Overview and Objectives

If Mary was telling the truth, her baby had no human father. She claimed an angel appeared to her and told her she would conceive a son by God’s Spirit. Then he said that this child, whom she was to name Jesus, would be the Son of God. If Mary was lying, the night of Jesus’ birth was not holy, and the only thing that was silent was the truth. But how can we know? How can we take seriously the kind of story that usually deserves laughs of disbelief? The answer is in what followed. If there were no witnesses and no evidence, we could ignore Mary’s claims. If her Son’s life were the same as any other life, her claim of a virgin birth would be the easiest of all stories to dismiss.

When you complete this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

As you proceed through this lesson have the following question in mind.
Why do you think that the idea of a virgin conceiving and bearing a child is so difficult for a secular thinker? Do you believe in the possibility of a virgin birth? If so, explain why you hold this view.