Writing at Popular Science, Daniel Engber asked, “Could a virgin birth ever happen?” Well, not surprisingly, his answer was no, at least not through any means known to science. While he doesn’t openly conclude that the Christmas account is therefore a myth, the painting of Mary and Baby Jesus at the top of his article makes his intention pretty clear. Well, there you have it, folks: Science disproves Christianity.

But not so fast. As Derek Rishmawy points out at Patheos, articles like this are grand exercises in missing the point. Christians understand where babies come from. We also know people don’t usually walk on lakes, turn water into wine, and return from the dead. That’s why we have a special word for these occurrences: Miracle.

It’s also why natural science can’t disprove miracles. They are supernatural. Just because we can’t conceive of a miracle through science doesn’t mean God didn’t conceive a miracle in Mary.