The article is “Why do folks say Jesus H. Christ?.” The url is http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_033. It may be blasphemy, but I have to respectfully disagree with Cecil. My disagreement is not about the origin of the H in Jesus H. Christ. It is about the immaculate conception which he mentions in the haploid biology major joke. According to the American Heritage College dictionary, the immaculate conception is the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was born free of original sin. However, Cecil states that Christ’s birth was immaculate. Pope Pius IX declared the immaculate conception an article of faith in 1854. It does not mean that Mary’s mother had a virgin birth just that she was born free of sin. Thanks
Kevin
(edited to fix link)
[Edited by Arnold Winkelried on 12-07-2000 at 11:54 AM]
If you read the line carefully you’ll see it says “the unique (not to say immaculate) circumstances of Christ’s conception.” It seems to me that Cecil is poking fun at the common misconception among non-Catholics that the Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Jesus. Mark Twain is probably the most famous to have made that mistake. In another column, Did Jesus have siblings? Cecil makes it clear that he understands the facts when he says “. . . the Immaculate Conception, the belief that Mary was free of original sin . . .”
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The column (including Slug Signorino’s illustration) can also be found on pages 33-34 of Cecil Adams’ book «The Straight Dope».