The Virgin Birth
This symbolic meaning was in terms of being born again in Christ –baptized– which of course is definitional of Christian identity. Indeed, when Jesus gives this invitation to be born again (John 3), he makes it clear that this is a spiritual birth, not physical birth that would need be precipitated by sexual intercourse. So in this sense, to start with, being born again can be a virgin birth, in common with the story of Jesus’ own birth.
From a Spiritual perspective, the virginal birth archetypes throughout history are metaphors for the Christ Principle, GOD, Brahman, Allah etc becoming manifest in human form as us.
The immaculate conception is not the exclusive property of any one religion or world ideology. It is the universal story of Christ Consciousness becoming manifest!
This virginal Christ consciousness is the Only Begotten Son which comes out of the cosmic union of fire (Spirit) and water (matter).
The ‘Christ Child’ is born whenever anyone comes to the virginal conscious realization that he or she is the Cosmic Christ expressing in human form.
'Repent and crucify the ego" - means to change your mind, let go of the worldly and become 'divine mind'
It is a pristine moment of enlightenment. It is an immaculate conception. It is an unblemished, pure, and stainless mystical insight into our True Spiritual Nature.
Church Father Origen of Alexandria (c.185-254 CE), many writers took up the view that for Mary to bear Christ into the world physically she first had such a spiritual ‘virgin birth’ of Christ within. And what is significant about this giving birth to God in the soul rather than the flesh, is that it is a privilege which need not be limited to Mary, but can be shared by others who have been born again. Hence, a spiritual message which Christmas celebrates is that we all have the potential to give birth to divinity within, and bear God into the world.
early Christian theology maintained that the Holy Spirit impregnated the Virgin Mary with Jesus not through her sexual organ but by means of her ear. Mary received the Spirit by ‘hearing’ the Word of God which was spoken to her.
“The bodily locus of the virginal conception was not portrayed in early Christian acts as the vagina, but the ear: ‘The conception was by hearing’, wrote John of Damascus. In early iconography the Holy Spirit is not portrayed as coming into Mary’s body physiologically by sexual transmission, but spiritually by attentive hearing…the conception was by right hearing of the Word of God.”
The end of the verse also mentions how Mary testified to the truth through the Words (kalimāt) of God – these being the same Words by which Abraham was tested. The Qur’ān also refers to Jesus as a Word (kalimah) from God which He breathed into Mary:
“The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only the Messenger of God, and His Word (kalimatuhu) that He cast to Mary, and a Spirit from Him…---(Holy Qur’ān 4:171)
The above verse states that Jesus was the God’s Spirit and Word (kalimah) which He “cast” (alqā) into the Virgin Mary.
This is significant because in Ṣūrah al-Muzzammal (73:53), the exact same verb – alqā (to cast, to commit, to present) – is used when the verse says to the Prophet Muḥammad – “Indeed we will cast (sanulqī) upon you a Weighty Word”. Thus, the “casting” of the Word of God upon the Virgin Mary is identical to the “casting” of the Word of God to the Prophet Muḥammad.
Even in the case of Prophet Jesus, the Qur’ān indicates that God inspired him with the Holy Spirit. This Spirit is initially given to a Prophet in the form of a Word (kalimah) or Divine Name (ism ilahi) – as shown in the cases of Prophet Adam and the Virgin Mary.