Dear Freddy; I'm going to quote for you something from the book "Selected Lectures"(Ingersoll,pp.149-155): "Volumes might be written upon the infinite absurdity of the most incredible wicked and foolish of all the fables contained in the last repository of the impossible called the 'Bible'. To me it is a matter of amazement that it ever was for a moment believed by any intelligent human being". Orthodox Christians, since they're committed to a "belief" in the literal "truth" of the Bible, claim that after the so-called "Flood" men became even more evil than they were before, so then this God 4000 years later sent "His only begotten son" as a vicarious to suffer and die trying to save the world. Now, listen, the purported ministry of this Jesus, was supposed to be a [unique] event in human history. This claim, however, is no longer tenable among those who accept (reason) as the criterion of truth. But we know now that many "Saviors" antedated the Christian era. There's "The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors"--a book published in 1875 by Kersey Graves. Early in this century, a scholar Christian clergyman, the Rev. Charles H. Vail, wrote a book with the title: "The World's Saviors". In his book he gives the names of about twentyfive(25) Pre-Christian virgin-born Saviors. Peace!

Even if they did... the presence of an intact hymen does not automatically negate the possibility of sexual intercourse. Some hymens just don't break as easily.

They probably assumed it was Joseph's baby. He was going to divorce her secretly, so he probably didn't tell anyone he wasn't the father. When he agreed to remain betrothed to Mary, he was, in essence, saying he was the father. Had the community believed Mary had been with someone else, she would have been stoned, and Jesus would have never been accepted.

Freddy, did you take the word of your first girlfriend, or did you check?

I read somewhere that virgin meant that she had not given birth before Jesus and thats why they called her virgin.