Several people over the years have asked me whether the virgin birth of Jesus is an essential element of the gospel message.

Emergent church leader Rob Bell, for example, asked the question of which parts of the biblical story of Jesus are essential to believe in order to be saved. He specifically questioned the necessity of belief in the virgin birth.

Additionally, this week I came across a discussion online of people arguing that instead of the original lyrics to the hymn Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, the line “offspring of the virgin’s womb” should be changed to “offspring of Mary’s womb.” The reason for this, they said, was that not saying Mary’s name, but instead identifying her according to her sexual status, takes away from her dignity. Therefore, we should say her name, and get rid of this “unnecessary” controversy regarding the virgin birth.

So, is the virgin birth essential to the gospel?

I believe it is. In this video, I explain the reasons why: