Comments on: What part did Mary’s biology play in the making of the person of Jesus Christ?

By: cathyf

cathyf — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:23:17 +0000

Jen, it’s really not that mysterious. A Y-chromosome is more or less the remnants of a broken-down X-chromosome, with a few base pairs changed so that it produces male hormone proteins instead of female.

We don’t know the details of how God accomplished the incarnation (only what he accomplished) so this might or might not be relevant to that issue. But we do have a pretty good understanding that, at the gene level, males are just a few tweaks here and there different from females. Which pretty much matches what Genesis says — male and female in the image and likeness of God.

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 13:47:17 +0000

What I have always wondered is where the Y-chromosome comes from. I know you will say this is taking things overly “scientifically” – but then the CC has always done that in deciding who to ordain! So my question – on a genetic level – was Jesus actually male if he only had Mary’s DNA?

By: Mike Hayes

Mike Hayes — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 18:36:46 +0000

Zeb–

The power of the Holy Spirit creates whatever it has to create in order for Jesus to become Jesus. You’re thinking in scientific manner, which is what we have become accustomed to, but we need to think with the eyes of faith here. This goes beyond mere science to something more transcendent or beyond science. It is mystery and thus cannot be answered by our limited human human ways.

So again, suffice it to say that the Holy Spirit does what it needs to in order to create Jesus as Jesus.

By: cathyf

cathyf — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 12:35:14 +0000

I find it odd that you find this thought so shocking. Jesus tells us that God has numbered every hair on our head. Given how DNA works, if the Spirit “spelled out” Jesus’ body nucleotide by nucleotide it wouldn’t come close to being the most mysterious part of the process.

By: Zeb

Zeb — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 10:12:19 +0000

Arg, this is not an answer! Mary accounts for 23 of Jesus chromosomes, but whence the other 23? Couldn’t all be from Mary, or he’d be a girl, and a clone. Did God create them ex nihilo? The most shocking part of that thought is that God chose Jesus’ genes nucleotide by nucleotide – Jesus body was thus half-divinely designed. This question is the most troubling aspect of the virgin birth for me.