Oh, and he is also an ordained Presbyterian minister.
And I really liked his no BS explanation for why so many ignoramuses stick giant Nativity scenes on their lawns at Christmas.
On why we think Mary was a virgin:
The familiar Christmas story, including the virgin conception and birth of Jesus, is found in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. Scholars have pointed out that these stories are somewhat disconnected from other parts of these Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. In fact, by the time he is a young boy in the temple, Jesus’s parents seem to have forgotten the virgin birth. They act surprised by his odd behavior. There is never any other mention in the New Testament of these incredible events! These stories seem to be an afterthought, written later than the rest of the gospels that contain them. To make matters more interesting, the stories themselves have inconsistencies and ambiguities – contradictory genealogies, for example. Our Christmas story (singular) is actually a composite.
Or consider the idea that Mary is a virgin. The Greek writer of Matthew quotes Isaiah as saying: “a parthenos shall conceive and bear a child.” The Hebrew word in Isaiah is “almah,” which means simply “young woman.” But the Greek word parthenos can mean either a virgin or a young woman, and it got translated as “virgin.” Modern Bible translations have corrected this, but it is a central part of the Christmas story.
You know for the "inerrant word of God" this book is certainly full of historical inaccuracies, and mistranslations.
So did early Christians believe in the virgin birth?
Jewish Christians, the first Christians, didn’t believe in the virgin birth. They believed that Joseph was the biological father of Jesus. Part of their Christology was “adoptionism”–they thought Jesus was adopted as the unique son of God at some time later in life. There were disagreements about when – Mark suggests the baptism, Paul suggests the resurrection.
Over time, gentile Christianity replaced Jewish Christianity. There were Jewish-Roman Wars. The Jewish Christians were marginalized and oppressed. The Gentile branch became dominant. Eventually we get the gospel of John which pushes the sonship of Jesus back to the beginning of time. This writer is at the other end of the spectrum from the Jewish Christians.
So apparently all of the relatively rational early Christians were told to shut up, and that left the less than rational ones to interpret the story of Jesus. Well that figures.
So just how should we view stories in the Bible?
We need to be able to appreciate these stories as myths, rather than literal histories. When you understand where they come from, then you can understand their spiritual significance for the writers and for us.
Well good then I have been doing it right since I was just a boy.
I apologize if this interferes with your ability to enjoy the holidays. But take heart!
I mean sure the Biblical stories about Jesus are complete horse pucky, but at least we know Santa Claus is real. Right?
Right?
Why is the religious right (which I guess now is just "the right") unable to understand metaphor?
ReplyDeleteScientifically parthenogenesis refers to asexual reproduction. It can't happen in humans because both sets of DNA, maternal and paternal, are required to initiate the process. It is interesting though, how the myth evolved and how people will cling to it even though they know better. I had to write a paper in 8th grade, in my accelerated language arts class, regarding what I thought about Jesus's birth tale. My closing remark basically surmised Mary's uncomfortable situation in having to explain to her partner that she was pregnant due to mysterious circumstances. All I had to say was "Wow, I hope this never happens to me because my parents would never believe me."
ReplyDelete:-)
Mary and Bristol Palin, two woman who weren't virgins when they got knocked up.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gryphen, and Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteLet's NOT stick a pin the story and let people believe what they want to believe, Keep religion out of schools.
ReplyDelete1:49
Deleteschools AND government !! ... and don't fukin' try sellin' it to me either - comprende ?
http://www.nobeliefs.com/pagan.htm
Sarah Palin said, "Christmas is so extremely important. And not just for Christians — of course that’s the foundation of our faith, the birth of Christ —
ReplyDeleteRead more at http://wonkette.com/570137/sarah-palin-literally-phones-it-in-to-foxs-all-american-christmas-special#5Y8uHO8yZIAX3KvX.99
For Christians, which is the more important holiday, Christmas or Easter? (Note: Sarah doesn't mention Easter. She is far more concerned with all of the trimmings of Christmas. Easter is just about hiding some eggs).
Here is a website that answers the question: http://www.quora.com/Whats-more-important-to-Christians-Christmas-or-Easter
In general, the resurrection of Christ is considered of vital importance. While his birth is important because his life was, Christians consider Christ's ultimate mission to include his death and resurrection.
Of course, most Christian cultures make a much bigger deal out of Christmas than Easter. The reasons for this are complex. A big factor is probably that a miraculous birth is easier to celebrate than a terrible death, even when followed by a resurrection. Also, because Easter has generally been seen as more sacred, it hasn't been a time for fun and celebration, whereas Christmas has. In the past century, the practice of gift-giving and other customs has made Christmas very profitable, which gives stores and companies a big incentive to decorate, play songs, and generally make a big deal out of the holiday.
In short, the Resurrection is more important to Christians, but Christmas is a bigger holiday.
Here is another comment: And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith." - St. Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 15:14)
Christmas marks the start of salvation history. But salvation is fulfilled in the resurrection of Christ from the dead, which is the very thing we celebrate in Easter. :)
Or perhaps the subversive persistence of pagan habits: the solstice? (wink, wink)
DeleteYou know, if we didn't have 'Christmas', we'd have to invent something to give us an excuse to break the monotony of every day life.
You are right about the true religious significance. Celebrating the birth in the middle of winter is certainly a lot of fun. It is especially enticing to children, and that is where belief begins. When I first learned about genetics, I began to seriously doubt the virgin birth meme. The reproduction by parthenogenesis would result in a female child, not a male. There are many virgin births in earlier religions. I wonder if any of those were female.
DeleteBeing raised without adherence to religion has left me many times as "an outsider looking in", into the beliefs of others that I can relate to only by having read about them in books but don't have an actual philosophical attachment to. Life to me has been a sociological and anthropological study of those that I have nothing in common with.
DeleteI am minority in most societies since the majority of people adhere to one religion or another and sometimes, like at the grocery store yesterday, I chime in with a "Merry Christmas" just because it seems polite but then I end up driving home wondering if more of the "Merry Chrismasers" are like me, just giving lip service to something that isn't really part of our life or if most of them actually celebrate Christmas and believe in god. So many questions, so little time :-)
Some of it is just rote like saying "fine" when you're asked how you are.
DeleteIf the birth of Christ was important to Sarah Palin, why didn't she visit the Church of the Nativity when she was in Israel?
ReplyDeleteHey G
ReplyDeleteDon't Just Question the 10 Commandments; Question the Entire Bible
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-siebold/dont-just-question-the-te_b_6367584.html?ncid=txtlnkusaolp00000592
The entire bible is a question...and one that answers itself by way of the idiocy it professes.
DeleteHave a good holiday Gryph!
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of books like "The Golden Bough" and more recent studies which link our holidays to ancient religions based on the time when man began agriculture (around 10,000 BC-- in spite of the fact that the world is only supposed to be 6,000 years old). It was important to pray to whatever spirits provided sun, rain and good weather to insure good crops, so spring was all about fertility (eggs, green plants, renewal and rebirth). At the darkest time of the year, it was important to get the sun to burn more brightly, especially for people who lived in latitudes where the days were shorter at winter time. They burned fires or candles so the sun would get the idea to burn more brightly. The Inca's tied a rope to a big gold disc and tied it to a symbol of the sun to get the same results. If you did this around Dec. 21, it usually worked and the sun did burn a little more brightly each day. In thanks for a bountiful harvest, autumn festivals were harvest festivals filled with thanksgiving. These holidays were observed by druids, Celtic people, in ancient Greece and Rome in different forms, so when Jews and then Christians came along, they added their religion to already existing holidays. If the story of a virgin birth makes the story of Christ more divine, fine. It would be a good contrast to all of the Greek myths where Zeus, the King of the Gods, took many forms and had sex with lots of humans and other gods. Happy Winter Solstice, may the sun burn more brightly each day.
ReplyDeleteHave a great holiday, Gryphen and IM'ers. I learned at an early age that virginity, like balloons, are temporary. One prick and they're gone. I kind of chuckled at your use of "pin" in the headings, because my parents came here from Italy. Every bride's photo we saw as children had these HUGE "hat pins" worn either in the hat or bodice of the dress. I asked my mother why someone wearing a veil needs a hat pin,and when I was old enough, she explained it to me. The woman needed to prove her "purity" by hanging sheets with blood stains from the balony and window, which brought out the dirty old men serenading the couple. Most "blood" came from deliberate pricks on the finger with the pins. Of course, we all know with feminine products and sports, that the hymen usually breaks on it's own and there's little if any blood even IF the woman is a virgin. All the fables were first passed down by word of mouth, then written ages later, so of course the tales are long, tall, and not worth the paper they're written on.
ReplyDeleteOf course the Virgin birth is probable. Just look at the komodo dragon and parthenogenesis. And for everything else, It's called Faith, not the scientific method. They are both valuable.
ReplyDeleteI think you mean "possible," not "probable."
DeleteI guess if you want to get technical about it, it is possible in a fertility clinic for them to harvest eggs and collect sperm and conduct the fertilization and incubation in a test tube. Later, the fertilized egg, or probably a more developed stage, can be implanted in a woman's uterus for the 8 1/2 months. Technically, there was no penetration and the fertilization took place in a lab. If she never had sexual intercourse, yeah, she could still be a virgin. Why not?
DeleteIt's difficult for a human being to spontaneously give birth with the fertilization of sperm being involved. The egg only has half of the DNA compliment. The other half comes from the sperm. It is hard to imagine two eggs being combined to produce a viable human birth. The sperm has to penetrate the cell wall of the egg to set the off the proper chemicals for the rest of nature to take its course.
Mammals are not capable of that kind of reproduction. Next.
DeleteNope, I meant probable.
DeleteNot to mention all the other religions (Many or all predating Christianity) who have a savior born of a vergin. Manu dozen religions at the least. Also pagns, and the winter solstice, where the sun sits on the horizon for a few days and "on the third day rises again"/
ReplyDeleteVery cool and people need to think, really think about the pap they/ve been fed. It is all in the name of control and an excuse for waging war.