Biblical scholars, churchmen, and theologians who have notably rejected the virgin birth include: •
Albrecht Ritschl, nineteenth-century German Lutheran theologian, considered one of the fathers of
Liberal Protestantism. •
Harry Emerson Fosdick, American Baptist pastor, prominent proponent of Liberal Protestantism. In a famous 1922 sermon delivered from the pulpit of
First Presbyterian Church in New York, titled "Shall the Fundamentalists Win?", Fosdick called the Virgin Birth into question, saying it required belief in "a special biological miracle". •
Fritz Barth, Swiss Reformed minister, and father of
Karl Barth. Fritz's views cost him at least two significant promotions. •
James A. Pike, Episcopal bishop of California (1958–1966), who first declared his doubt about the Virgin Birth in the December 21, 1960 issue of the journal
Christian Century. •
Martin Luther King's private writings show that he rejected
biblical literalism; he described the Bible as "
mythological", doubted that Jesus was born of a virgin and did not believe that the
story of Jonah and the whale was true. •
John Shelby Spong, retired Episcopal bishop of Newark, author of
Born of a Woman: A Bishop Rethinks the Birth of Jesus, who following feminist scholar Jane Schaberg, wrote that, "A God who can be seen in the limp form of a convicted criminal dying alone on a cross on Calvary can surely also be seen in an illegitimate baby boy born through the aggressive and selfish act of a man sexually violating a teenage girl." •
Marcus J. Borg, prominent member of the
Jesus Seminar, author of numerous books, and co-author of
The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, who viewed the birth stories as "metaphorical narratives", and stated, "I do not think the virginal conception is historical, and I do not think there was a special star or wise men or shepherds or birth in a stable in Bethlehem. Thus I do not see these stories as historical reports but as literary creations." •
John Dominic Crossan, prominent member of the
Jesus Seminar, author of
Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, who has stated, "I understand the virginal conception of Jesus to be a confessional statement about Jesus' status and not a biological statement about Mary's body. It is later faith in Jesus as an adult retrojected mythologically onto Jesus as an infant." •
Robert Funk, founder of the
Jesus Seminar, and author of
Honest to Jesus, who has asserted, "We can be certain that Mary did not conceive Jesus without the assistance of human sperm. It is unclear whether
Joseph or some other unnamed male was the biological father of Jesus. It is possible that Jesus was illegitimate." •
Jane Schaberg, feminist biblical scholar and author of
The Illegitimacy of Jesus, who contended that Matthew and Luke were aware that Jesus had been conceived illegitimately, probably as a result of rape, and had left hints of that knowledge, even though their main purpose was to explore the theological significance of Jesus' birth. •
Uta Ranke-Heinemann, who contends that the virgin birth of Jesus was meant—and should be understood—as an
allegory of a special initiative of God, comparable to God's creation of
Adam, and in line with legends and allegories of antiquity. •
David Jenkins,
Bishop of Durham from 1984 until 1994, was the first senior Anglican clergyman to come to the attention of the UK media for his position that "I wouldn't put it past God to arrange a virgin birth if he wanted. But I don't think he did." •
Gerd Lüdemann, German New Testament scholar and historian, member of the Jesus Seminar, and author of
Virgin Birth? The Real Story of Mary and Her Son Jesus, argued that early Christians had developed the idea of a virgin birth as a later "reaction to the report, meant as a slander but historically correct, that Jesus was conceived or born outside wedlock. ... It has a historical foundation in the fact that Jesus really did have another father than Joseph and was in fact fathered before Mary's marriage, presumably through rape." •
Robin Meyers,
United Church of Christ minister, proponent of
Progressive Christianity, and author of
Saving Jesus From the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus. Asserts that "A beautiful, but obviously contrived, tale is the virgin birth, which may have been used to cover a scandal."
Sects and denominations The
Divine Principle, the textbook of the
Unification Church, a
new religious movement founded in
South Korea, does not include the teaching that
Zechariah was the father of Jesus. However some of its members hold that belief. Notably, this view is advanced by
Young Oon Kim, citing the work of British liberal theologian
Leslie Weatherhead in her book
Unification Theology (1980). The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite), founded by
James Jesse Strang, rejects the virgin birth and believes that Jesus' father was
Joseph, husband of
Mary. ==See also==