"How Can This Be?"

"I no more believe that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary than I believe that Krishna was born of the virgin Devaka, Horus was born of the virgin Isis, Mercury was born of the virgin Maia, or Romulus was born was born of the virgin Rhea Sylvia," Christopher Hitchens informs The Spectator.

But no one has ever suggested that Devaka, Isis, Maia or Rhea Sylvia was a virgin. These are all cases of a very common mythological theme: the impregnation of women by gods, by means of sexual intercourse, so that the women were by definition not virgins when they became pregnant, even if they were right up until that act.

Except in Mormonism, this has never been suggested with regard to Mary's conception of Jesus. Sexual intercourse is exactly what does not occur in this case, so that there is no parallel whatever with any other story, immensely numerous though such stories certainly are.

A C Grayling also makes the point that it is not clear that the prophecy is Isaiah actually refers to a virgin. Well, it certainly does in the Septuagint, and, contrary to what used to be asserted, first century Palestine is now acknowledged to have been profoundly Hellenised. So either the Septuagint prophecy is indeed being fulfilled explicitly, or else there was no expectation that the Messiah would be virgin-born, and thus no reason to make up that Jesus had been.

It is worth pointing out that absolutely no early opponent of Christianity, whether Jewish or pagan, ever suggested that Jesus was the son of Joseph. Instead, they claimed that he was illegitimate, a charge at which there are more than hints even in the Gospels themselves.