Well, conception is an event that takes place in an instant. I don't think of it as a process. Once the Spirit touched Mary's egg, my opinion is that the rest was a normal pregnancy.
The record shows that it is not just I who disagrees with [Ignatius on this issue] as much as I understand his motivation, but the entire Church since then.
I can appreciate his motives as well, and I realize that his views on this subject are by no means Apostolic teaching today.
Touched Mary's egg? Where did you read that the HS "touched" Mary's egg? Is that scriptural? The mechanism of Incarnation, as far as I know, was never scripturally explained. It is, however, described as an event wholly supernatural.
The "instant" was supernatural, the Child was supernatural, the pregnancy therefore could only have been miraculous and supernatural, yet the birth, for some reason, "must" be nothing short of "natural."
So, I am askingyou again: At which point did it become "natural" and where doe sit say so?
What egg? For lack of a better term, this was a "one time event" and we don't have the foggiest idea how it happened. Nor do we know how long the pregnancy lasted. What we do know is that "normal" is NOT A TERM THAT COULD BE USED TO DESCRIBE ANYTHING ABOUT THE LORD'S CONCEPTION, BIRTH OR LIFE. Honestly, for a group that is so focused on "sola scriptura" I don't know where Protestants come up with these ideas.