The virgin birth is one of the most commonly attacked miracles associated with Jesus’ life. The attacks generally fall into two categories: they either attack the idea of the virgin birth or the translation of the word virgin.

To many modern people, being born of a virgin sounds like the origin of a superhero. They think it is just a legend. But the idea sounded just as bizarre to Mary. Luke 1:34 tells us that when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would give birth to the Son of God, she replied, “How can this be, since I have not been intimate with a man?” The fact the Luke calls her a virgin twice in verse 27 helps set the stage for Mary’s skeptical reaction. And Matthew 1:18 tells us the same thing: Mary had not had the kind of relationship that would leave her pregnant.

However, Gabriel’s response to Mary is very telling: “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Lk 1:37). In other words, Mary’s pregnancy will be a miracle. People who reject the virgin birth do so because they don’t think miracles are possible. They see Jesus as a good teacher, not divine. But evidence for Jesus’ resurrection and the arguments for God’s existence give us excellent reasons to think that miracles are possible and that Jesus was God incarnate. And if there are excellent reasons to think God exists then miracles are certainly possible. To reject the possibility of miracles is simply an anti-supernatural bias that presupposes atheism.