My first semester of college I took a lecture hall class called Folklore and Mythology from Dr. Glickman, a rock star educator if there ever was one. At the start of each session, 350 students would hush as Dr. G entered, wind from nowhere ruffling his graying fringe. “A myth is something that cannot be proven,” Dr. G proclaimed, “therefore this class is about everything!”
The biggest myth of all, according to Dr. G, was Christianity, especially the myth of Jesus’ divine birth. So right before Christmas (oops, “Holiday”) Break, he treated us to a spiritual debunking:
For centuries, he said, the Church had taught that Jesus was divine—due almost entirely to the mistranslation of a single word! They’d translated the Hebrew word almah (in Isaiah 7:14) and its Greek equivalent parthenos (in Matthew 1:23) as “virgin,” when, in fact, the words simply meant “young woman.” Thunderous applause rewarded the stately pedagogue’s surgical extraction of this false fact from our poor, religiously inflamed consciousnesses. And then Dr. G sent us off to have appropriately belief-free “happy holidays!”
Having never read the Bible, and being a devoted atheist at the time, I was delighted to acquire this new bit of ammo to use on my deluded Christian friends. I’ve seen many atheists use it since.
Seven years later, however…
I read the Bible for the first time, and everything—including my opinion of Dr. Glickman—changed. I was becoming increasingly impressed with the life and teachings of Jesus. But suddenly Dr. G’s “proof” that Mary wasn’t a virgin came back to me. So I began to study the passages Dr. G had used.
And here’s what I learned:
The Hebrew word almah literally means “hidden” or “veiled.” Used only a handful of times in the Old Testament, it can be translated “maiden” or “young woman,” but always signifies celibacy, since those who had lost their virginity were no longer allowed to wear a veil; in fact, according to Jewish law, they were to be stoned to death. Its Greek equivalent is identical in meaning. Hence, Greece’s Parthenon was called that because it was served by parthenos—young virgins–and later became a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
But does everything hang on the words almah and parthenos? Hardly. In Luke 1:28-34 the angel Gabriel comes to Mary, telling her she is going to conceive a child. Her response? “How can this be, since I have never known a man?” (Apparently Dr. G missed this passage.) “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,” Gabriel explains, “and that which shall be born shall be called the son of God.”
And what about Joseph, the poor-but-honorable carpenter to whom Mary was betrothed? According to Matthew 1:18-23, “Before they came together (in other words, they hadn’t had sex yet), she was found to be with child.” Oops! Joe prepared to quietly break it off so that Mary wouldn’t be disgraced (or stoned to death). But then an angel appeared to him, saying, “That which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” in order that Isaiah’s prophecy of “Emmanuel, ‘God with us’ might be fulfilled.”
You may choose to disbelieve the Bible, Dr. G. But let’s not have any more of this nonsense about what it actually says, okeedokee?
And “Merry Christmas!” by the way,
From your formerly atheist student, Mitch
Thanks for debunking the myth that Mary wasn’t a virgin .:0)And highlighting that very important detail, the DNA so to speak, that proves Jesus as the Son of God and not just another prophet. A fact that fills my heart with joy and gives me cause to celebrate every da
ooops…day! Happy Christmas to you too, Mitch!
Hmmm… Not sure what this article does, save for a belated refutation of an old professor. However, let us not forget of the many nearly-identical figures predating the myth of Jesus. Krishna, a popular Hindu deity, was born of a virgin and was the son of a carpenter, he was also said to perform miracles, was crucified, and resurrected.
Or take Dionysus, the Greek god of wine among other things, was said to have been born of a virgin on the 25th of December and a “savior” and “redeemer” of sins.
Of course, we cannot forget about the ancient Egyptian god of the sky, Horus, who, like many others, was born of a virgin (Isis), who walked on water, cast out demons, healed the sick, and restored sight to the blind. He was also crucified and resurrected after three days.
While I agree with you that the question about Mary’s sexual status is not likely to, in your words, “hang on the words almah and parthenos,” this finding does not make it any more likely for her to have conceived her son as a virgin. Instead, seeing that there are countless examples (of which I’ve only listed three for the sake of brevity) of other mythical figures who share many of the same traits as Jesus, probability seems to indicate that those other stories were simply plagiarized and attributed to this one Jewish man.
Good to hear from you! My purpose was to disprove a widespread claim that the Bible does not say that Jesus was born of a virgin and, therefore, of divine nature. Whether you choose to disbelieve the Bible itself is another issue. Though I will say that you have passed on a good deal of misinformation about the various mythical beings above. Krishna, for example, was, according to Hindu writings, born through mental transmission from his father (not a god) to his mother (not a virgin), and not on Dec. 25th. He was not crucified (he was shot in the foot), did not die for anyone’s sins, and was not resurrected. Similar claims regarding Horus, Dionysius, Mithras, and others are based almost completely on post-Biblical and modern non-historical writings. Spectacular exposes, no matter how baseless and unsupported, sell copies. Peace.
Being a late-twenty-something with no faith (eh, whattaya gonna do, haha), I must say, I can’t stand the pompous attitude that people like Dr. G have when discussing something they have not fully researched just to be belittling. A good religion debate – with actual, fact-checked points – can be very engaging and a learning experience. But, what you have written about shows the weaknesses and biases in people when they simply want to seem smarter and above the group consensus. Whatever I think about all of the above topic is irrelevant, but Dr. G may need to research further.
Too long? Sorry.
Merry Christmas, Mitch ol’ chap!
I’m a college professor and a Christian (if you couldn’t already tell), and I’ve heard this kind of nonsense ever since I was a student. Thank you for exposing such bad scholarship. I enjoyed this post.
Good comment, honey!! (My husband, y’all…)
There is nothing special about college professors or scientists though they be knowledgeable in their fields of study.
And for students to see these people as “rock stars” is positively dangerous because such an attitude turns off reasoning and makes one susceptible to indoctrination.
Dr. G’s claim “A myth is something that cannot be proven, therefore this class is about everything!” is a rejection of rational thought, science, mathematics and any other form of systematic thinking.
And to somehow drive this horrible point home using the Virgin Mary’s perpetual virginity is worthy of rebuke.
Today’s students have simply not been taught the simple common sense thinking needed to challenge the nonsense spewed out by their “rock star” professors.
Being a late-twenty-something with no faith (eh, whattaya gonna do? Haha), I sometimes find people like Dr. G so pompous and full of hot air, as the saying goes. I’m sure he’s a fine fellow and all that, but would a little unbiased research hurt the man? There’s nothing like watching a good ol’ fashioned religion debate where the opposing sides have actual facts to back up their points. But, I think Dr. G showed his weakness and biases that day, and it’s hard to respect that. I have a lot of trouble tolerating misinformation just to push one’s ideas.
WELL done, Mitch! Your post is highly instructive–your comments, too. With Prof Jones above, I commend your scholarship. The truth is readily available for those who seek it with an honest desire to know.
I’ve never heard of this argument before, but now I’m ready in case I do! Really enjoy your writing.
Cool. And thank you!
Good post, Mitch. I always find it ironic when non-believers use the Bible, which they reject as divinely authoritative, to make a point. If Dr. Glickman didn’t believe in the inspiration of scripture then I wonder why it would even matter to him what the original language said. I can respect someone saying, “I reject the main points of your faith,” But I’m a little less patient when someone uses his platform to spread misinformation about a belief system he’s not as well informed on as he presents himself to be.
Good post Mitch. And there is more. The first 18 verses of Matthew are designed to set up a problem, that the remainder of the chapter is designed to solve.
Indeed, some might say the solution to a problem set up in Genesis 3:5. ;>)
Wonderful! Glad you took the time to read for yourself.
Me too.
Good stuff. I remember the debates in college well. Numb er one, Christians are constrained from telling lies but many atheists are not. Second, there are numerous false claims made by those claiming to believe secular science over faith but never remember the debunked theories of evolution that abound. I remember the “God is Dead” debates of my years in college. One friend said, “How do you know God is not dead?” I responded in a snarky manner, “Because I head from Him this morning”. One of my teachers in Psychology challenged me about my faith in God’s truth and love to heal. He said, “It is just mind over matter not really supernatural at all”. I responded, “If you came up with the same ideas in Psych you would bottle it, publish it and sell it for millions but Jesus and His people give it away for free.”
wow so true!
Hey Mitch,
It happens to often: good ol’ college professors who teaches everything that they know nothing about but do it with “gusto” to a captive and naive audience.
I really enjoyed your story (I am becoming a big fan of your blog story telling techniques). I may add another challenge to your good ol’ professor and that is the universal consensus of the early Christian Church who upheld the virginity of the Blessed Mother in such a high esteem.
Merry Christmas!
Caleb
Ha! Now you taught the Professor something 😉
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Doesn’t Science teach us that the Blood type comes from the Father? Jesus was a The result of a Divine Conception. His Blood was directly from God, which made His blood pure. Fully God, Fully Man, the 2nd Adam and worthy to redeem the creation. I love science.
Actually, I don’t think blood type is strictly from the father. But by Jewish law Jesus’ bloodline would officially have been from his Father.
I agree with your bloodline answer but for a different reason. The Godhead is not a physical being. So the blood type issue is not an issue at all. This is a great post!
The [100% Jewish] Septuagint translation opts for the Greek word for virgin, clearly understanding the intent of the original prophecy… in Isaiah 7.14
It does, indeed, use the Greek word “parthenos.” Merry Christmas, Rob
I just heard this very argument last month on some “history” show. I had never heard it before, and I’m so glad that now i know the rest of the story…that their interpretation of that word was wrong. In fact, veiled makes perfect sense and even strengthens my belief in the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth. Thank you!
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Reblogged this on Mitch Teemley and commented:
This post raised a few hackles last year. Heck, who even knew we had hackles? “Mary Christmas,” everyone!
Merry CHRISTmas, Mitch!
Great debunking of the myth that Mary was not a virgin (see what I did there?).
Yes, I do. ;>)
Reblogged this on Writers Envy and commented:
Amen, Mitch.
Always an honor to be reblogged, Will.
Before they came together to seal the marriage they were still betrothed. The betrothal lasted about a year. I have looked into this matter and there is more to it. Tribe of Judah Teach- has an excellent video on it and explains in great detail using scripture if you’re still interested .
Indeed, it did last about a year. Though I’m a little fuzzy as to what your point is, Tekoa. Blessings.
I always remember a story (I cannot remember if this is legend or truth) that C. S. Lewis came to Christ when a colleague (Some say J.R.R. Tolkien himself) challenged him to disprove the Bible using itself. C. S. Lewis, being an honorable and intellectually honest man found instead the more he tried to disprove it, the more it proved itself, and since he would rather know truth than be “right”, came to Christ.
In my own life, I finally came to the conclusion that if God was who He claimed who He was in the Bible, that he was neither so weak, nor so callous as to make sure the Bible meant exactly what it desired it to be for the needs of His Children and no man could ever change that.
And a” Mary Christmas” to you, too!!! 😉
Great post, Mitch! I enjoyed all the chit chat afterwards too. Have a very Merry Christmas as we celebrate that miraculous birth of our wonderful Savior. Bless you and yours. 🙂
Thank you, Debbie. You too!
I enjoyed your story of personal enlightenment in regard to the birth of Jesus. Dwight
Thank you, Dwight. And Merry Christmas!
And to you as well!
Thanks for writing your uplifting story! Best wishes in the New Year!
You too!
Hey Mitch!
I was thoroughly captivated by your post!
So glad you read the Bible for yourself and the TRUTH prevailed!!
God bless you!
Thank you, Christina. You too!
Good for you! I questioned a priest once when he read the gospel at mass, then turned whatever Christ said around.When I questioned him afterward, he said, (and I quote),”That’s what he SAID, that’s not what he meant.” Go figure the arrogance of these men.
;>)
A great read for those who wants to know (facts) about Jesus is the book Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. He does a great job of showing the difference between the evidence regarding Jesus, versus all these other supposed “similar’ testimonies. 🙂 So If you are still not sure I challenge thee….to read it! Your Eternity awaits 🙂
An oldie but a goodie. So’s Josh–a genuinely good man.
Praise God for TRUTH…Thanks for motivation and encouragement Mr. Teemley
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