Re: MISC: Santa Claus, winner of the Feynman Grand Prize?

Hal Finney (hal@rain.org)
Wed, 2 Dec 1998 10:02:59 -0800

Doug Bailey wrote: Some other Highfield explanations:

> The Immaculate Conception: Highfield speculates about Parthenogenesis
> but concludes Mary Magdalene must have been a hermaphrodite (making
> the book a gift idea for that special Catholic friend).

Spike Jones replied:
> ok, but allow me to correct one small detail. mary of the parthenogenic
> conception is not to be confused with mary magdalene, who was evidently
> (?)
> jesus christ's concubine. spike

And to add more Catholic trivia that you never wanted to know, the Immaculate Conception refers not to the conception of Jesus, but to the conception of Mary. That is, Mary herself was conceived miraculously, not through sexual relations, and her conception (the moment when Mary's mother became pregnant) is called the Immaculate Conception. The conception of Jesus is apparently called the Holy Conception, and his birth, the Virgin Birth.

Although Mary was conceived miraculously, the miracle was such that she was the biological child of both her father and her mother. Jesus, on the other hand, was the biological child only of Mary, and Joseph played no part in his biological lineage.

The parallels to the capabilities of modern and near-future fertility technologies are intriguing but probably not significant!

Hal