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COMMENTS:
i think this is a point that has been brought up before: was Mary raped, had an affiar, or did Jesus even exist?
Of course, in Islam, the man who founded teh religion suffered from epilepsy, and claimed during these seizures he had visions from God, so there is a good chance that THAT religion is founded on a sham.
by aya on Sat Sep 08, 07 6:45pm
[+]
Voted : It's simply ancient religious symbolism
All religions are founded on mythologies that help to explain the natural world (in the absence of science) and to keep the populace under control (in the absence of democracy and government).
Virgin births have been attributed to various mythological godmen including Egyptian, Mayan, Aztec, Greek and Roman deities.
The Virgin Birth of Jesus is not new to Christianity and should be seen as purely symbolic.
As, indeed, should Jesus.
typo: have an affair on (him).
in the "old days" virgin did not mean what it does today. In ancient times "virgin" meant unmarried. That is the origin of the "virgin" birth stories. In many ancient goddess worshipping societies - there were periodic celebrations which included sex as part of the ritual, as an invocation of fertility, since the reproduction of plants and animals and of course human life was so critical to the continuance of mankind's existence. Children conceived by unmarried women during these festivities were often considered as fathered by the "gods".
The term virgin did not mean the same thing that it does to us now.
Oddly enough (to some i suppose) many of those thought processes still lingered in the cultures and societies even through the time period during which Jesus and Mary supposedly lived. As all readers of the Old Testament will recall - the Jews were constantly being chastised for their tendency to revert to the "old ways" - meaning goddess worship, etc.
Jesus is considered as being descendent from kings - implying his parents were of royal lineage and thus might have held some sort of place in society. Perhaps Mary's family were not the strict mid-eastern sort to off their daughter for a sexual transgression. Perhaps their solution was to marry her off quickly and explain the birth as "gift from god" acceptable to at least some segments of the society at the time. True that the fate of most Hebrew girls in this situation would have been crueler - but social position and influence has brought about less improbable things.
In my mind - it is quite possible that Mary and Jesus both existed, and in their stories there is an underlying current of truth. however i believe that whatever clear line of truth there once was - it has been heavily embroidered and embelished throughout the centuries to become the tales we now accept as - well - gospel.
In ancient times "virgin" meant unmarried. Why the need to get a god involved then?
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