Virgin Birth

[Arjuna]

Been reading a "how to read" Nietzsche book. There's an idea that we become philosophical, not in response to a desire to become better, but as a natural process of becoming more profound.

More profound meaning of virgin birth? Or is the virginity part incidental? Is it really just mother and child: like Isis and Horus? It seems strange that this image would appear at the winter solstice. The trees look like skeletons.

[Reconstructo]

I think the virgin part is symbolic and important. Does this hint at a transcendence of lust? Notice also all the blue that surrounds her in paintings.

Blue is a higher energy wavelength than red. Perhaps in the same way the Eros of a mother is a higher frequency than lust. Christ seems to symbolize the transcendent function. What if we conceived every human as both Mother and Christ?

If we are "red," we are caught in the lower frequency energy of lust, anger, vanity. We do not cradle our inner Christ (transcendent function.) If we are "blue," we have turned away from the lust of the flesh to tend toward our transcendence.

Virgin Mother is also an obvious paradox. This helps point at its symbolic nature. Paradox often hints at what other statements cannot...?

Just thoughts. So many more are possible on such a rich theme.

[Alan McDougall]

Originally Posted by Arjuna

Been reading a "how to read" Nietzsche book. There's an idea that we become philosophical, not in response to a desire to become better, but as a natural process of becoming more profound.

More profound meaning of virgin birth? Or is the virginity part incidental? Is it really just mother and child: like Isis and Horus? It seems strange that this image would appear at the winter solstice. The trees look like skeletons.

I have read that a virgin birth of a baby girl is possible, but medical science tells us that a virgin birth of a male is impossible, this begs the question was the virgin birth of Jesus a divine miracle?

[Krumple]

You want to know my take on this? (Probably not is my guess)

There was no virgin birth. There was an attempt to proclaim it a virgin birth to prevent her demise. Since the people in those days were cruel to women who gave birth outside marriage. The way to protect her was to proclaim the pregnancy an act of god. Then jesus being a bastard, would also not be accepted by society. This would cause a double situation. Since it is not openly accepted, he would become reclusive towards people and at the same time he could sympathize with others who are outcast by society (the sick, the deranged and the social outcasts) This would ultimately lead Jesus to become a rebel to the social norms and reject the fabric of the held belief system. He would question their behavior and ask the question, if these are gods people, why are they so cruel? Thus the abandoning of the jewish faith and the making of a new religion.

Why would a society lift a woman into the status of giving birth to the son of god unless she could be "better" than any other woman who existed?

"She never tainted herself with the impurity of sexual pleasure."

If sex is so impure and it only becomes pure if there is a loving connection, then why not say that she was in love? Why because it strips away (pun intended) the god's son effect. If Jesus was just the son of another human man then where does the divinity come from?

I believe there was a jesus but he is definitely not the legend that he is given today. We all know this is human behavior to exaggerate a renown individual. We raise the respect of a person far beyond their actual reality. Stories are invented and details are invented. It can't be refuted that this practice does not happen or that Jesus somehow escape such a response. I think anyone who claims that Jesus is an exception is nothing other than naive.

[kennethamy]

Originally Posted by Krumple

You want to know my take on this? (Probably not is my guess)

There was no virgin birth. There was an attempt to proclaim it a virgin birth to prevent her demise. Since the people in those days were cruel to women who gave birth outside marriage. The way to protect her was to proclaim the pregnancy an act of god. Then jesus being a bastard, would also not be accepted by society. This would cause a double situation. Since it is not openly accepted, he would become reclusive towards people and at the same time he could sympathize with others who are outcast by society (the sick, the deranged and the social outcasts) This would ultimately lead Jesus to become a rebel to the social norms and reject the fabric of the held belief system. He would question their behavior and ask the question, if these are gods people, why are they so cruel? Thus the abandoning of the jewish faith and the making of a new religion.

Why would a society lift a woman into the status of giving birth to the son of god unless she could be "better" than any other woman who existed?

"She never tainted herself with the impurity of sexual pleasure."

If sex is so impure and it only becomes pure if there is a loving connection, then why not say that she was in love? Why because it strips away (pun intended) the god's son effect. If Jesus was just the son of another human man then where does the divinity come from?

I believe there was a jesus but he is definitely not the legend that he is given today. We all know this is human behavior to exaggerate a renown individual. We raise the respect of a person far beyond their actual reality. Stories are invented and details are invented. It can't be refuted that this practice does not happen or that Jesus somehow escape such a response. I think anyone who claims that Jesus is an exception is nothing other than naive.

As long as we do not confuse, "virgin birth" with "the immaculate conception", I am happy. The former implies that latter, but the latter does not imply the former.

[xris]

Originally Posted by Arjuna

Been reading a "how to read" Nietzsche book. There's an idea that we become philosophical, not in response to a desire to become better, but as a natural process of becoming more profound.

More profound meaning of virgin birth? Or is the virginity part incidental? Is it really just mother and child: like Isis and Horus? It seems strange that this image would appear at the winter solstice. The trees look like skeletons.

I think everything of Christ is shrouded in pagan mythology. Every new faith appears to be a reflection of that ancient adoration of the sun and stars. It would not surprise me to find that the representation of the sun as the figure of worship never needs higher entity to become visible to man, or something like that. I will try to find out.

[Krumple]

Originally Posted by xris

I think everything of Christ is shrouded in pagan mythology. Every new faith appears to be a reflection of that ancient adoration of the sun and stars. It would not surprise me to find that the representation of the sun as the figure of worship never needs higher entity to become visible to man, or something like that. I will try to find out.

My thoughts exactly. In fact I think this is so accurate that I even consider myself a sun worshiper. Without the sun, we wouldn't be here. It is the one thing that we all can agree with and that alone qualifies itself to hold high position. Why toss it out for something in which you have never experienced? You know the sun, you see it every day and it provides everything you have unconditionally. It doesn't care who you are, or what you do, except if you decide to worship with your own self interest in mind or vanity, it will curse you with cancer. But that goes without saying. Praise the light! It shone for you! There was a star that died for you to exist. (the last one is a true statement)

[Alan McDougall]

In human parthenogenesis the daughter would be a clone of her mother. If Jesus had been a girl, it would have been possible that his birth was the result of human parthenogenesis but as Mary had no Y chromosome that rules that out as a possibility.

[prothero]

Of course in those ancient times, all sorts of earthly beings (Ceasars, etc), were fathered by a god and born of a virgin. The mythical lore of the times is full of examples, it is merely an indication of status. The tendency to seek scientific explanations or use literal interpretations is entirely a modern notion.

[xris]

Its mother earth who each year is cleansed by winter and is fertile, a virgin, for the new year. The sun in the winter equinox rises from mother earth and announces a new year.