Divinely Female

The upcoming holiday of Christmas inspires me to make a few comments about the alleged virgin birth of Jesus. Christians maintain the father of Jesus was God the Father (Jehovah), not Mary's husband Joseph. Mary was a virgin according to this. Furthermore, Roman Catholics go a step further and say that Mary was born the same way, that Mary's mother Anne also gave birth despite being a virgin.

Let us not get into a discussion of biology here, asking how many chromosomes Jesus had or something like that. In order to understand the origins of this belief, it is necessary to understand the cultures and religions of the ancient Middle East. Most of the religions of the area were polytheistic, with many gods and goddesses being worshipped. One of these was regarded as the mother of all the others. It is quite logical that such a goddess should be referred to as a virgin, because the first time she gave birth, she must have done so without sex. This is not the same as saying that she never had sex after the first time that she gave birth. Indeed, many of these cultures believed that sex was necessary in order for the Goddess to keep creating new life. The title "Virgin" referred only to the first instance of creation, not to subsequent events.

After Christianity began to spread in the region, Jesus's followers adopted the title of virgin in reference to Jesus's mother, Mary. This was to reinforce their claim that Jesus was divine. Other gods were the offspring of a virgin goddess, so if Jesus is a god, the same must be true of him. Much of the symbolism associated with these other goddesses was transferred in its entirety to Mary. Thus the Virgin Mary has little to do with the actual woman, Mary of Nazareth, wife of Joseph.

There is, however, a major difference. The other religions of the region viewed sex as something holy, something necessary for the production and continuation of life. Hence it was something to be valued and celebrated. Christians have long regarded sex, especially extramarital sex, as something sinful to be avoided. They hold up the virginity of Mary as proof that she was an exceptionally good, honorable woman devoid of sin. Catholics have taken this a step further, saying that if she was free from sin herself, she could not have been created by a sinful act. Thus, her mother (Anne) must also have been a virgin, giving birth to Mary in the same manner as Mary gave birth to Jesus.

Logically, one must ask the question "If Anne's husband was not Mary's father, who was?" Could the answer be Jehovah? If Jehovah was Mary's father and also Jesus's father, then Jehovah is guilty of incest. Somehow, I do not think that the Roman Catholic Church would approve of this answer, yet I cannot think of another.

There is a danger in using logic here. We are not discussing history. We are discussing mythology. Logic is irrelevant. Myths are tools designed to teach philosophy. The philosophy itself is the ultimate goal, not a literal interpretation of the myth. Jesus was a philosopher. There have been many thousands of philosophers in world history. All the talk of him having been Son of God is designed to give a special significance to his teachings. He very likely would have been forgotten otherwise. I personally agree with a large percentage of Jesus's philosophy. He taught peace, love, and tolerance, and compassion for the poor. I agree. Hence his followers who designed this mythology surrounding him and his mother did the world a service.

However, I agree with the other religions concerning the importance of sex. Every person who has ever existed owes her/his life to sexuality. A small handful in recent years have been conceived in test-tubes and nurtured to birth inside women, but all the rest were conceived by a man and a woman having sex. Thus we would not exist without sex. It is not a sin. It is something special, to be held in high esteem. We need not go to great lengths to prove that a particular woman must have been a virgin in order to be venerable. Any mother deserves our honor and respect.

May the Divine Mother Goddess (Virgin or otherwise), smile on you