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This is one of the most widely debated issues amongst scientific communities and those practising faith. According to the Bible, Jesus was born from Mary, who was pledged to be married to Joseph. When the angel spoke the news to Mary about her giving birth to Jesus, she quickly inquired how that can be possible given that she is a virgin. However, the angel answered to Mary saying that ‘the power of the Most High will overshadow you…nothing is impossible with God.’ Luke 1:26-37 (NIV). Hence, the Bible teaches us that Jesus’ conception was a result of divine intervention.

Biologically, in human beings, in order for a baby to be born, initially there must be fertilisation of an egg with a sperm (sexual reproduction) leading to formation of a zygote which further develops to embryo then foetus. That is, there should be a contribution of genetic material from two parents each donating haploid i.e. half genetic material forming a cell which is diploid i.e. with full genetic material. Haploid individuals are non viable.

In Jesus’ case; however, the above phenomenon appears to have been violated as Mary was virgin and did not have any sperm donation which led to Jesus’ conception. Moreover, it is impossible for Jesus to be haploid individual as this is incompatible with life. Thus, is it the case that the other half of genetic material came from the Spirit of God? If so, does God have a genome? Or is it possible for a female parent to have a child without a male involvement? Or is it a miraculous act of God where a full human being is created out of Mary’s unfertilised egg?

When reviewing scientific publications, it is clearly documented that there are animal species which reproduce without the involvement of male partners. A process called Parthenogenesis refers to a form of asexual reproduction in females where embryos develop without fertilisation by a male. In humans, parthenogenesis has been utilised to create human stem cells from unfertilised eggs of females. It is thought that this might open a window of opportunity in treatment of degenerative diseases. However, there is no scientific literature reporting the length of viability of human embryo created by parthenogenesis. On the other hand, a study performed in mammals developed by artificially induced parthenogenesis revealed short survival of approximately 30 days. Besides this, another interesting thing about parthenogenesis is that the offsprings produced by parthenogenesis in species that use the XY sex-determination system would always have two X chromosomes, hence, are always female. This completely rules out the process of parthenogenesis as a possibility in the creation of Jesus since Jesus is a male (Son).

This could lead us to another school of thought that Jesus had a genetic contribution from the Holy Spirit. If this is the case, it will raise the question about Jesus’ genotypical and phenotypical make up. In the Bible, it is written that Jesus was pure Human (Man) and pure God. And it is also written, in another part of the Bible, that God is Spirit. Therefore, it can be deducted that Jesus had a Human and Spiritual genome combined together making him a unique creation.

On the other hand, in Genesis 2:7 it is written that God formed the Man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the Man became a living being. This verse implies that the Man was formed initially, nonetheless, it became a living being after God’s breath touched him. The Man was a dust without the breath of God. This clearly denotes that the lack of livelihood in our physical body. It is only when the Spirit of God touches our physical body that we begin to live.

Therefore, Man’s creation process appears to correlate with that of Jesus’. The Man being the first Adam and Jesus being the second Adam; both being mentioned as the Son of God in scriptures. What is common in both cases of creation is that there is no mating process (sexual intercourse) involved unlike the rest of human population. Likewise, based on Hebrew 11:12 – ‘…from this man, as good as dead, came descendents as numerous as the stars…,’ Abraham can also be added to this list as God brought life into him when he was as good as dead.

Thus, it is the Spirit of God which gives life whether two partners mate for procreation or not. This means that the Spirit of God can really create a human being without a man and woman sleeping together. Jesus is an example of this. And also, even in biologically understood form of copulation, it is the Spirit of God who quickens the ‘dead’ egg and sperm into a living being; not fertilisation. In conclusion, not only Jesus’ conception but everybody’s life (conception) is also a continual miraculous work of mighty God.

Illuminated

The above article was originally Published on blogspot.com in 2011.

08/06/2026

I recently watched a video where the world’s elite scientists (John Lennox, James Tour and Stephen and Meyer) discuss about the origin of life at the Hoover Institute. They say until now no one knows where life comes from or how it started. Astonishing! Finally, they eventually appear to agree more with the Bible description of the origin of life rather than evolutionist’s view (the theory of evolution). You may wish to watch the video on the YOUTUBE. Below is the link –

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