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The Second Lesson: The Mystery of the Virgin Birth.941
great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give
unto him the throne of his father David. And he shall reign over the house
of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary
unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel
answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the
power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:26–33)
And so, this then is the commonly accepted, orthodox teachings of
Christian theology. It is embodied in the two best-known creeds of the
church and is made an essential article of belief by the majority of the
orthodox churches.
In the Apostle’s Creed, which has been traced back to about the year
a.d. 500, and which is claimed to have been based on an older creed, the
doctrine is stated thusly: “…and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who
was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,” etc. In the
Nicene Creed, which dates from a.d. 325, the doctrine is stated thusly: “…
and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of his
Father…and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary,” etc.
And so, the doctrine is plainly stated and firmly insisted upon by the
orthodox churches of today, although such was not always the case for the
matter was one which gave rise to much conflict and difference of opinion
in the early centuries of the Church, the present view, however, overcoming
those who opposed it, and finally becoming accepted as beyond doubt or
question by the orthodox, believing Christian.
But the present time finds many leading minds in the churches, who
refuse to accept the doctrine as usually taught, and the voice of the Higher
Criticism is heard in the land in increasing volume and many doctrines
unquestioningly held by the pews are being abandoned by the pulpits,
usually in the way of “discreet silence” being maintained. But here and there
courageous voices are heard stating plainly that which their reason and
conscience impels. We shall now consider these dissenting opinions.