Born of A Virgin? An Episcopal Priest Shares Her Doubts
Posted: Saturday, December 24, 2005 at 4:21 am ET

Chloe Breyer serves an Episcopal priest at St. Mary's Manhattanville Church in West Harlem, New York. She is the daughter of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer and author of The Close, a reflection on her first year at General Theological Seminary in New York City. She is urbane, witty, and articulate. What she is not, however, is theologically orthodox -- a point she makes painfully clear in "The Earthly Father--What if Mary Wasn't a Virgin?," published December 22, 2005 at the on-line magazine, Slate.

"At Christmas, Christians celebrate the birth of God's only son," Ms. Breyer notes. "Some believers, however, wonder if Jesus Christ is God's son only. The ancient "illegitimacy tradition" and its modern proponents propose that Jesus may have had a human father. That idea upsets one of the central mysteries of the Christian faith--the virgin conception. But it's entirely in keeping with more essential tenets: Jesus' role as the Messiah, and God's love for the poor and downtrodden."

Albert Mohler-Anglican Christians, don't miss this!