Importance of the Allegorical Virgin Birth
And the necessary deification of Jesus
I used to wonder why modern mainstream Christianity is so adamant about maintaining that the story of the Virgin Mary, as related in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, is factual.
Then I realized that it was a powerful way for the Church to establish the doctrinal tenet of Jesus as the one and only son of God — in other words, a god himself.
The Church’s strength and authority depended on the followers’ full and literal acceptance of this information as fact.
The one and only
In John 3:16 (NIV), we learn, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
This very well-known verse is actually in two parts that should not be separated as they often are:
1. Part one: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
2. Part two: “that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Part one easily conveys that Jesus is God’s only Son. That would mean that Jesus is necessarily divine by nature and not a human being with human nature and characteristics.
The virgin birth narrative supports the idea of Jesus’ deification. However, part two of John’s verse tells a different story.
Part two states, “Whoever believes” not only in Jesus but (it is implied) also in his message will have eternal life. Eternal life is not a human characteristic. It can only reveal a divine nature. Therefore, it implies that, like Jesus, we are also the sons and daughters of God.
If this is true, it eliminates the proposition that Jesus is the only son of God because of his unique nature.
To reconcile John 3:16’s two propositions, we need to be fully aware of what is meant by “the one and only Son.”
First, let’s remind ourselves of Jesus’ mission.
The mission of Jesus
As Richard Rohr stated, “Jesus did not come to change God’s mind about humanity. Jesus came to change humanity’s view about God!”
And I am adding, “Jesus came also to raise humanity’s view about itself.”
The mission of Jesus was to raise human consciousness in recognition of our true identity as God’s offspring.
Jesus’ core message is that in our deepest essence, our nature is Spirit, “in the image and likeness” of the God of Love.
God is Spirit, and the nature of God’s offspring can only be Spirit — thus eternal. That Spirit is what I referred to in my recent article about the mystical “I,” which is our true spiritual Self. As such, the mystical “I” is latent in each of us, awaiting recognition.
The nature of the mystical “I” is divine Spirit individually expressed. It is in a relationship of Oneness with God and with all other expressions of the Divine.
Although the divine realm of Oneness includes an infinity of expressions (all mystical “I”s), there are no parts in Oneness. An infinite amount of mystical “I” makes One. This realization leads us to a new understanding:
What John 3:16 refers to as “the one and only Son of God” is the one and only divine Spirit, which exists as individualized expressions. Yet, all these expressions are in an eternal state of Oneness with God.
The sum of all mystical “I”s is the “one and only Son.”
God knows each and all of us as the spiritual Son.
Seeking confirmation
The above conclusion — that we are all individualized expressions of the one divine Spirit — is so major and contrary to mainstream Christianity that confirmation is necessary. It can be found in the following quote from Jesus:
“And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven” (Mat. 23:9 KJV).
Again, I believe that Jesus is telling us that the Spirit of God is the essence of our nature and that it applies to everyone, not only to Jesus himself.
I interpret this as Jesus telling us: “Of course, you have an earthly dad and mom for the purpose of your worldly experience, which is temporal. But know that your spiritual parent is God for eternity.
Although in truth, “we live, move and have our being in God” (Acts 17:28)— so long as that spiritual reality has not wholly entered our consciousness, we are not yet experiencing God’s Oneness.
The unconditional God sets no conditions
It would appear that the second part of John 3:16 — “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” — sets the condition of believing in Jesus and his message. That would leave everyone else, the non-believers, to perish.
However, as Paul said, “Every knee will bend” (Romans 14:11). Therefore, even those who do not believe in Jesus’ message now will eventually change their ways.
No one is left behind.
Once upon a time
The writers of the Bible dealt with complex subjects to explain and generally had uneducated audiences. As a result, they made ample use of stories, parables, and allegories to make their points.
These narratives conveyed ideas or principles not necessarily meant to be taken at face value. That is why reading literally all parts of the Bible instead of seeking their esoteric message is often misleading.
The point of describing Mary as a virgin who gave birth without intercourse was to convey an implied divine intervention as well as her obedience and loving purity of heart.
The point of describing Joseph as her husband, who became a human father without consummating his marriage, is to convey his generosity of spirit and loving purity of heart.
The central purpose of this famous story is to express a divine role — that remains controversial — and the exemplary character of Jesus’ parents, individuals already living at a high level of consciousness.
Perhaps we should consider this virgin birth narrative as a gentle fairy tale. The veracity of the facts was not as important as establishing the ideas that best served the Church.
The Church had its own needs
Following Paul’s lead, the Church emphasized Jesus’ divine nature. This idea was enshrined in the concept of the Trinity made official during the 4th century.
As a result, the Church re-erected a barrier between humanity, emanating from original sin, and Jesus, allegorically emanating from a virgin.
Although Jesus aimed to raise human awareness of our true spiritual nature as God’s offspring, this barrier remained.
In the end, it was easier for the Church to maintain a barrier between Jesus as a deity and humanity as mere mortals than to attempt to present his authentic message broadly to the world.
Clearly, the Bible texts would have to support the tenets of the Church’s established doctrine. It could not be the other way around.
We must also remember that Jesus did not create Christianity and that the gospels do not convincingly express that he left instructions or assigned anyone to that task.
A challenge for the Church
Because of its purpose to firmly establish Jesus’ divinity, the Church encourages the virgin birth story to be taken literally. The reasons should be apparent:
- It was deemed impossible to remain faithful to Jesus’ mystical message, given that it would challenge the absolute authority of the 4th-century Roman emperors when Christianity became their official religion.
- In contrast, Paul’s approach — making Jesus divine — had already been tested successfully from Syria to Rome.
In addition, the virgin birth allegory also served to bolster the Church’s negativity toward sexual activity and set Christianity on a very puritanical course for centuries to follow.
A pillar of Christian dogma
The literal interpretation of the virgin birth story was consistently advanced and, to a great extent, unconsciously accepted throughout the centuries. It became a pillar of Christian dogma.
As Christianity became a world religion and an institution, it maintained literal interpretations of this story and other Biblical allegories and narratives. It was less complicated and difficult than presenting Jesus’ authentic mystical views and beliefs.
Nevertheless, these views and beliefs of Jesus’ teachings have found receptivity from mystics throughout the ages. Despite being marginalized and often rejected by their religion, these mystics expressed the genuine Christ’s message, ensuring its survival to this day.
The mystical message of Jesus is not for everyone
It remains that Jesus’ authentic message challenges human nature. Jesus knew this, which must be why he was not keen to evangelize outside of Hebrew audiences and was not interested in creating a new religion.
Jesus’ mystical message is for a spiritually mature audience and not for the rest of the world until the rest of the world progressively comes to the message.
The “Fathers of the Church” had to compromise to protect and sustain Christianity’s development. We might think they hoped and prayed that the world would eventually come to recognize the authentic message of Jesus.
