Hal Finney <hal@rain.org> writes:
<<<
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.
>>>
Not quite, Hal. The Immaculate Conception refers to the idea that Mary was conceived without "original sin" (which everyone else except her son supposedly is born with). It does *not* mean her mother conceived her without sex. That dubious distinction is reserved for Jesus (and a thousand other savior-gods and heroes of the ancient world).
Dick (a pantheistic Catholic)