Mark Friesel states that Christians are “not permitted” to question the miracle of the virgin birth. He is mistaken. Some Christians are encouraged to question anything and everything; 1 they seek truth at all costs.
Certainly it is reasonable, on the principle of economy of hypothesis, to try to explain as much as possible without invoking miracles, but failure should be squarely faced. As an example, to my knowledge, decades of effort have as yet produced no rational material explanation of the origin and macroevolution of living organisms on Earth. As honest and rational scientists (whether atheist or not), we should, therefore, be open to the idea of considering nonmaterial explanations.
Also, Friesel omits the important fact that faith plays a central role in science 2 as well as in religion: The use of the experimental method in scientific investigations involves faith in the constancy of Nature.
