More dumb questions from the curious

I haven't FULLY read the Bible. Who is Jesus father? If Mary wasn't able to have children, and God "enabled" Mary to, Joseph cannot be Jesus's father.And: Is this the same power Satan used? I know basing this theory on an old Horror movie is silly (the omen). But it is possible.I sound dead tired or just nutty.

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"I no longer fear hell, but have grown accustomed to it."

Hi, A Roman centurion called Pantera was Jesus father. She was able to have children, she just hadn't slept with anyone before Pantera. He can't, since Pantera is Jesus father. No, there is no such things as Satan, it is a silly story used to scare immature adults.Brian.

Does the evidence really support stating this so unequivocally?--Percy

I think Brian is using this as shock value.
I could be wrong though. Brian?

I often wondered if the virgin birth story was true would Jesus be considered a clone? His DNA would of been from his mother but God has no DNA so he would basically be a clone of Mary with a Y chromosome? Just a thought.

Hi Percy,Well it seems to be a choice between Pantera and God and since God has not been shown to exist, then it only leaves Pantera.However, I would add that I was being facetious, the OP smacks of Socratic irony.Brian.

I think you're placing too much faith in the Gospels. The Nativity accounts in Matthew and Luke are not at all trustworthy. It is entirely possible that there was nothing irregular about Jesus' birth at all. (Mary wouldn't be a virgin once she was married so the whole "virgin birth" myth requires Mary to get pregnant before marrying Joseph).

The father could be Joseph, Mary's betrothed, soon to be husband. "Virgin" in the context of the New Testament could have meant unmarried, or the Immaculate Conception could have been added later by the biblical authors. Some oral histories and some sects believe that the ark angel Gabriel was the father, and some non-christian historians have pinned paternity on a Roman soldier by rape (hence the Pantera referrence). This would be consistent with Mary denying sexual activity in an effort to disguise her rape by a Roman soldier. There are many theories out there, both christian and non-christian. However, I am not trying to say one is more accurate than any other, just listing the theories that have been circulating.

The Gospels are based, in large part, to a collection of sayings attributed to someone named Jesus.The letters actually written by Paul are based on a Messiah cult that perhaps developed in what is now Syria, which also claimed that someone named Jesus was the Jewish Messiah.Whether either of these traditions originally included references to this Jesus, or one or the other or both simply accepted this Jesus as its founder when the two traditions were combined to form Christianity is, to my knowledge, still an open question.It is still an open question whether someone named "Jesus" actually existed and taught anything that is in the Gospels.It is tradition that Jesus is the son of Mary and Joseph. Even if Jesus existed, who knows how much of this is true or added later.The story of the virgin birth is a later addition since parthenogenesis is rare in humans, and results in female offspring anyhow.

Luke and Matthew's Nativity accounts agree on the names of Jesus' parents - and not a lot else. The obvious explanation is that there is an older tradition underlying it - and it may well be correct.

This statement, by itself, assumes miracles are impossible, which is something science has not verified, nor can it verify.However, I'm not answering because of that. I'd never heard of parthenogenesis, so I looked it up on Google. It looks to me like it's not rare in humans, but that it is impossible in humans, and that it does not result in female offspring, but in a few cells that have a maximum lifespan of a few days.Obviously, a few minutes on Google doesn't make me an expert. Do you know something other than what these reports I read say? Even the little I saw was utterly fascinating.

Hello, TruthLover.I personally don't believe in miracles, so since the virgin birth requires a miracle I will assume that it is false. Of course, I can't prove that there are no such miracles; if someone accepts miracles as part of their faith then they are welcome to them. The post was deliberately worded so as to be provacative. Hopefully, not insultingly so.As far as parthenogenesis:yes, when I said "it was rare in humans", that was meant to be humor-through-understatement.There are several species of vertebrates where the females can reproduce without "knowing a male", in old-fashion parlance. In fact, there are several species of lizard where there are no males at all. What is interesting, in some of these species, two females need to come together and perform the courship rituals seen in closely related species (which may still have both sexes), including engaging in "traditional" mounting behaviour, before either female can lay eggs.

I think you're reaching. Would you mind taking a few moments to substantiate this.

"I no longer fear hell, but have grown accustomed to it."A fear of hell can be accustomed, I suppose.However, like the frog in the pot of water, being accustomed only goes so far.
Mat 23:15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye compass the sea and the dry [land] to make one proselyte, and when he is become [such], ye make him twofold more [the] son of hell than yourselves.[This message has been edited by P e t e r, 03-20-2004]

Because this hasn't been presented yet here's what the Bible says:After the angel told Marry she was going to have a kid...Luke 1:34-35
"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"
The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."This is not the only place that Jesus is called the Son of God. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, I would say that to reject this one point would be to reject the whole Bible. Of course Jesus was the Husband of Jesus' mother, so he was his earthly father. And I do believe that acted in ways that most normal married couples do.