INCARNATION

1
INCARNATION

• A PROBLEM FOR SCIENCE AND THEOLOGY?

1d Miracles
2
incarnation

• In Christian Theology the word Incarnation refers
  to the belief that God became man in the person
  of Jesus Christ. (Latin. in and caro, stem carn,
  meaning flesh).
• Traditional understandings of this are linked to
  the doctrine of the virginal conception whereby,
  in the words of the Apostles creed, ...Jesus
  Christ ... was conceived by the Holy Spirit (and)
  born of the Virgin Mary...
• The Nicene Creed underlines the pre-existence of
  Christ in the words, Jesus Christ, the
  only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father
  before all worlds, God of God ... not made, being
  of one substance with the Father...

3
UNIQUE GOD-MAN?

• Essentially yes - this is precisely what the
  historical Christian understanding is affirming.
• Jesus is seen as a unique individual who is both
  fully God and fully man. His nature is unique. He
  is one person with a divine and human nature.
• It is theologically important that Jesus does not
  share in Adams nature. He is the sinless one.
  Hence the emphasis on his not having a human
  father. Christians historically believe that Mary
  was a virgin at the time that she became pregnant.

4
BIOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

• We would now have to translate this miraculous
  conception into something like the following
  story.
• Mary supplied the ovum containing the relevant
  chromosomes and the rest came by supernatural
  intervention. Crudely speaking, X from Mary and Y
  from God.

5
theology and science together?

• The Reverend Dr. John Polkinghorne described it
  thus the dual origin of the X and Y chromosomes
  ... seems a possible physical expression of the
  belief, in the words of the Nicene Creed, that
  Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit became
  incarnate of the Virgin Mary and was made man.

6
Theology and science apart?

• The Reverend Dr. Arthur Peacocke represents a
  rather different position arguing that we should
  not confuse the notion of incarnation with the
  need for virginal conception and the miracle that
  this supposes. God does not intervene in
  creating part of the genetic material for the
  embryonic Jesus. He was conceived, in biological
  terms, like any other person.

7
ARE THE STORIES OF THE VIRGIN BIRTH TRUE?

• http//www.religioustolerance.org/virgin_b.htm is
  a site which in a three part essay discusses the
  virginal conception without coming to a firm
  conclusion about what actually is the truth.
• The Lion Handbook of Christian Belief (1982, p71)
  set out the positive and negative answers in the
  following bullet points

8
For

• Attempts to demonstrate them to be fictitious
  have been unsuccessful.
• Mark and John were not concerned to discuss the
  details of Jesus birth.
• Apparently independent stories in Matthew and
  Luke.
• Could well have been preserved in a comparatively
  small circle round Jesus family.
• Those who believe on other grounds that Jesus was
  God incarnate will see it as fitting and probable
  that his birth was unique.

9
against

• Their truth cannot in the nature of the case be
  proved.
• No sign of them in Mark or John
• No trace of knowledge of them before the gospels
  were written.
• Constructed to show that certain Old Testament
  prophecies came true.
• Not used in the earliest days to show Jesus was
  the Son of God.
• They are wholly fictitious - attempts to give
  story form to the churchs understanding of
  Christ.

10
QUESTIONS

• If you believe in God is it reasonable to believe
  in the virginal conception of Jesus?
• Does it matter to Christians whether or not Jesus
  was supernaturally conceived?
• If you do not believe in God is it reasonable to
  believe in the virginal conception of Jesus?
• Is it a question of evidence for the atheist or
  an issue which is settled a priori?