New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-03-04
THE QUESTION OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH.

THE QUESTION OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH
A CORRESPONDENTS ARGUMENTS TO SHOW THE
LEGENDARY CHARACTER OF THE BELIEF.
To the Editor Of The Tribune
SIR In the letter of Lex" which appeared III
YOUR paper OF the 3D. he seems to ignore the fact
that the question OF the Virgin Birth 10 ITSELF one
OF fact entirely and TO be settled like any hs'oii
cal question by evidence. EXCEPT that as po'",eu
out the occurrence Gained TO have taken pace pe
ing wholly outside human experience, ana contrary
70 the laws OF nature requires for It's establishment
an extraordinary amount of the very strongest e''-
dence To what sing.e particle Of evidence OF any
character does he refer us? Not one. The on'y
statement In his letter which looks in that direction
is 20 the effect rhat having made up our minus ~
believe In the resurrection ut Is not very dllncut
to believe that the statements In relation To HIS
conception which Mary, His mother, must nave
made to the beloved John and he to the other
disciples or perhaps to Jesus Himself and He TO
them were the truth, however wonderful they APP
near" Let me state few facts TO controvert TINS
overwhelming testimony II Mary did make any
such statement to any one, there is no mention or
record of It.
The authorship Of none OF the gospels is known
and none OF the writer's say they were personally
c,rnizant OF the facts about the birth Mark. the
oldest omi,s H. as It had doubtless then not been
heard or The accountg in Matthew ana Luxe are
absolutely irreconct.abe. one says the anger APP
,,oared IN Iosenh the other to Mary one gives a
gene,Iopv Of twen;y-six generations tracing Jesus
n David whose Son the Apostles and Revelations
saw He was through Joseph and Joseph only. Tne
other gives forty-one generations by quite dHer-
on, line hut both through Joseph Both. OF course,
ore tnsnlrod II Joseph was his father, the story
Of miracle disappears If Joseph was not the rather
of Jesus He was not the son Of David, ana not me
MESSIAH /; is said In the Gospels: He WAS suDJeCt
~ NJ n,rents HIS toNnspeople asked, rs not tnlS
Inc son of Joseph?" and his mother, VINO must nave
known ali about H. and is said 10 have oeen toiq oy
angel that He was the son OF Coo ~ rb no sor
roying' None of the Apostles speak OF the peIiei
in any connection or make 1t the basis OF any argu-
ment. TAey constantly ten OF t NE stinend5us
f,ct which Il is Gained was vel known to them
all and belief in which is said to ne heceSsaiy y,
su.vation" as one of the ar'ic'es oi the
BOT only is the who.e story. with its wandering
star which would have thrown all the o'ner heseiI
Is bodies Of their ORBITS ara us shgrs dhseS,
ry,in,v legendary In is character and of .ater
origin but lust such legends have grown up ABOUT
almost every great religious ,eader-,n siam S2dom
IA and others in Persia ZOrOaster; in Greece ana
Rome several in India. krishna and Gautana
Bndha The Legends on m fegara To nler nv many
hundred years than the Christian ones are STRIKING
~ similar TO incm. There is the star IN tne East;
tho annunc.ltion to Maya, Buidhas mother ana
nor separation from her husband. the appearance or
anee.s announcing that "a saviour y born 10 men
and the visit Cs the w.se men W ny snouId We
without any evidence more in Judei than In Egypt,
India or Greece? II H. pain that While Lex sdS >
he cannot to the con fusion OF Dr RevllIr'
he has not read his paper. Dr. Revive i tro..
esfant theo.oean Of the highest character ao.l!iy
and scholarship. who studies and reasons felres5y
FOR himself and has no bishops 20 tel MN wnat ne
must beis about questions OF historical fact
LAYMAN. AND LEX" ALSO.
Washington. FEB q. 1896.