Since the "Virgin Birth" concept arose from a mistranslation, why do people still believe it?

Question

Isaiah used the word Hebrew word "almah", which means young girl. This was mistranslated into the Greek as parthenos.

OT scholars have been informing Christians that they mistranslated this passage for centuries.

Answer 1

Because people are, by and large, "fed" their religion. Logic and reasoning does not come into play.

All versions of the Christian Bible come, essentially, from the original bible used in the Greek Orthodox Church prior to 700AD. Yet there are still people who claim one translation or the other is the most accurate, even more accurate that the Bible it was translated from. You cannot reason with religion.

Answer 2

No, the critical evidence only establishes that the Isaiah "prophecy" is not about a virgin. There is nothing supporting the virgin birth of Jesus except the infancy accounts of Matthew and Luke. There is nothing refuting the virgin birth except common human experiential knowledge, which doesn't account for miracles. And there it stands. The majority of Catholic Bible scholars are aware of the language discrepancy between the Septuagint and the Hebrew scriptures. But prophecies are all about symbolism, not details. Isaiah prophesying about the king's wife having a child does not strain credulity. Extending the prophecy to the virgin Mary does. But in fact, she was a young woman, even if her virginal state was not specifically predicted in scripture. The Church probably figures that explaining would cause more confusion than letting the curious find out on their own.

Answer 3

Let me get this straight - you think that the sign by which the world would recognize the Messiah is that a "young girl" would conceive and bear a son??? Not much of a sign! It happens every day! Seems to me the sign Isaiah was speaking of would have to be something a little more unusual than that. Something striking! Something impossible except by a direct act of God! Something like a virgin conceiving and bearing a son! Now THAT would be a sign worth looking for!

Answer 4

You're quite incorrect. The Hebrew Bible uses the word "almah," but the Greek translation (called the Septuagint) -- DONE BY JEWS -- uses the word "parthenos." It's not a mistranslation, as you've alleged. Instead, the 70 Jewish translators of the Septuagint used an ancient Jewish method of understanding Biblical truth called "midrash" when translating this verse. Basically, these Jewish scholars said, "almah does not mean virgin; however, it means a young woman of marriagable age who's never been married; this strongly implies she is a virgin. The passage says "the LORD Himself will give you a sign." Since it would not be a "sign" for a woman who's not a virgin to have a baby, but it would definately be a "sign" for a virgin to give birth, the true implied meaning of almah is VIRGIN."

As I stated above, it was JEWISH translators who chose the word "parthenos," NOT Gentile Christian translators.

Answer 5

I believe Jesus was the messiah, but we have to be logical, the virgin birth is not physically possible. Jesus was born at a time that you were stoned to death if you were pregnant without being married. So came the idea that he came from a virgin birth. The fact that he was not born from a virgin mother does not take away from who he is and what he did for humanity. Yes, Muslims and Christians historically have supported the fact that he was born from a virgin birth but that doesn't mean it's true.

Answer 6

So.... You're saying Mary was not necessarily a virgin... but instead, she was a young rape victim or just a tad promiscuous, is that it?

Well.. at least that's easier to believe than the pregnant virgin story... and by God, no less.

There were quite a few earlier earthly deities who were reported to be born by virgin birth... Mithras and Horus are two that I know of.

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Answer 7

NT scholars have been telling Christians that Luke got it right.

Answer 8

It actually translates as maiden, meaning unmarried woman or virgin.

Answer 9

Self delusion?

Answer 10

What do self delusional people want with facts, truths and intelligence.