 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
ok i like these answers, lots of different opinions....im not trying to put anyone down...im simply wondering if Christians feel that they are believing in something that didn't actually happen, thats all. Because it isn't scientifically possible to get pregnant through Divine Intervention....you can't just get pregnant(unless your egg splits i guess, but then jesus would be a girl?) So does that mean that you just put your faith into a fairy tale meant to steer people in the right direction throughout life?? just a question, not a bash or insult...
2006-10-23 13:52:00 · update #1
CHERIE118: nicely put...something to think about...thank you for saying that politely=0)
2006-10-23 14:09:03 · update #2
Good for you, the only way to really understand this is to make it your own. So don't throw the baby out with the bath water yet (no pun intended). There are real mythical symbols in christianity that can actually be helpful in life, even if you don't believe.
The idea that Jesus was born of Virgin implies that he was born of the heart not of the body. Whereas we are dualistic creatures, Jesus' humanity was all human not animal. It is a message repeated by almost every religion and philosophy(Buddha was born of his mother side, at the level of the Heart Chakra). The message is that we should strive to own our animal natures and not be ruled by them.
2006-10-23 13:50:13 · answer #1 · answered by Al 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Miracle. Yes. Miracles still happen today - but unfortunately our American media would rather show us bad things instead of insanely good things. Whatever. But interestingly enough, those "stories" were passed down from generation to generation without flaw. They are the same today as they were 4000-6000 years ago - proved to us at the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Christians had an really old version of the Bible, but then they found the Dead Sea Scrolls which were hundreds of years older than the oldest version and everything was exactly the same. No other religion can boast such accuracy in thousands of years of scriptural documents.
Jesus Christ died and rose again. The proof of the resurrection is 11 out of 12 of His disciples died gruesome deaths for their Risen Savior;even the Bible says that if the Resurrection didn't happen everything Christians believe is absolute foolishness. People don't die for lies. Jesus' Disciples died proclaiming Jesus' message. The disciples knew Jesus - they lived with Him for three years. Who would dedicate their life to His message unless what He said was the truth? And if what Jesus said was Truth, fulfilled through His resurrection, then everything in the Bible is true. And if everything in the Bible is true, then amazing stories like the one of Jesus' birth is True. Simple logical deduction.
EDIT: And all the stuff about Mary being sinless, and having been immaculately conceived is not even in the Chirstian Bible and is not traditionally believed by majority of Christians.
2006-10-23 13:54:54 · answer #2 · answered by Bridget 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1) First of all..."The Immaculate Conception" has nothing to do with Jesus' Birth, rather with the sinlessness of the Virgin Mary. MARY is the "Immaculate Conception", not Jesus". What you are referring to is simply called "The Virgin Birth". It's best not to get the two terms mixed up!
2) The question is not so much "HOW" Jesus was conceived, but by "Whom" (capital "W" intentional) Scripture tells us that the Archangel Gabriel came to Mary and announced that she would be with child, conceived by the Holy Ghost. Miracle? Sure. Call it what you will, but the idea of the Incarnation (God becoming a man) is central to the Christian Faith. Even Mary said "How can this be possible, since I have not been with a man??" The Angel who announced unto Mary said: "With God, nothing is impossible."
3) No "proof", you say? - this may well be true, if you deny the other cardinal doctrine of Christianity....The Resurrection. When Jesus rose from the dead (Thousands of eyewitnesses, 12 of whom went to grisly deaths when all they had to do was deny what they had seen with their own eyes - and in Thomas' case, felt with his own hands!) He (Jesus) proved who he was - the Son of God.
4) Tell me....and this is a serious question and not meant to be flippant....Do you believe in George Washington? Abe Lincoln? Julius Caesar? Why? Because you read about them in a book?
That's why I believe in Jesus. And in his Virgin Birth. And in his Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension, too! There is just too much eyewitness evidence out there for me to deny the truths of the Holy Scriptures...and the Resurrection is proof of it all!
Peace.
Father K.
2006-10-23 13:58:51 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Have you ever met some one and just knew for sure what kind of person they were immediately without anyone telling you? like good or bad?a gut feeling so to speak.Do you doubt the existence of air?you have only been told it exists by someone else."saying so" is one way we humans learn by passed on information. Have you ever seen the electricity in a power outlet?but you have felt it if you ever received a shock. not to disobey your instructions but you have placed some faith in some things you have been taught. some of us are not operating on what we were told, we have drawn close enough to God to feel deep inside what is true or right . yes I believe the spirit of God entered into Mary and created a baby but I fail to see why that is any more magic than a sperm mixing with an egg and making a baby and DNA that carries all the info each human body needs and tells it what color skin and hair and eyes etc you do not find miraculous magic in that?we certainly cannot make DNA ourselves yet science has proved it exists I will pray that you are able to someday open the eyes of your heart and see the infinite possibilities you are ignoring with skepticism
2006-10-23 13:55:25 · answer #4 · answered by cherie118 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
So you begin out now not even knowing that almost all of non christian faith are truthfully atheist then!!! ATHEIST - any individual who does now not consider in a God – any God – now not simply the Christian one. But that doesn't imply they don't keep robust ethical or devout ideals! They can comply with any faith that doesn't have a god and there are plenty of the ones!! I suppose your query smacks extra of desperation, lack of awareness and intolerance than any want to search enlightenment! Just check out studying a small pattern of Christian postings on right here!!! Intolerant, egotistical, hate crammed and bigoted!! Eschewing schooling, technological know-how, evolution works of fiction and far, a lot more. Christians are the one faith opposing human rights and persecuting gays, professional option and so a lot more - however a ways worse at the same time they call for freedom of faith they deny it to all non Christians and persecute them!!! Just how can you get them to tolerate someone else's recommendations?!!!! Forget the loving and forgiving god they deserted that many years in the past!!!
2016-09-01 01:41:17 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You say Is this reasonable?
Surely it was not impossible for the Creator, who designed the human reproductive organs, to bring about the fertilization of an egg cell in the womb of Mary by supernatural means. Marvelously, Jehovah transferred the life-force and the personality pattern of his firstborn heavenly Son to the womb of Mary. God’s own active force, his holy spirit, safeguarded the development of the child in Mary’s womb so that what was born was a perfect human.—Luke 1:35; John 17:5.
What can we learn from the Bible record about Mary?
A lesson in willingness to listen to what God says through his messengers even though what we hear may at first disturb us or seem impossible.—Luke 1:26-37.
2006-10-23 13:57:21 · answer #6 · answered by papavero 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
with out the f word? that will be hard. I don't believe that that's what happened because my mom said so I believe it because God told me.
To the point: in the bible it says that the spirit of the lord came upon her, meaning that she was fertilized. I'm NOT saying that God and Mary had intercourse (for all you wise guys out there) I'm just saying that the creator used some of His unlimited resources to fertilize Mary. (If He can cure diseases and give people back their severed limbs why can't He place sperm in a woman?)
Humanity thinks that it's so smart because we learned a bit about the world around us in the past couple of centuries. Well we need to swallow our pride because we're like little kids that think we've grown up because we can ride a bike.
2006-10-23 13:52:42 · answer #7 · answered by Victoria W 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Church decreed the Holy Bible is canonical, inspired by God the Holy Spirit. Infallible in its teaching on faith and morals. Either you're Christian and accept it as part of your faith or you do not. A decision made by the individual which is our gift of free will, also from God.
Also, people are grossly misinformed or confused. The Immaculate Conception refers to when Mary was concieved without original sin with her mother, Saint Anne. When Mary became pregnant with Jesus, by the power of the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, that is known as the Incarnation.
2006-10-23 13:47:01 · answer #8 · answered by Augustine 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You are interpretting virgin w/today's terminology. At the time of the writing of the bible, a virgin was a young, unmarried girl. The Immaculate Conception actually means that Mary, not Jesus, was conceived without sin on her soul. It has nothing to do with the conception of Jesus. Yes, Christians do actually believe that Jesus was conceived divinely. The basis of Christianity is faith, so it's impossible to explain our beliefs without that term.
2006-10-23 13:49:28 · answer #9 · answered by Apple21 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
...okay, actually, the "immaculate conception" refers to MARY'S conception, because she was born without original sin. Jesus's conception is just called The Virgin Birth. And, technically, it doesn't necessarily mean she conceived a child without having her egg fertilized; it was just fertilized by God; it's not that weird of a concept, anyway; lots of pre-christian religions had women bearing the children of gods. (Just...most of the time they were being symbolic when they said that--having sex with a representative of a god. So maybe it just got taken a bit literally)
2006-10-23 13:48:36 · answer #10 · answered by Sarah 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋