supernatural surrounding the birth of the Christ. Matt. 1:18--"On
this wise," and Luke 1:35--"The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,
and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also
that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the
Son of God." "On this wise" indicates that this birth was different
from those recorded before it. Luke 1:35 is explicit about the
matter. To assail the virgin birth is to assail the Virgin's life.
He was of "the seed of the woman," not of the man. (See Luke 1:34--"How
shall this be, seeing I know not a man?") No laws of heredity are
sufficient to account for His generation. By a creative act God
broke through the chain of human generation and brought into the
world a supernatural being.

The narrative of the virgin birth need not stagger us. The abundance
of historical evidence in its favor should lead to its acceptance.
All the manuscripts in all the ancient versions contain the record
of it. All the traditions of the early church recognize it. Mention
of it is made in the earliest of all the creeds: the Apostles'
Creed. If the doctrine of the virgin birth is rejected it must be
on purely subjective grounds. If one denies the possibility of
the supernatural in the experience of human life, it is, of course,
easy for him to deny this doctrine. To one who believes that
Jesus was human only it would seem comparatively easy to deny the
supernatural birth on purely subjective grounds. The preconceptions
of thinkers to a great degree determine their views. It would
seem that such a wonderful life as that lived by Christ, having as
it did such a wonderful finish in the resurrection and ascension,
might, indeed should, have a wonderful and extraordinary entrance
into the world. The fact that the virgin birth is attested by the
Scriptures, by tradition, by creeds, and that it is in perfect