The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2656 page)

see
LI
G
YAT
.

 
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Virgin Birth of Christ
.

The Christian doctrine that Jesus was conceived by the Virgin
Mary
by the operation of the
Holy Spirit
and without sexual relations with a man (one should strictly speak of ‘virginal
conception
’; that Mary remained a virgin even in giving birth is a later idea).
Among modern Christians belief in the virgin birth is often taken as a touchstone of orthodoxy, both by
Catholics
, for whom it is involved with
mariology
, and
Protestants
. Some liberal theologians have criticized the doctrine as setting Christ's humanity apart from ours. They have also drawn attention to the widespread claim of virgin births in many religions (e.g. Mah
m
y
and the
Buddha
,
Kunt
/P
tha and Karna,
Zoroaster
and the saviour, Saoshyant), and have suggested that this is a reverential theme introduced for apologetic reasons. Even stronger criticisms have been made by feminist writers and theologians, who point out that Mary is not even accorded the participation of parthenogenesis if perpetual virginity (see above) is affirmed.

 
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