The Virgin Birth, Virgin Conception, and Immaculate Conception

  
The Virgin Birth, Virgin Conception, and Immaculate Conception are all designations that relate directly, or indirectly, to the birth of Christ. People typically use the designation Virgin Birth and Virgin Conception to mean the same thing. Namely, that Jesus was conceived supernaturally by the Holy Spirit while Mary remained a virgin. I prefer to use the designation Virgin Conception since strictly speaking, we are referring to the circumstances of the conception rather than the birth per se. That is, while Jesus was conceived supernaturally like no other child; he was born naturally like every other child. (I am not distinguishing here between what is called natural and Caesarean childbirth.) The Immaculate Conception on, on the other hand, is a Roman Catholic dogma that holds that Mary was conceived and preserved from the stain of original sin. While I believe that the Virgin Birth/Virgin Conception has biblical warrant, I do not believe that the Immaculate Conception has any basis in Scripture. Concerning the Immaculate Conception, see this post by Bill Combs.