Through modern science, women that have never had sex can give birth. Is a virgin birth no longer a miracle?

Question

... or have the religious redefined the phrase "virgin birth" so that it now only refers to a birth that God can take credit for?

Answer 1

Any reasonable atheist OR Christian would agree:

1) Modern in vitro fertilization birth is not a miracle, according to a strict definition of "miracle".

2) IF a virgin gave birth to a child without the involvement of a sperm (whether from a man directly or indirectly), it would be a miracle by ANY standard or definition of the word "miracle".

-

Merriam-Webster gives two main definitions of "miracle":
1. an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs
2. an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment

Obviously, it depends upon which of these 2 definitions you are using. The first demands existence of the "divine", while the second does not. And an atheist OR Christian could correctly use "miracle" in either fashion in conversation, though the atheist does believe the first defintion to be possible.

Certainly, "in vitro fertilization" is an oustanding accomplishment (defintion #2), but it is not direct evidence of divine intervention in human affairs (defintion #1).

Therefore, an atheist could say that in vitro fertilization IS a miracle (using defintion #2) while a Christian could say that in vitro fertilization IS NOT a miracle (using defintion #1)...and BOTH would be correct.

-

In any event...
Everybody agrees that IF Mary gave birth to Jesus without having sex, it was a miracle...and God exists.

Obviously, you and many others do not believe this is true while a Christian has faith that it is true.

Either way - it is a matter of faith - as there is no evidence one way or the other.
-

Answer 2

Yes, I'm well aware of this. To me, the virgin birth story is a metaphor. It is not a historical truth. Mary was not a virgin when she had Jesus. That's my belief - and it's based on, among other things, the fact that the earliest Christian writings (including biographies of Jesus, such as Mark), know nothing of a virgin birth. Had Jesus truly been born of a virgin, you would think that they would mention that. You can almost trace the development of the virgin birth story as you read through the Christian writings in chronological order. The story goes from non-existant, to more and more elaborate. Back then, biographies were not the same as biographies today. They did not even seek to be historically perfectly accurate. They instead sought to paint a picture of the character of the person being written about. They used many techniques to show you what that person was like, how the person would have likely reacted to certain situations, what the person meant and means to the community, and so on. In order to paint this portrait, it was common for the biographer to make up a story that would show you how he viewed the subject, and how he feels the subject ought to be viewed by others. So the virgin birth story tells you something about Jesus - even if it is not historically accurate. It tells you that - at least in the mind of the biographers who wrote this - that Jesus is quite a different human being than the rest of us. He is only partly "of this world." He is "from above." His nature, in other words, is to be focused on heavenly things, not temporary, material, earthly things. The virgin birth story has been used in many cultures in this same way. It was a known myth, that, because it was so well-known, was useful. It's like how today, we say "So-and-so walks on water." Because the story of Jesus walking on water is so well-known, we can use this phrase to describe someone who we think can do about anything. No elaboration is needed, because everyone knows what that phrase means. And so with the virgin birth, people back then (and now) know what it means to say someone was born of a virgin. It means that person is extraordinary, superhuman, someone with a special purpose and mission which is divine in nature.

Answer 3

No one thinks that the virgin birth is a miracle. The miracle is that some people believe that god was the father. It is a miracle, because nowadays extremely few people would believe their daughters when them claim that they did not have sex when they have a kid, so god must be the father.

Answer 4

You don't even need modern science. There are all kinds of animals that even though they need a mate to reproduce still reproduce without one. I read a news story about a shark that was in captivity, by itself, in a tank, no contact with ANY other animals let alone males, and the female shark ended up getting pregnant some how some way? this has also been observed in a sheep I believe? and Since humans are just animals anyways whats to say that it could not happen with us? I mean the animals that it happened to are extremely rare cases.

Answer 5

Perhaps virgin birth was never a miracle.
In the ancient Roman religion, gods often consorted with young human girls and made them pregnant.
Jesus was known as a healer, so he qualifies as the first Christian physician. Now, science and physicians have taken over the job of miracles.
Miracles is just a word from religion, but it refers to many things that happen in nature.
--

Answer 6

It would seem so, but references to virgin births in western history have always been connected to the implication that a god did the impregnating, not a mortal man.

Sperm from a mortal man impregnates a mortal woman to produce a mortal child.

Those who claimed virgin birth (Jesus never actually claimed it for himself in the gospels) were claiming a demi-god's lineage and therefore, are super-beings, not mortal men.

Answer 7

In the event of conception & birth of a child by a woman who has not been known, touched, by man, either by intercourse or science, then that is a miracle.

In the days of Christ the standards of virginity were more stringent than today’s standards. Having sexual intercourse was not the customary definition; having any manner of intimate knowledge with a man would be considered as violating her purity.

Matthew 1:
18: Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, BEFORE * * THEY CAME TOGETHER, she was found with child * * of the Holy Ghost.
19: Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
20: But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her IS OF THE HOLY GHOST.

Luke 1:
34: Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I KNOW NOT A MAN?
35: And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Answer 8

Apples and oranges. What made the virgin birth so spectacular is not really the lack of sexual intercourse but the lack of human sperm involved. Even back in in Jesus' day someone could have potentially gotten pregnant while a virgin IF there was human sperm in their, uh, lady parts. I realize there were no actual turkey basters back then but you know what I mean.

When science can find a way to impregnate a woman without the aid of any man's sperm, get back to me. Then we'll talk.

Answer 9

It's still a miracle. It's called the miracle of modern science. I guess we are copying God or else Mary wasn't really a virgin. Some say they assumed she was when the bible merely meant that she was an unmarried maiden. Did you ever hear that Joseph wasn't the father but some guy called Tiberius Julio Abdes Pantera, a slave who became a soldier north of Galilee? Maybe Mary was supposed to marry him when he was captured by the Romans. Intriguing, right?

Answer 10

In 1900 Jacques Loeb accomplished the first clear case of artificial parthenogenesis when he pricked unfertilized frog eggs with a needle and found that in some cases normal embryonic development ensued. In 1936 Gregory Pincus induced parthenogenesis in mammalian (rabbit) eggs by temperature change and chemical agents. Artificial parthenogenesis has since been achieved in almost all major groups of animals, by mechanical, chemical, and electrical means, though it usually results in incomplete and abnormal development.

In a virgin birth there would be no MALE chromosomes. All births would be female. So the birth of Christ (male) was a miracle. All others just science.