Virgin birth of Jesus

The virgin birth of Jesus is a belief held by Christians and Muslims. It says that Mary, Jesus' mother, was a virgin even after she became pregnant with Jesus. By the 2nd century, most people in the Christian church believed this.^[1] The idea of the virgin birth was included in the two most common Christian creeds, the Nicene Creed and the Apostles' Creed. The Nicene Creed says that Jesus "was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary" (meaning that Jesus was God in human form, and was born to the Virgin Mary). The Apostles' Creed also says that Jesus was "born of the Virgin Mary." The belief was not challenged, except by some sects which were not very important, before the Enlightenment theology of the eighteenth century.^[1]

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke say that Mary was a virgin and that Jesus was created by the Holy Spirit.^[2][3] These Gospels started the belief that Jesus' creation was a miracle. This belief, which is now common in Christianity, says that Jesus had no natural father; no sexual intercourse and no male seed was involved in creating him. The Gospel of Matthew also says that the virgin birth of Jesus fulfills a prophecy from the Book of Isaiah.

Since the second century, the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church have taught that Mary gave birth as a virgin (meaning she stayed a virgo intacta - an "intact virgin" - even after giving birth).^[4]

The virgin birth of Jesus is also part of Islam.^[5] The Qur'an often describes Jesus as "Jesus, son of Mary" (Isa bin Maryam).^[6]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Virgin Birth". Britannica.com. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved October 22, 2007.
2. ↑ Matthew 1:18
3. ↑ Luke 1:26–35
4. ↑ "Virgin Birth of Christ." In Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press. 2005. ISBN 0192-80290-9.
5. ↑ Qur'an 3:47, 3:59, 66:12.
6. ↑ Qur'an 2:87, 2:253, 3:45, 4:157, 4:171, 5:46, 5:72, 5:75, 5:112, 5:114, 5:116, 9:31, 43:57, 61:6, 61:14.