Virgin Mothers and Miracle Babies: The Ancient History of Miraculous Conceptions

At the centre of the annual Christian festival of Christmas, particularly among those of the Catholic faith, is the sacred narrative of the Virgin Birth. In the New Testament Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Mary is described as a virgin who miraculously conceived her son by the Holy Spirit.

Biblical scholars and theologians have long discussed, debated and disputed the virgin birth of Jesus, with some arguing that there is no imperative to link it to the doctrine of the Incarnation.

Another argument that contests the accounts in Matthew and Luke points to the silence on the topic in both Mark and John, as well as in the writings of epistolary Christians such as Paul.

Philosophers such as Michael Martin further stress that the Virgin Birth is not mentioned in either early Jewish or “pagan” sources. Of course, historians would not usually place undue emphasis on an account in one particular source that is absent from another.