Biblical Criticism – Was Adam Born Without Father and Mother Like Christ

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III responds to the question comparing Adam’s creation with Christ’s birth:
If Christ was born of a mother without a father, wasn’t Adam also made without father or mother?
The Pope explains that this comparison is incorrect, for Adam was not born — he was created, whereas Christ was truly born, though miraculously.

The Difference Between Creation and Birth:

• Adam was created directly from the dust of the earth by God’s breath — he did not come by birth, so he cannot be called “born.”

• Christ, however, came into the world through birth, from the Virgin Mary, but without a human father, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Natural Law and Divine Miracle:
Ordinary human birth requires both father and mother, yet God — who established nature’s laws — can act beyond them without contradiction.
In Adam’s case, God created life from nothing.
In Christ’s case, He performed a miraculous conception to show that He Himself is the Creator and Giver of life.

Theological Meaning:
Christ’s wondrous birth proclaims Him as the eternal Word made flesh, who took on real humanity without ceasing to be divine.
Adam was the first man of the earth, but Christ is the Lord from heaven, the beginning of the new creation in the Spirit.

Faith Message:
Therefore, Adam was created, not born, while Christ was born miraculously, not created.
Adam represents the start of the physical creation; Christ brings the renewal of humanity through divine incarnation.

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