The Miraculous Conception Or, The Divinity of Jesus Christ Considered as the Foundation of the Christian Religion — A Reader’s Guide

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Authors: Annet, Peter, 1693-1769 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2012 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Jesus Christ -- Divinity; Immaculate Conception Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

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Reading time 36 min

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An examination of the miraculous conception narratives in Matthew and Luke, focusing on contradictions, lack of evidence, and the author's critique of relying on such accounts to establish Jesus's divinity.

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Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost._

"19. _Then Joseph her husband being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily._

"20. _But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost._

"21. 'And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.'

"99. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

"93. Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted, is God with us.

"94. _Then Joseph being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife._

"25. And knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born son. And he called his name Jesus."

This is all St. Matthew says on the subject.

St. Luke's account is more circumstantial, it is as follows:--

"5. There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

"6. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

"7. And they had no child, because that Elizabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

"8. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,

"9. According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

"10. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

"11. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

"19. And when Zacharias saw him he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

"13. But the angel said unto him, 'Fear not, Zacharias; for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

"14. 'And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

"15. 'For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

"16. 'And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

"17. 'And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.'

"18. And Zacharias said unto the angel, 'Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.'

"19. And the angel answering said unto him, 'I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

"90. 'And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.'

"21. And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

"22. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them; and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.

"23. And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

"24. And after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

"25. 'Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.'

"26. _And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,_

"27. _To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary._

"28. _And the angel came in unto her, and said, 'Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.'_

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Peter Annet's The Miraculous Conception scrutinizes the two Gospel accounts of Jesus's birth—Matthew's brief dream sequence and Luke's more detailed annunciation—by confining the examination to passages that directly relate to the miraculous conception. Annet quotes the biblical text verbatim, then dissects the narrative gaps, inconsistencies, and the absence of corroborating testimony. His method is forensic: he isolates what the texts actually say, notes what they omit, and challenges the logical leaps required to treat these stories as historical evidence for Christ's divinity.

Narrative Discrepancies Between Matthew and Luke

Annet highlights that Matthew's account centers on Joseph's dream—an angel appears to him after Mary is found pregnant—while Luke's version features Gabriel's visit to Mary, her journey to Elizabeth, and the Magnificat. The two narratives, Annet argues, are not easily harmonized. Matthew knows nothing of Elizabeth or Mary's three-month stay; Luke gives no indication that Joseph was informed by Mary. Annet points out that Matthew's Joseph learns of the conception only through a dream, whereas Luke's Mary receives a direct angelic announcement. The author asks: if Mary had already been told by Gabriel, why would she conceal it from Joseph, risking being "turned out of doors as a strumpet"? This contradiction, Annet contends, undermines the credibility of both accounts as coherent testimony.

The Problem of Evidence and Witnesses

Annet systematically dismantles the evidentiary basis of the miraculous conception. He notes that neither the identity of the original reporters nor the time or place of the events is known. The stories, he writes, are "worse than 'old wives' tales" because they lack any verifiable chain of transmission. He observes that scholars still dispute the original language and authorship of the Gospels. Annet's critique is not merely theological but procedural: he demands the same standards of evidence that would be applied to any historical claim. The absence of named witnesses, the reliance on dreams and private visions, and the inability to cross-examine the principals render the accounts, in his view, incapable of supporting the weight of Christian doctrine.

The Learned Doctor's Harmony as a Case Study

Annet takes aim at a specific harmonization attempt by "Mr. Le Clerc," a scholar who tried to reconcile Matthew and Luke by positing that Mary concealed Gabriel's visit from Joseph, and that Joseph's dream then confirmed what Mary later told him. Annet scoffs at this as "miserable shifts" and "miserable pretexts." He points out that there is no textual warrant for the supposed conference between Joseph and Mary after the dream. The harmonization, he argues, is a fiction invented to paper over a contradiction. Annet's language here is sharp: he accuses the harmonizer of "folly" and "roguery," revealing his view that such apologetics are intellectually dishonest. This section illustrates Annet's broader method of exposing the rhetorical maneuvers used to prop up weak evidence.

Diction and Tone: The Polemical Voice

Annet's own diction is a key feature of the text. He uses blunt, colloquial phrases—"worse than 'old wives' tales," "miserable shifts," "strumpet"—that signal his contempt for the narratives he examines. His tone is not detached scholarly inquiry but combative deconstruction. He repeatedly frames the Gospel accounts as "stories" or "tales," refusing to grant them the status of sacred history. The rhetorical questions ("what does appearing in a dream mean, simply in his imagination?") invite the reader to adopt a skeptical stance. Annet's voice is that of a rationalist polemicist, aiming to strip away reverence and expose what he sees as absurdity. This stylistic choice reinforces his argument: the language of the text performs the critique it advocates.

Readers approaching The Miraculous Conception should attend to how Annet uses close reading and logical inference to challenge foundational Christian claims. His method—quoting scripture, then interrogating its silences and inconsistencies—remains a model of skeptical textual analysis. The pamphlet is best read alongside the Gospel passages it cites, allowing one to judge the force of his objections directly.

Years among these shelves taught me that doubt and stillness often make the best companions. That old inquiry into the miraculous conception—its careful weighing of what scripture does and doesn’t prove—shares a quiet kinship with The Zen Experience — A Closer Reading. Both trust the empty space between certainty and belief, finding honesty there rather than answers.