Opinion | Was the Virgin Mary a Virgin? Does It Matter?
THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Nicholas Kristof
Welcome to the latest in my occasional series of conversations about Christianity. Here’s my interview, edited for space, with Philip Yancey, an evangelical Christian writer who has more than 15 million books in print in more than 50 languages. Merry Christmas! And let me start by asking about that first Christmas. Do you believe in the Virgin Birth? "A hundred years ago, the Virgin Birth was considered so important that it made the list of five “fundamentals of the Christian faith,” said Yancey. "Nowadays, with in vitro fertilization, virgin births are old news. For me, the issue centers not on the mechanics of reproduction but rather the nature of Jesus. In the Incarnation, God’s own self came to earth as a human. I wouldn’t pretend to guess how divinity interacted with human DNA, but that’s the mystery the Virgin Birth hints at." [More]
By Nicholas Kristof
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| A detail of the 16th-century “Martinengo Altarpiece,” by Lorenzo Lotto, on the high altar of the church of San Bartolomeo. Antonio Quattrone/Electa — Mondadori Portfolio, via Getty Images |
