Quote:
Originally Posted by longsuffering
Says who?
I'm Christian and I do not believe in the virgin birth.
So do I have a say over whether I'm Christian or do you have the last word on that?
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If you don't believe in the virgin birth, I'd like to hear how a lot of your theology plays out, considering that the circumstances of Jesus' birth are an essential part of the salvation narrative - the virgin birth allows Jesus to skirt original sin, which is how he got to heaven, more or less. Prior to his sacrifice on mankind's behalf, original sin ensured that nobody could ascend to heaven. Since he was the first, he had to be without sin, and for that to happen, it had to be a virgin birth, not a birth from two human parents.
So if you don't believe in the virgin birth, you have a ton of Christian theology to develop and explain before you can use the title. You are, of course, free to hold your own beliefs - then you can call it whatever you want. And really, any belief system that brings you closer to God is fine. There are definitely faiths out there that include Jesus in their theology (the name of the one I'm thinking of escapes me..), and adopt only the parts that are important to them, but when you are talking about Christianity in the context of a (more or less) academic discussion about religion, it entails a certain core set of beliefs and theology, and the virgin birth is one of them.