In what remains a widely discussed issue in contemporary theology, J. Gresham Machen’s The Virgin Birth of Christ acts as both an introduction to the subject, and a window into American ‘Princeton’ theology in the early twentieth century. Machen undertakes an encyclopaedic study of the different perspectives on the virgin birth. He begins with a close reading of the scriptural accounts, comparing and contrasting the stories of Jesus’ birth told in Luke and Matthew. Secular historical accounts are then considered, as well as possible alternative theories, including the likelihood of the story being of early Jewish or Pagan origin.

Machen’s study was the definitive work on the virgin birth for the majority of the twentieth century, and remains an invaluable resource, both as an apologetic work and as a time capsule of theological progress.