{"id":101707,"date":"2017-12-18T00:06:18","date_gmt":"2017-12-18T07:06:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?p=101707"},"modified":"2017-12-17T23:10:18","modified_gmt":"2017-12-18T06:10:18","slug":"catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2017\/12\/catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth.html","title":{"rendered":"Over at the Catholic Weekly, we are discussing Matthew and Isaiah and the Virgin Birth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

It started this way:<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYikes! Is this true?\u201d The email landed in my mailbox with resounding virtual thud, asking for help for a confused Catholic baffled by one of those\u00a0Mysteries of the Bible<\/em>\u00a0shows on cable TV.<\/p>\n

I have a private theory that the people who write the\u00a0Mysteries of the Bible<\/em>\u00a0programs used to write for\u00a0Scooby Doo, Where are You!<\/em>\u00a0and just brought a winning formula to their new gig (\u201cWhy that was no supernatural occurrence! It was just old Mr Higgins in a bedsheet!<\/p>\n

And he\u2019d have gotten away with it if not for those meddling kids!\u201d just morphed into \u201cWhy, the Israelites didn\u2019t cross the sea because of a miraculous deliverance by God! It was just low tide!\u201d and \u201cWhy, Jesus didn\u2019t miraculous multiply loaves and fishes! People were just so inspired by Jesus\u2019 warm fuzziness that they all shared their lunches! And the biblical authors would have gotten away with it if not for those meddling Mysteries of the Bible producers!\u201d)<\/p>\n

It was heading on toward Christmas and the show my friend saw had turned from the \u201cexplanations\u201d listed above to explaining away the Virgin Birth. (Every Christmas and Easter, like clockwork, the media goes in search of \u201cthe real Jesus\u201d or the \u201creal Mary\u201d and \u201cthe real story\u201d about the birth and\/or death and resurrection of Jesus.)<\/p>\n

The scholars on the show my friend watched, eager for their fifteen minutes of fame, explained that the prophet Isaiah had not actually said, \u201cBehold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanu-el.\u201d (Isaiah 7:14). Actually, the Hebrew says an\u00a0almah<\/em>\u00a0or young woman shall conceive.<\/p>\n

But centuries after the time of 8th century BC Isaiah (and roughly two centuries before Jesus) the Jews, now scattered through a Greek-speaking world, needed a translation of their own Bible since many Jews were losing their Hebrew and could not read their own sacred texts. So they made a translation call the Septuagint and translated Isaiah\u2019s\u00a0almah<\/em>\u00a0into the Greek word\u00a0parthenos<\/em>\u00a0or virgin.<\/p>\n

It was the Septuagint that the evangelist Matthew was quoting in his gospel, said the scholars, and that is why he mistakenly believed that Jesus was born of a virgin. But now, thanks to modern biblical scholarship, we have spotted the mistake and so we know that Jesus was not really born of a virgin!<\/p>\n

My friend was understandably confused and worried. Was this all true?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Much more here\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It started this way: \u201cYikes! Is this true?\u201d The email landed in my mailbox with resounding virtual thud, asking for help for a confused Catholic baffled by one of those\u00a0Mysteries of the Bible\u00a0shows on cable TV. I have a private theory that the people who write the\u00a0Mysteries of the Bible\u00a0programs used to write for\u00a0Scooby Doo, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[836],"class_list":["post-101707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-catholic-weekly-stuff"],"yoast_head":"\nOver at the Catholic Weekly, we are discussing Matthew and Isaiah and the Virgin Birth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It started this way: \u201cYikes! Is this true?\u201d The email landed in my mailbox with resounding virtual thud, asking for help for a confused Catholic baffled\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2017\/12\/catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Over at the Catholic Weekly, we are discussing Matthew and Isaiah and the Virgin Birth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It started this way: \u201cYikes! Is this true?\u201d The email landed in my mailbox with resounding virtual thud, asking for help for a confused Catholic baffled\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2017\/12\/catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Catholic and Enjoying It!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-12-18T07:06:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-12-18T06:10:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Shea\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Shea\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2017\/12\/catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2017\/12\/catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth.html\",\"name\":\"Over at the Catholic Weekly, we are discussing Matthew and Isaiah and the Virgin Birth\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-18T07:06:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-18T06:10:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5\"},\"description\":\"It started this way: \u201cYikes! Is this true?\u201d The email landed in my mailbox with resounding virtual thud, asking for help for a confused Catholic baffled\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2017\/12\/catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2017\/12\/catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2017\/12\/catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Over at the Catholic Weekly, we are discussing Matthew and Isaiah and the Virgin Birth\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/\",\"name\":\"Catholic and Enjoying It!\",\"description\":\"Mark Shea's Blog: So That No Thought of Mine, No Matter How Stupid, Should Ever Go Unpublished Again!\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5\",\"name\":\"Mark Shea\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mark Shea\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/author\/markshea\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Over at the Catholic Weekly, we are discussing Matthew and Isaiah and the Virgin Birth","description":"It started this way: \u201cYikes! Is this true?\u201d The email landed in my mailbox with resounding virtual thud, asking for help for a confused Catholic baffled","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2017\/12\/catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Over at the Catholic Weekly, we are discussing Matthew and Isaiah and the Virgin Birth","og_description":"It started this way: \u201cYikes! Is this true?\u201d The email landed in my mailbox with resounding virtual thud, asking for help for a confused Catholic baffled","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2017\/12\/catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth.html","og_site_name":"Catholic and Enjoying It!","article_published_time":"2017-12-18T07:06:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-12-18T06:10:18+00:00","author":"Mark Shea","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mark Shea","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2017\/12\/catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2017\/12\/catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth.html","name":"Over at the Catholic Weekly, we are discussing Matthew and Isaiah and the Virgin Birth","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-12-18T07:06:18+00:00","dateModified":"2017-12-18T06:10:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5"},"description":"It started this way: \u201cYikes! Is this true?\u201d The email landed in my mailbox with resounding virtual thud, asking for help for a confused Catholic baffled","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2017\/12\/catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2017\/12\/catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/2017\/12\/catholic-weekly-discussing-matthew-isaiah-virgin-birth.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Over at the Catholic Weekly, we are discussing Matthew and Isaiah and the Virgin Birth"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/","name":"Catholic and Enjoying It!","description":"Mark Shea's Blog: So That No Thought of Mine, No Matter How Stupid, Should Ever Go Unpublished Again!","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/c1a9ac1e557d3c626974fd6692818ad5","name":"Mark Shea","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f287911f45adc932ad24ddbae3597ed5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mark Shea"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/author\/markshea"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101707\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/markshea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}