Ask a Pastor Column

Q: I heard that the Virgin Birth was invented by the Church 300 years after Christ lived. Is that true?

A: The Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ is a cardinal doctrine of the Church and has been from it’s beginning. It is clearly taught in Scripture (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-37), which was written in the 1st century A.D. within a few decades of Christ’s ascension. There is a great deal of extra-biblical evidence to support this, which has persuaded many skeptics down through the years to embrace Christ as Lord and Savior. Yet we still hear of many who claim that Christianity has been proven to be a fraud. Let me take some space here to explain why this is.

There is a large and active body of intellectuals who embrace a mindset that is known as Naturalism. Basically, this group has decided the world came about through entirely natural means and that all references to historical supernatural events are a result of lying or mythology. Once they become convinced of these ideas, they bring them as assumptions to everything they consider, and these assumptions affect their responses to any given situation.

So then, when naturalists examine a miraculous event like the virgin birth, their preconceived notions about miracles lead them to minimize, explain away, or ignore any evidence that might support the virgin birth, and maximize anything that might discredit it.

We should know, however, that preconceived notions are universal. Christians also have preconceptions that affect our thinking on various subjects. Preconceptions are only bad when they’re wrong. If they are wrong then they will warp our thinking until we reexamine our point of view and identify the error.

This is why we hear such different views from educated people on the subject of religion and Christianity. It is a war of ideas and the stakes are high. Each person individually must examine the evidence and decide what the truth is, our eternity rests on how well we make that choice. But God is available to help guide seekers towards a knowledge of the truth (Jeremiah 29:13).

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