Wednesday, December 10, 2014

not the virgin-birth you always thought

Virgin - pure, clean, spotless, unused, pristine, untouched...

This word is used as an adjective for many things, but none so well known as the Virgin Mary. The Holy mother.

Mary - chosen of God, obedient, good. Some would even say perfect. However, I believe she was chosen, as a virgin, not because this somehow made her worthy, holy. But because it was a powerful symbol to the culture of that day - and has continued to be so for centuries. The virgin- birth was both a miracle to prove/signify the diety of Jesus, and a symbol of the purity of God. This symbol was so powerful because of the beliefs about women in that time - not the other way around. The way we sometimes look at things, you'd think Jesus was virgin-born because it's the right way to do it.

In this age of rape-culture and awareness of the oppression of women, I think it needs to be said that Mary's virginity made her no more worthy to be the mother of Jesus than her being born in that century did. When a woman is raped or chooses to have sex, she does not become used or dirty or defiled. Just like a man doesn't become these things. And God choosing a virgin-birth for His Son - His greatest gift humanity has ever seen - is about the powerful symbol and miracle this would be readily recognised as - not a statement on the purity of virgins.

I just thought this needed to be said at this time of year, to this powerful generation of question-askers and advocates-for-those-wronged. I'm proud of this new generation who refuse to accept without question things that should be questioned.

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