Born Divine

In this study of the birth & infancy of Jesus, Miller separates fact from fiction in the gospel narratives & relates them to stories about the miraculous births of Israelite heroes & of Greek & Roman sons of God. Born Divine analyzes the Christian claim that the birth & childhood of Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies. The historical & theological dimensions of the virgin birth tradition are discussed with honesty & insight. This wide-ranging book also presents additional infancy gospels from the 2nd century thru the Middle Ages.Preface --Acknowledgments --Abbreviations --Introduction --Biblical Infancy Narratives: --Infancy narratives --Luke 1 --Luke 2 --Genealogies of Jesus --Matthew 1-2 --Moses Haggadah --Pagan Sons Of God: --Hellenistic infancy narratives --Historical And Theological Questions: --Did Jesus fulfill prophecy? --Are the infancy narratives historical? --Born Of A Virgin?: --What is a "virgin"? --Is there a virgin birth in Matthew? --Is the virgin birth historical? --Was Jesus illegitimate? --Understanding The Virgin Birth: --Son(s) of God in the Bible --Virgin birth in context --Meaning of the virgin birth --Infancy Gospels: --Infancy gospel of James --Infancy gospel of Thomas --Two docetic birth stories --History of Joseph the Carpenter --Arabic infancy gospel --Gospel of pseudo-Matthew --Appendix: Births of Aeneas and Jesus --For further reading --About the translations --Translations consulted --Works consulted --Index of quotations --Index of topics