There are documented cases of virgin birth in the medical literature.

A particular example is of a 15 year old girl in Africa (unable to recall the specific country atm) with an imperforate hymen, who was discovered to be pregnant when she reported with abdominal complaint. This was quite a surprise to the md, as her vagina was completely closed at the entrance.

The specific mechanism of insemination became apparent upon interview: She had performed oral sex upon a male acquaintance, when his girlfriend discovered them and attacked her with a knife, piercing her abdomen, and thus providing passage for sperm into her inviolate womb.

I have no comment as to how this may relate to religious matters, except to point out that the unlikely is not impossible, and statistical certainty doesn’t exist.

I do wish to point out that we are all quite arrogant, and have faith in our own observations. Humility is no less desirable from science than from theology, in consideration of politics particularly, that most fractious of human endeavors.

We do well who remain certain of our own fallibility.

Somehow a statement about “stong economy” turned into “balanced budget,” and a statment about initial conditions turned into what’s developed since.
Talk about magic!

Parents reply: …

On the idea that scientific propositions are never provably true or false: this is absolutely incorrect. Hypotheses *must* be provably false; that is the primary mechanism of scientific inquiry. It is the very fact that Mr. Brownback’s statement is *not* provably false that makes it unscientific.

On policy:
1. cutting taxes not only *can* increase federal revenues, it quite provably has. Additionally, our economy is stronger than ever, and our deficit tiny in comparison to our GNP (as opposed to, say, Japan, which runs at 100% of its GNP as deficit.)
2. The author demonstrates an interesting lapse in memory regarding how U. S. troops were, in fact, greeted by the Iraqis. That is, *by invitation*.
3. I won’t even begin on the topic of liberals and wishful thinking.

On the earlier post re: the Inquisition: The Christian Church was actually quite open to scientific and philosophical investigation, *until it ran into an idea that could not be processed from its world-view*. The Inquisition was a result of science-by-consensus, much like a 13th-century equivalent of the global-warming fearmongers.