The most crucial element of the Christian faith is not the birth but the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
That was the contention made by megachurch pastor Andy Stanley as he questioned the significance of the virgin birth, a statement that has been sparked a controversy in the Christian community.
"If somebody can predict their own death and resurrection, I'm not all that concerned about how they got into the world," he said in a sermon titled "Who Needs Christmas," CBN News reported.
"Christianity doesn't hinge on the truth or even the stories around the birth of Jesus. It hinges on the resurrection of Jesus," he told his congregation at the North Point Community Church, a non-denominational, evangelical Christian megachurch located in Alpharetta, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.
Stanley clarified that he is not denying the virgin birth, saying he just wanted to acknowledge the views of people who are sceptical about it.
"A lot of people don't believe it, and I understand that," he said.
He said it is "interesting" that only two of the four Gospel accounts mention the virgin birth.
"Matthew gives us a version of the birth of Christ," he said. "Luke does, but Mark and John, they don't even mention it. A lot has been made about that."
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler disagrees with Stanley's viewpoint. In his podcast, Mohler said, "If Jesus was not born of the virgin, then the Bible cannot be trusted when it comes to telling us the story of Jesus, and that mistrust cannot be limited to how he came to us in terms of the incarnation," he said.
"The fact is that biblical Christianity and ultimately the Gospel of Christ cannot survive the denial of the virgin birth," Mohler said. "Because without the virgin birth, you end up with a very different Jesus than the fully human, fully divine saviour revealed in scripture."
