THE VIRGIN BIRTH
Subtitle: MYSTERY OR MYTH?
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Published: February 28, 2006
Language: eng
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 80
ISBN-13: 9781418431457
Subjects: History; History: World; Religion - Theology; Christian Theology - General; Religion / Theology; History - General History; General
Description: At the time of Christ's birth there were several virgin birth stories circulating around the Mediterranean, such as Mithra and Asclepius, who boasted virgin birth stories of their own God-saviors. Christianity was not the first religion to hold such a doctrine. The virgin birth story appears only in the first two chapters of Matthew and Luke, and in contradicting style and content. Most biblical scholars agree that these two chapters were added in later, around 80 CE. Both narratives have genealogies, but extremely different from one to another. Matthew includes four women in his genealogy in a day when women were rarely included in genealogies. Why? What did these four women have in common? The answers might shock you. Why didn't the other apostles and early Christian leaders ever mention the virgin birth, when to do so would have certainly been to their advantage. And what about myth vs. mystery. Are their no truths in myth that cause us to discover meanings deeper than empirical fact? These and many more questions are uncovered in insightful and persuasive ways that give the reader a deeper sense of value in the virgin birth story, albeit... mystery or myth.
Notes: Each year as the Christmas season draws near, many Christians will display Nativity scenes featuring Joseph, the virgin Mary and baby Jesus. The virgin Mary? How authentic is this article of faith, and how far back does it go?

These questions are raised in The Virgin Birth: Mystery or Myth (AuthorHouse, 66 pp., ISBN: 1-4140-6795-X (e-book); ISBN: 1-4140-6796-8 paperback) by J. R. Longsdorf, an ordained minister for more than 30 years who has published internationally, including articles and studies published through his denomination’s literature. He graduated first in his class at Park University with a master of arts in religious studies and religious leadership. He has taught seminars across the United States and the Caribbean, focusing on emerging doctrines in the early Christian church.

As the book title suggests, this author does not necessarily accept the virgin birth of Jesus, stated in the Apostles’ Creed, as factual. He takes the reader on an intriguing intellectual journey exploring various possibilities for the doctrine’s origin. This concise, yet thorough, book is divided into four chapters covering the infancy narratives (in the gospels of Matthew and Luke); parallels in other religious movements; literary development; and the virgin birth as taught in the second century.

Longsdorf notes apparent contradictions between the two accounts in Matthew and Luke, and he speculates on the reasons for the differing genealogies through King David’s line of descendants. He suggests that the virgin birth stories were later additions to the original gospels (most biblical scholars think about 80 A.D.), and he asks why St. Paul made no mention of it in his epistles. He also notes that Matthew includes four women in his genealogy, at a time when women were rarely included in these records. Why? What did these women have in common? 

The book comes with a bibliography, and numerous footnotes are listed throughout the text. Longsdorf dissects the original meaning of Isaiah 7:14, usually quoted as the main Old Testament prophecy of a coming prince to be born of a virgin. He also makes comparisons with other virgin birth stories of mythological Greek and Roman heroes, and explores parallels in the pagan “mystery” religions. He even draws parallels with emperor worship and quotes a poem, the fourth Eologue of Virgil, known as the “messianic” eologue, which is a paean to the birth of Augustus Caesar.

Longsdorf quotes various writers such as Paul Lobstein, who said, “Myth, no less than history, can serve as a means and channel of the revelation from above...” Speaking for his own view, Longsdorf says, “nearly every religion of the first century was exposed, to some degree, to the ideas of miraculous conceptions, or even, virgin births of their heroes, saviors, man-gods, and emperors... There is a strong argument that supports the idea that the virgin birth tradition was not prevalent in Christianity for several decades, even after the death of Jesus.” He points to “the silence of our other gospels, Paul, and the rest of the New Testament writers” as evidence.

He states unequivocally, “Christianity has always been a missionary religion,” and adds later as an example, “In Antioch, where the Christian movement early spread, is a specific situation which would have made a virgin birth conception a very useful bit of Christian propaganda.” 

Still, in matters of faith, each one must make his or her own decision. As Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” You may or may not agree with this author’s explanation, but you may be encouraged to look into it further, as in any of the numerous references cited.

There is one mystery, however, that the book makes no attempt to answer. To which denomination does the author belong?

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