Waxing Poetically: Addressing Culture with a Twist of Poetry

One man explains his theory on how it was done.

In this holiday season, much of the world celebrates the many graces it has been given including family, friends and a prosperous new year. But for Christian believers, the season is not only a time to give thanks for the many good things they may have, it is also the celebration of the birth of their savior Jesus Christ – a birth blessed in many ways as any other with one all too obvious exception: like the mothers of many revered religious figures, from Maya the mother the Buddha to Persephone the mother of the Greek god Dionysus, Jesus’ mother Mary is believed to have been a virgin (Read a list of ancient virgin birth stories).

But is a real virgin birth possible? According to nature, yes! It is a process known in biology as parthenogenesis, the literal Greek term for virgin (partheno) + (genesis). It is a form of asexual reproduction found in many animals such a reptiles, fish, and various invertebrates but is less likely to occur in mammals.

According to Bio-Medicine.org:

Parthenogenesis is a particular form of asexual reproduction in which females produce eggs that develop without fertilization. Parthenogenesis is seen in aphids, rotifers, and some other invertebrates, as well as in some plants. Among vertebrates, there are several genera of fish, amphibians, and reptiles that exhibit differing form of asexual reproduction, including true parthenogenesis, gynogenesis, and hybridogenesis, an incomplete form of parthenogenesis.

Among the reptiles, about fifteen species of whiptail lizard (genus Cnemidophorus) reproduce exclusively by parthenogenesis. These lizards live in the dry and sometimes harsh climate of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. All these asexual species appear to have arisen through the hybridization of two or three of the sexual species in the genus. The mechanism by which the mixing of chromosomes from two or three species can lead to parthenogenetic reproduction is unknown. Because multiple hybridization events can occur, individual parthenogenetic whiptail species can consist of multiple, independent asexual lineages. Within lineages, there is very little genetic diversity, but different lineages may have quite different genotypes. An interesting aspect to reproduction in these asexual whiptail lizards is that mating behaviors are still seen even though the populations are entirely female. One female plays the role of a male lizard and mounts the female that is about to produce eggs. The reason the animals act this way is due to their hormonal cycles, which cause some to act as males when levels of estrogen are low, and others to take the role of female when estrogen levels are high. Lizards that act out the courtship ritual have greater fecundity than those kept in isolation due to the increase in hormones that accompanies the fake sex. So, even though asexual whiptail lizards populations lack males, they still require sexual stimuli for maximum reproductive success (http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-definition/Parthenogenesis/Read more).

Still there is little evidence that parthenogenesis is likely to produce a male, and if so it is likely to be abnormal due to the lack of male DNA.

Theosophy advocate David Pratt speaks of the possibility of human virgin birth:

Attempts at artificial parthenogenesis in humans have not yet been successful. The first cloned human embryo was produced in October 2001. Eggs had their own genetic material removed and were injected with the nucleus of a donor cell. They were then incubated under special conditions to prompt them to divide and grow. One embryo grew to six cells before it stopped dividing. The same experimenters also tried to induce human eggs to divide into early embryos parthenogenetically — without being fertilized by a sperm or enucleated and injected with a donor cell — but their efforts met with only limited success (Read the full text of the study).

There is some evidence, however, that natural parthenogenesis does occasionally occur in humans. There are many instances in which impregnation has allegedly taken place in women without there being any possibility of the semen entering the female genital passage In some cases it was found either in the course of pregnancy or at the time of childbirth that the female passages were obstructed. In 1956 the medical journal Lancet published a report concerning 19 alleged cases of virgin birth among women in England, who were studied by members of the British Medical Association. The six-month study convinced the investigators that human parthenogenesis was physiologically possible and had actually occurred in some of the women studied (Full citations are available here).

And still there is a supposition by some that because of the rare XXY chromosomal phenomenon known as Klinefelter syndrome occurring in some males that virgin birth of a male is possible but he could have any number of problematic symptoms.

The most common symptom is infertility. Other symptoms may include:

• Small, firm testicles
• Small penis
• Only a little bit of pubic, armpit, and facial hair
• Sexual problems
• Enlarged breasts ( gynecomastia)
• Tall height
• Abnormal body proportions (long legs, short trunk)

Adults may come to the doctor because of infertility. School-age children may be brought in to because of learning problems.
The following test results may be found:
• Karyotyping shows 47 XXY.
• Semen count is low.
• Serum testosterone is low.
• Serum luteinizing hormone is high.
• Serum follicle stimulating hormone is high.
• Serum estradiol levels (a type of estrogen) is high.

Source: University of Maryland Medical Center

It is to be noted that Jesus is said to have none of these traits in any of the Gospels. He is neither described as effeminate, homosexual or weird looking in any way. It is also to be noted that all scientific data suggests that Jesus was actually much more likely to have been a female because of a lack of male genetic material during fertilization. Although, As of this blog post, there is no evidence of any kind of popular “Jesus was a woman” theory.

Clearly, virgin birth is a rarity among life on Earth. Still, for whatever the reason may be, believers continue their journey in hope and inevitably by faith.

Wax parthenogenetically!

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