Footnote 1 – Can Scholars Take the Virgin Birth Seriously?

This sentence is a fair summary of the traditional position of (particularly Protestant) Christians, But it is itself an interpretation and supposition, based largely upon 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness ….” Three things should be noted: (1) By “scripture” the author is referring to what Christians call the Old Testament, the New Testament having not yet been fully written or collected; (2) Use of the word “inspired” does not mean “infallible” (as is usually supposed), since when God “inspired” Adam (literally, “breathed into” him [Genesis 2:7]) Adam became alive, but certainly not infallible; (3) The New Testament author does not claim what is traditionally claimed for him, He says that Scripture is “profitable,” not that it is infallible, that it is “able to instruct you” (more literally, from the Greek, “able to make you wise”), not that it is inerrant.