A cousin of mine came up with this theory for laughs. We were really blazed too, by the way Toward the end of the years B.C, there was a man called Joseph who loved a woman called Mary. They were betrothed, but were not allowed to have sex before marriage, as was the norm during the time. But young blood that they were, they used to sneak over to their friend Robby's barn to have a roll in the hay, so to speak. Unfortunately, Joseph didn't pull out in time on one occasion or Mary forgot to take her anti-pregnancy tincture, and she got pregnant. Now that was a dilemma, since the penalty for extra-marital sex was to be stoned to death (I sometimes wonder at that expression ). So Joseph played on Mary's reputation as the model child, etc. and came up with the story to save their lives. And they lived happily until their son went nuts with the idea of himself being God's son and got himself killed. But at least they created a cult following that has lasted to this day. Just a fun thought, don't smite me, O ye Religious