Little Hawk - "However, it does state that Mary conceived a child "in the normal way", and that the term "immaculate" indicated something about her innate spiritual nature, that is, her consciousness."

Thats what I always believed, too. It wasn't until I was twelve or thirteen that I found out that most people thought there was a physical component involved.

BTW - Have you heard about the guy who believes that Jesus was buried in his family tomb and that he has found it? He also thinks Mary was impregnated by a Roman soldier.

I'm also curious about what it really means when we are instructed not to take Jesus' name in vain. I've always thought it had something to do with conceit. If so, somebody should give GWB and the Christian Fundamentalists a clue.