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The Virgin Birth: Where Science Meets Scripture PUTTING JESUS TO THE DNA TEST
New Oxford Review ^ | December 2015 | Maria Hsia Chang

Posted on 01/04/2016 9:38:32 AM PST by SweetAkitoRose

A 2013 Harris Poll found that while sixty-eight percent of American adults believe that Jesus is God, or the Son of God, only fifty-seven percent believe in the virgin birth. Disbelief in Jesus being born of a virgin, which is a fundamental tenet of Christianity, in turn implies a belief that the author of the Gospel According to Luke lied when he wrote: The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph…. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus….” But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” (1:26-35; emphasis added)

Biblical scholars use various methods to assess the truthfulness of the New Testament accounts of Jesus. One is the Criterion of Embarrassment, according to which it is human nature to write in a manner that puts the author and his cause in a positive, instead of embarrassing or negative, light. The authors of the canonical Gospels are no exception. And so, with this criterion in mind, it is reasonable for us to infer that biblical passages that place Jesus or His mother in an unflattering light, such as Mary’s premarital pregnancy, are likely to be true.

(Excerpt) Read more at newoxfordreview.org ...


TOPICS: Apologetics; Religion & Culture; Religion & Science
KEYWORDS: christianity; dna; virginbirth
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A few days late, but still very interesting, both on a religious and scientific level!
1 posted on 01/04/2016 9:38:33 AM PST by SweetAkitoRose
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To: SweetAkitoRose

Islam also claims a virgin birth for Jesus. It further claims, however, that Allah does not produce sons.


2 posted on 01/04/2016 9:46:19 AM PST by Olog-hai
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To: SweetAkitoRose

Okay, they are cool with the God concept but not cool with the idea the creator can cause a virgin to be pregnant.


3 posted on 01/04/2016 9:52:36 AM PST by Raycpa
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To: SweetAkitoRose

Of course if joeseph is the father, God failed in his blood curse against jeconia of whom Joseph is a defendant, and of whom Jesus gains the right to be king of the Jews. And there is much much more to support a virgin birth that predates the gospel period by centuries.


4 posted on 01/04/2016 9:54:24 AM PST by D Rider
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To: SweetAkitoRose

This article isn’t a theological or scriptural analysis, but a presentation of DNA research. I strongly recommend reading the full article.


5 posted on 01/04/2016 10:03:15 AM PST by SweetAkitoRose (lurking since 1998)
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To: Olog-hai
It further claims, however, that Allah does not produce sons.

That's because Allah is not God, but Satan.

6 posted on 01/04/2016 10:03:43 AM PST by JimRed (Excise the cancer before it kills us; feed & water the Tree of Liberty! TERM LIMITS NOW & FOREVER!)
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To: SweetAkitoRose
As recounted by Dr. Tipler in his book The Physics of Christianity (2007), whereas the results of a DNA test of a famous person such as Jesus normally would be published in English in a major scientific journal (English being the lingua franca of the world scientific community), not so the results of this DNA test.

In his fascinating book Tipler states:

1) there are three distinct singularities that are actually parts of the one cosmological singularity, that could correspond to the Trinity
2) a mechanism for dematerializing and materializing an object by means of neutrinos can be a method of universal resurrection in the future. The image of Jesus on the shroud of Turin would have certain features we would expect to arise in the neutrino dematerialization process
3) the virgin birth was possible because Jesus was a XX male
4) the miracle of the star of Bethlehem was a supernova in the Andromeda Galaxy.
5) human history will end in about 50 years and we will face the Great Tribulation in about 50 years

7 posted on 01/04/2016 10:06:15 AM PST by mjp ((pro-{God, reality, reason, egoism, individualism, natural rights, limited government, capitalism}))
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To: SweetAkitoRose

Good article. We’ve followed the Shroud of Turin for decades, and have wondered if DNA tests have been done on the ancient blood stains. Very interesting about the XX male chromosome results.


8 posted on 01/04/2016 10:06:53 AM PST by georgiegirl
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To: Raycpa

It doesn’t say that at all. In fact it says Jesus is in fact an XX male...which means he doesn’t have the Y chromosome that typical males have. So it’s either he’s a rare he-she type person (which happens, but very rarely) or he is a virgin born son.

If the he-she option is correct then how did the disciples know about it to say he was a virgin born son. they didn’t have knowledge of DNA back then to make up such a story.


9 posted on 01/04/2016 10:11:12 AM PST by for-q-clinton (If at first you don't succeed keep on sucking until you do succeed)
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To: JimRed

Allah’s characteristics do fit the being that they like to call Iblis or Shaitan.


10 posted on 01/04/2016 10:16:10 AM PST by Olog-hai
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To: JimRed
That's because Allah is not God, but Satan.

Bingo.

11 posted on 01/04/2016 10:31:23 AM PST by Bloody Sam Roberts (Democracy is not freedom. Democracy is simply majoritarianism. It is incompatible with real freedom.)
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To: for-q-clinton

XX males have no Y chromosomes, yet they are males.

For ~90% of XX males: one of their X-chromosomes functions as a Y due to SRY-insertion (SRY is the sex-determining region of the Y-chromosome).

The other ~10% of XX males are male despite not having SRY on an X (they are “negative for SRY gene” or “SRY-negative”).

I don’t think anyone knows why these 10% are male: even today the genetics of sex-determination are not completely understood.


12 posted on 01/04/2016 10:35:41 AM PST by agere_contra (Hamas has dug miles of tunnels - but no bomb-shelters.)
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To: SweetAkitoRose
One is the Criterion of Embarrassment, according to which it is human nature to write in a manner that puts the author and his cause in a positive, instead of embarrassing or negative, light. The authors of the canonical Gospels are no exception. And so, with this criterion in mind, it is reasonable for us to infer that biblical passages that place Jesus or His mother in an unflattering light, such as Mary’s premarital pregnancy, are likely to be true.

It would seem to imply the opposite to me. Telling a story of a virgin birth puts both Marty and Jesus in a positive, not a negative light. She was still a virgin, according to the story.

There is no way that this is unflattering. Besides, she was with her husband.

13 posted on 01/04/2016 11:30:04 AM PST by TBP (Obama lies, Granny dies.)
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To: SweetAkitoRose

BTW, the “begats” (the beginning of Matthew) trace Jesus’s family tree — according to JOSEPH’S lineage, not Mary’s. But if he’s only Mary’s son and not Joseph’s, then that lineage is irrelevant and the point it’s making is moot.


14 posted on 01/04/2016 11:31:38 AM PST by TBP (Obama lies, Granny dies.)
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To: D Rider

There are many others who have “virgin birth” stories. Why is that of Jesus true and those others not?


15 posted on 01/04/2016 11:32:32 AM PST by TBP (Obama lies, Granny dies.)
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To: agere_contra

How is one biologically male without Y chromosomes? I remember from science class that that is essentially what makes us male.


16 posted on 01/04/2016 11:34:44 AM PST by TBP (Obama lies, Granny dies.)
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To: TBP

These XX-males have testes, despite having no Y.

Also: some women have Y-chromosomes, but are completely female. This is because (IIRC) they are insensitive to testosterone.


17 posted on 01/04/2016 11:39:18 AM PST by agere_contra (Hamas has dug miles of tunnels - but no bomb-shelters.)
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To: agere_contra
some women have Y-chromosomes, but are completely female.

Caitlyn Jenner?

18 posted on 01/04/2016 11:40:32 AM PST by TBP (Obama lies, Granny dies.)
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To: SweetAkitoRose; Alamo-Girl; albee; AnalogReigns; AnAmericanMother; Angelas; AniGrrl; annalex; ...
Shroud of Turin PING for DNA science discussion.

If you want on or off the Shroud of Turin Ping List, Freepmail me

19 posted on 01/04/2016 11:46:35 AM PST by Swordmaker (This tag line is a Microsoft insult free zone... but if the insults to Mac users continue....)
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To: SweetAkitoRose

That’s a fascinating article. I was not aware that DNA tests had been done.


20 posted on 01/04/2016 11:48:03 AM PST by Duchess47 ("One day I will leave this world and dream myself to Reality" Crazy Horse)
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