71. The Virgin Conception and Birth of Christ

Subscribe in Podcast App | Download Transcript

Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Virgin Conception of Christ #

• Whether Christ was conceived from a virgin mother without male seed
• Rejection of Ebionite and Syrinthian heresies, which denied Christ’s divinity and claimed He was born from both sexes
• Thomas establishes this doctrine as an article of faith (fides) that admits rational explanation (fides quaerens intellectum)

The Virgin Birth (Parturition) #

• Whether Mary remained a virgin in giving birth to Christ
• Distinction between the factual claim and its mode of occurrence
• Response to objections that miraculous parturition would make Christ’s body seem imaginary

Key Arguments #

Four Reasons Virgin Conception Was Suitable #

1. Preservation of God’s Dignity: Since Christ is the true and natural Son of God, it was unsuitable that He have another father, lest God’s dignity be transferred to another
2. Property of the Word: The Word of God is conceived and proceeds from the divine heart without corruption; therefore, the flesh taken on by the Word should be conceived without corruption of the mother
3. Dignity of Christ’s Humanity: Christ’s humanity must be free from sin. A nature already corrupt through sexual union could not produce one without the infection of original sin; this corruption comes through the male seed according to Augustine
4. Exemplar of Spiritual Rebirth: Men are reborn as sons of God not from the will of flesh or man, but from God. This should be exemplified in Christ’s conception as an exemplar for the Church, Christ’s mystical body, which is also virginally born according to the spirit

Ordering of Arguments #

Thomas arranges the arguments progressively: the one who sent (God the Father), the one who was sent (the Word), then from the humanity that was taken on, and finally the end (purpose) which was to be accomplished.

Arguments for Virgin Birth (Parturition) #

1. Property of the Word: Just as the Word is conceived without corruption in the heart, it proceeds without corruption. The body of the Word should be born from an incorrupt womb
2. Effect of Incarnation: Christ came to take away corruption; it would be unsuitable for Him to corrupt His mother’s virginity in being born
3. Honor of the Mother: Christ commanded that parents be honored; it would diminish the honor of His mother if her virginity were violated in childbirth

Important Distinctions #

Natural Generation vs. Divine Power #

• Natural generation is determined to one way of producing effects
• Divine power is not determined to one effect or one mode of production
• Example: God formed the first man from clay and Eve from Adam’s rib, demonstrating generation can occur supernaturally
• Therefore, divine power could form Christ’s body from the Virgin without male seed

Matter vs. Agent in Generation #

• According to Aristotle, male seed acts as agent, not matter
• The female provides the matter for conception
• Even if male seed were absent, the mother’s matter remains suitable for divine power to transmute into the body of Christ
• Divine power can transmute any matter into any form, whereas natural power can only form determined matter in determined ways

“Opening the Womb” (Language Analysis) #

• Ambrose’s phrase about God “opening the womb” does not signify the tearing apart or violation of virginity
• Rather, it refers simply to the going forth of offspring from the womb
• This is a custom of Hebrew speech and follows the law about firstborns being dedicated to God
• The phrase indicates the firstborn son’s obligation but does not imply the covering was torn

Divine Miracles vs. Glorified Body Properties #

• Some claimed Christ used the gift of subtlety (a property of glorified bodies) to pass through the closed womb
• Thomas rejects this: Christ’s body before passion was not glorified and was able to suffer like ordinary flesh
• The passage through the closed womb was accomplished miraculously through divine power alone, not through properties of glorification
• Gifts of the glorified body flow from the soul’s glory overflowing to the body; this did not occur before Christ’s passion

Mixing of Marvels with Humble Things #

• Christ demonstrated the truth of His body by being born from a woman
• He demonstrated His divinity by being born from a virgin
• This exemplifies how Thomas notes in the Gospels that Christ narrates marvelous things showing divinity alongside humble things showing humanity

Questions Addressed #

Objections Concerning Joseph’s Fatherhood #

Q: If Joseph was not the father, why is the genealogy traced through him?

• A: Scripture does not customarily record women’s genealogies
• The genealogy is brought down to Joseph because both he and Mary descended from David
• Law bound one to take a spouse from one’s own tribe
• Tracing genealogy to the male (more important sex) prevents injury to the marriage union
• Nothing is lacking in truth because Mary derived from the seed of David just as Joseph did

Q: Why is Joseph called the father of Christ?

• A: Joseph is called father not in truth (according to the Photinians) but to conserve Mary’s reputation and fame
• Augustine: Joseph is called the father in the sense that he is the husband of Mary, joined by marriage without any mixture of flesh
• Adoption provides a stronger bond than if Joseph were elsewhere, though he did not generate Christ by sexual generation
• Some fathers adopt children; the Greek philosopher [Aristotle?] notes: “You know what you generate; when you adopt, you know what you’re getting”

Objections Concerning Christ’s “Brothers” #

Q: Does Scripture’s mention of Christ’s brothers contradict virgin conception?

• A: Jerome notes there are four different ways to be brothers in Scripture
• Example: Abraham and Lot are called brothers though uncle and nephew
• The brothers mentioned are understood as cousins (sons of relatives, not biological siblings)
• Hebrew speech allows this usage

Objections Concerning Mary Being Called “Woman” #

Q: Why does Christ call Mary “woman” at Cana rather than “mother”?

• A: Christ calls her “woman” because of her characteristic mercy (more characteristic of woman than man)
• At Cana, she takes pity on those lacking wine, showing mercy
• On the cross, He calls her “mother” because she is the mother of Him who suffered in His human nature
• He is not the mother of His divinity, whereby He changed water into wine
• Mary is called “mother of mercy” not “mother of justice” because her role exemplifies mercy
• Children naturally run to their mother for consolation more than to their father

Objection from Ambrose Concerning “Opening the Womb” #

Q: Does Ambrose’s phrase “who opened the womb of the mother” prove Mary was not a virgin in birth?

• A: “Opening the womb” does not signify violation of virginity but merely the going forth of the offspring
• This is the custom of birth language, not describing actual physiological opening or tearing
• The term indicates the status of being firstborn, requiring dedication to God by law

Objection from “Fantastic Body” #

Q: If Christ passed through a closed womb like He passes through locked doors post-resurrection, doesn’t this make His body seem imaginary rather than real?

• A: Christ mixed marvelous with humble things: He showed His body true by being born from a woman; He showed His divinity by being born from a virgin
• The passage through the closed womb was miraculous through divine power, not a property of the glorified body
• Some objects pointed out that passing through closed things pertains to the glory of the body and glory of another nature
• Thomas responds: Christ’s body before passion was not glorified but was able to suffer as sinful flesh does
• Therefore He did not go out through a closed womb via glorified properties
• Augustine: “To the thickness or size of the body, whether it is divinity, the closed doors do not stand in the way”
• Dionysius: Christ did things above man (miracles like sustaining weight on water’s surface) by divine power, not by properties of human nature

Examples & Illustrations #

• Multiplication of Loaves: The Gospel records the number of men (5,000) but not women and children, suggesting a custom of recording certain categories
• First Child Terminology: Parents call their first child “our first one” even before having a second child, showing “firstborn” does not necessarily imply subsequent children
• Word and Thought: God’s one perfect thought (God’s Word) contrasts with human imperfect thoughts, illustrating why a perfect Word must proceed without corruption
• Tribal Marriage Laws: Jewish custom required marriage within one’s own tribe; Mary and Joseph both descended from David’s line
• Spinoza’s Necessity: If God created by natural necessity (like a triangle having equal angles), He could only produce one thing; therefore creation must be by choice
• Two Bodies Cannot Occupy Same Space: If Christ passed through a closed womb as two bodies occupying the same place, this would violate physical possibility
• Post-Resurrection Appearances: Christ enters a locked room where the apostles are; His entry demonstrates divine power over physical barriers

Notable Quotes #

“It should be confessed without doubt that the mother of Christ was also a virgin in giving birth, for the prophet not only says, ‘Behold, a virgin shall conceive,’ but also that ‘she shall bring forth a son.’”

“For since Christ is the true and natural Son of God, it was not suitable that he have another Father than God. Lest the dignity of God be transferred to another.”

“The Word without any corruption of the heart is conceived. Therefore the flesh was thus taken on by the Word of God, that it would be the flesh of the Word of God. It was suitable also that it would be conceived without the corruption of the mother.”

“Divine power is able to do infinite things, just as it is not determined to just one effect, so it is not determined to one way of producing that effect.”

“Augustine says upon John that to the thickness or size of the body, whether it is divinity, the closed doors do not stand in the way. For he, who they, not being open, right, was able to enter, who, being born, the virginity of his mother, unviolated, remained.”

“Christ came for this purpose that he might take away our corruption. Whence it was not suitable that he corrupt the virginity of his mother in being born.”

“He mixed marvelous things with humble things: He showed his body to be true by being born from a woman, but showed his divinity by being born from a virgin.”

Philosophical Method #

• Systematic treatment of objections and responses (objections, counter-authorities, Thomas’s resolution)
• Appeal to scriptural authority combined with rational explanation
• Use of Aristotelian natural philosophy to understand generation and matter/form
• Reliance on patristic authorities (Augustine, Jerome, Ambrose, Gregory, Dionysius) to establish doctrine
• Distinction between what happens by natural necessity vs. divine power
• Harmony between reason and faith (fides quaerens intellectum)