could the "virgin" mary have become pregnant in a public bathing pool?

It is well-known and widely accepted that the concept of the virgin birth arises from a mistranslation. The word translated into 'virgin' when the Gospel was translated into Greek should have been rendered as 'young girl' or similar, with no imputation that she was without carnal knowledge.
Secondly, in those days, and even today, devout Jewesses would practise bathing in a Mikveh - a bathing pool fed by running water - used for ritual purification after menstruation. Such pools would not have been used by men.
As for the possibility that sperm could survive and impregnate a woman in such a pool, I don't know if that is realistically possible. Bearing in mind that the water of the Mikveh would be cold, I think that chances of the survival of sperm would be slight.
We don't have to find reasons to justify our belief in the doctrines of the Church, such as the immaculate conception. They are articles of faith. If we start to try to find rational reasons for belief, the whole edifice would fall in the face of the overwhelming canon of modern knowledge that challenges almost every aspect of what Christians are taught to believe. Don't get me started, please.

If that's true, then Mary wasn't visited by angels, which means that Jesus isn't who they said he was. But if it's going to go that far, how do we know there was even a Virgin Mary?

Sorry, didn't mean to offend anyone. That's just what I was thinking

reply to post by autowrench


Muhammad is not regarded as a God by anyone, least of all Muslims who would regard that concept as an utter blasphemy. For Muslims, Muhammad is the prophet of God, and no more than that.

Well, when I was young my grandmother told me (while bathing me) that if I got water in my belly button I'd get pregnant.

This is obviously the answer! Good thinking, OP!

The story of marry is a metaphor. Most major religions around the world have the same story with a different character and setting with a slightly different story.

I have no idea, but if anyone saw Jersey Shore last week... Mike (I dislike him) Brought home two twins. One claimed to be a virgin; YET by the end of the night, one of the girls was sleeping with mike, and the other was hooking up with deena, and then "getting it in" with vinny. SOMEONE LIED! Any how, I have no idea if you can get pregnant like that, unless it was a really small public bath. One of my friends claims that she got pregnant with her "latest and greatest" child because her dude ejaculated and some of it got on her panties which went un noticed (right) and she put them back on, and apparently it impregnated her.


Basically what I'm getting at here is that.... Some girls lie about some things, and they always will. (not that men are any better about it, just trying to stay on topic)

Wow just when I thought I heard everything ATS goes the Extra mile.
Thank you OP the headline itself gave me a chuckle
and it sure beats the alien artificial insemination story.


On the serious side I don't see this as possible due to several factors
but thank you at least for thinking out side of the cube.

jesus's father was a roman soldier. marry was not a virgin.

At that time and even today a virgin birth is when the amneotic sack does not break. Virgin does not just mean that the hymen is unbroken. Mary could have been a prostitute and been with several hundred men before Jesus was born. People back then were not that great at anatomy and science.

Originally posted by Rekrul
jesus's father was a roman soldier. marry was not a virgin.

That wasn't Jesus, that was Brian,

it is pretty well accepted that the fallen Angels = Nephilim (giants) found Earth girls hot & made babies with them, now it is never said that the fallen Angels had sex in the normal way of procreation.. so i can imagine that all the babies/nephilim born of that conception were also 'Virgin Births'

but the Bible wanted to make the Holy Ghost & Mary conception different than the fallen Angels' flings,
so the idea of a Immaculate Conception was fashioned by the clergy/Bible writers...


its not too hard to imagine that Mary, who was ovulating in March of the year before Jesus was born,
somehow had her egg fertilized during the March 'Winds' for a typical 9 month delivery on 25 Dec of ~1AD


what we need to establish is if there was indeed a 'spiritual (March) wind' that fertilized her monthly egg
and just what that 'wind' was... an alien abduction? a bathhouse encounter? a supernatural occurrance where the mother caused the egg to start growing without a father?

i always go for the practical answer... a swim in a public bath would be totally anti-spiritual, there has to be a explaination that our present advancements in science can accept as being possible & satisifies the supposed super-natural framework... the bathing pool suggestion is just too crude


but it satisifes the question of transmission of seed to a host

Originally posted by earthdude
At that time and even today a virgin birth is when the amneotic sack does not break. Virgin does not just mean that the hymen is unbroken. Mary could have been a prostitute and been with several hundred men before Jesus was born. People back then were not that great at anatomy and science.

What? That's the myth of a natural born sailor, or just a sign of future greatness not a virgin birth.
Bugger me, theres a fair few virgin mothers about then if in fact you didn't just pull that little gem out of yer arse!

reply to post by DarkSarcasm


Do these thoughts and ideas just pop into your head, or do you spend any time thinking about it first ?

Highly implausible...assuming there wasn't anything in the water to kill the sperm, it would be a HUGE water:sperm ratio, and the chances of just one of them making it to the vagina, let alone finding it all the way up the canal to the egg without dying first, are most likely astronomically slim.

reply to post by DarkSarcasm


Hey DullSarcasm!

I dont get how they let you out of the high school (and how you get acceptet there first of all)
Why dont you phony "Frethinker" (and in the reality total intelectual VIRGIN) write please something the same "original" and "revealing" about Mahounds Fatma for example or about some judaistic religion dogmas!
I know you wont because to do it you need to have some, even the smallest - cohones
Its really sad that, with that NWO censure and political corectness tyrany we have now there is no control about the minimal age/intelectual abilities of the posters

Originally posted by DarkSarcasm
Again, if close enough, the sperm could make a quick swim into the cave.

This deserves further contemplation!

LOL Just kidding, it's gross

Originally posted by ZenOnKwalsky
reply to post by DarkSarcasm

 

Hey DullSarcasm!

I dont get how they let you out of the high school (and how you get acceptet there first of all)
Why dont you phony "Frethinker" (and in the reality total intelectual VIRGIN) write please something the same "original" and "revealing" about Mahounds Fatma for example or about some judaistic religion dogmas!
I know you wont because to do it you need to have some, even the smallest - cohones
Its really sad that, with that NWO censure and political corectness tyrany we have now there is no control about the minimal age/intelectual abilities of the posters

Same thing, right back on you. Man enough? I doubt it.

the truth I am sure is stranger than fiction. I think it was alien in vitro tech. cmon wake up people what about the moving star the 3 wise not stupid men were following ?

reply to post by nusnus


It only takes ONE sperm to reach an egg. During arousal, a man is already secreting sperm. He doesn't have to be having intercourse for a sperm to fertilize an egg. When Mary exclaimed that she had "known" no man, she may have been telling the truth in that she didn't have actual intercourse with Joseph.

Why not ask her yourself next time her apparition is spotted?

reply to post by DarkSarcasm


I think you have three choices here.
1. You believe the story the way it’s written–virgin birth–a miracle
2. You believe that Mary has sex and gave birth to a fully human son–no miracle -but Jesus was a real person.
3. Or, you don’t believe it all. No Mary, No Jesus.

If you believe the bible, why try to get around the virgin birth part?
If you don’t, why bother to try to find a logical explanation for something illogical?