Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 21:1 (Spring 2024)
Article: Was Jesus Really ‘Born Of A Virgin’? Answering Key Objections
Author: Rhyne R. Putman

Was Jesus Really ‘Born Of A Virgin’? Answering Key Objections

Rhyne R. Putman

Rhyne Putman is vice president of academic affairs and director of worldview formation at Williams Baptist University and professor of theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

I want to begin by expressing my great appreciation and deep affection for Dr. Robert B. Stewart—my teacher, pastor, colleague, and friend. I was a senior in college the first time I ever encountered him. He was lecturing at a state university about the historical reliability of the gospels. Dr. Stewart spoke about the gospel reasonably, graciously, and winsomely to a room full of people who didn’t share his worldview. At that moment, I knew I wanted to study under him at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Little did I know that I would work so closely with him over the years in various capacities. I could never have imagined the impact he would have on my life over the next two decades—shaping my way of thinking, my career, and my walk with Christ.

Introduction

Critical scholars often claim that the gospels tell us more about theology than history, more about what early Christians believed that what actually happened in the life of Jesus. This is nowhere more apparent than in their treatments of the nativity stories of Matthew and Luke. The infancy narratives recorded in Matthew 1:18–2:23 and Luke 1:5–2:52 fall outside the normal criteria used in historical Jesus research. This historical investigation normally considers questions about the mission, message, and sayings of Jesus. These narratives have no sayings of Jesus to weigh, and scholars with an anti-supernatural bias often presume that they have little to offer by way of understanding Jesus’s mission and message. Historical Jesus research typically operates apart from creedal assumptions, and many of its key proponents would disavow or ignore the creedal statement that Jesus was “conceived by the Holy Spirit” and “born of the Virgin Mary.”

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A large swath of critical scholars typically treats the infancy narratives as a later addendum to the gospel tradition, added as an apologetic for Jesus’s divinity and messianic identity by later followers with a more developed Christology. Even some scholars who affirm the resurrection of Jesus cast serious doubt on the truthfulness of these stories, charging them with being later additions to the gospel traditions.

A full historical investigation of the infancy narratives and their merit in historical Jesus research is beyond the scope of this article. Much more can be said about the specific circumstances and th...