Doctrinal Pointers by Gerald B. Stanton, Th.D. Prof, of Systematic Theology, Talbot Theological Seminary
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Can a Thinking Man Believe in the Virgin Birth of Christ?
(Part Three)
I ast month we talked about so- called virgin births in pagan leg end and mythology. Actually none of these were virgin births, and even if they were, Matthew and Luke would never have degenerated to the point of taking vulgar heathen myths and transforming them into a fable applicable to the One they wor shipped as Lord and Saviour. These men were thoroughly Jewish, and if there were any lessons the Jews had learned during six centuries of cap tivities and sorrows prior to the com ing of Christ, it was to abhor pagan gods and to shun the corrupt mythol ogy with which all heathen religions abound. The idea that the Biblical concept of the virgin birth of Christ sprang from such sources as these is so unreasonable that even the ex treme critics have abandoned the idea. One has but to compare the gospel narrative with the pagan leg end, laying the real and counterfeit side by side, to come away from the comparison with a distinctly new ap preciation of the gospel and with the assurance that here is an account distinctly different from anything previously recorded in history. Evidence in Support of the Virgin Birth Whereas the very fact that the Gos pels do record the virgin birth of Christ is sufficient evidence for most Bible-believing Christians, there are some additional facts which lend sup port to the doctrine and are worthy of our consideration. (1) The virgin birth is reasonable, particularly from this viewpoint: With such a stupendous' event in view as the entrance of deity into the form and limitations of humanity, with the eternal Son being “made flesh,” with the Lord of glory now “ being found in fashion as a man,” if ever in the course of human events a miracle of God is to be performed, this is the time. Actually, the incarn ation of Jesus Christ was attended by several supernatural phenomena: the appearance of the star, the guid ance of shepherd worshippers, the APRIL 1954
angelic choir, and so forth. Likewise was His death attended by evidences of supernatural intervention: the sud den earthquake, the awful darkness,- the resurrected saints, and the rent veil of the temple. Is it not reason able to expect confirmatory miracles when God sends His Son, not as an adult like the first Adam but as a babe, not with glorified humanity but in the likeness of sinful flesh? Is it not to be expected that the Father would thus vindicate the claims of His Beloved when He died in igno miny and shame? One who thus comes from God must bear to some degree the credentials of God, particularly when He stoops to the uttermost in taking upon Himself the limitations of human flesh. The virgin birth was necessary to shield Him from the taint of imputed sin which ordinary conception would have allowed, but more than this, such a birth was en tirely reasonable as a witness to the deity of Him who came to earth in lowly guise. (2) The witness of prophecy. It must not be overlooked that the Old Testament had foretold the virgin birth of Messiah. Even as Micah had predicted His birth at Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2), Isaiah had declared that that birth must be of a virgin mother (Isa. 7:14), which event was to be a sign unto the people. Similarly, Jere miah had indicated something of the hovah had indicated something of the same miracle when he spoke of a woman being the sole proprietor of a man child (Jer. 31:22). This was to be “ a new thing in the earth,” but wherein is an ordinary birth a “new thing,” or wherein could an event as common as the birth of a child constitute a sign unto the Israelitish nation? Hence, we have two major Old Testament prophets voicing their prediction of a unique event, even the birth of the Messianic Saviour by a mother known to be a virgin. Proph ecy thus raises her voice in confirm ation of this miracle which attended the incarnation of the Son of God. (T o be continued.)
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