Kansas U.S. Senate candidate Adam Hamilton has stated that belief in the Virgin Birth is an optional tenet for Christians, arguing that fundamentalism is primarily responsible for insisting upon the doctrine as a strict requirement.
Hamilton, who serves as senior pastor of the Church of the Resurrection—the largest United Methodist congregation in the United States—made the remarks on his podcast, Making Sense of Faith with Adam Hamilton. Discussing the scriptural accounts of Jesus’s conception, Hamilton noted that while he personally chooses to believe the biblical narratives, he views the doctrine as a theological statement rather than a biological lesson.
“Now, we’re all children of God, but in a different way, Jesus was the son of God,” Hamilton said on the podcast. He added that while he chooses to trust and accept the stories, he acknowledges the biological and logical challenges they present for some believers, noting that the Virgin Birth is not explicitly mentioned in the letters of the Apostle Paul or the Book of Acts outside of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
“So I say to people who tell me, ‘I’m not really sure I can believe in the Virgin birth.’ I’m like, ‘That’s okay. I just want you to follow Jesus,'” Hamilton said. He argued that Jesus did not condition discipleship on understanding the mechanics of his conception, but instead simply called people to follow him.
Tracing the historical emphasis on the doctrine, Hamilton suggested that strict insistence on the Virgin Birth emerged largely as a reaction from Christian fundamentalism against more liberalizing approaches to scripture that embrace metaphorical readings. Despite his personal acceptance of the doctrine, Hamilton reiterated that he does not view it as a mandatory prerequisite for Christian faith.
Critics and traditional theologians point out that the Virgin Birth is embedded in foundational historic statements of faith, including the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. The doctrine is traditionally viewed as essential for affirming the miraculous nature of Christ, holding that Jesus was simultaneously fully God and fully man. Accounts of the virginal conception appear in the New Testament Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and the event is also connected to prophecy from the Old Testament book of Isaiah dating back 600 to 700 years.
Beyond his recent podcast comments, Hamilton has a history of statements and leadership decisions that have drawn attention from political observers and religious conservatives. In a 2022 sermon, he suggested that adherents of other faiths, including Muslims and Hindus, might reach heaven and recognize Jesus after death, and he has previously asserted that the Bible contains numerous errors. In 2015, he publicly questioned the limits of biblical authority, including whether believers can argue that the Apostle Paul was incorrect.
Under his leadership, the Church of the Resurrection partnered with Kansas City PrideFest to sponsor a Drag Queen Story Time and Gay Pride Festival. Hamilton has also publicly voiced support for legal abortion, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the affirming of same-sex marriage within the United Methodist Church, while positioning himself politically as a moderate.
The theological stances form part of the broader public record as Hamilton campaigns for the U.S. Senate in Kansas, where he is challenging incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall. Polling indicates a closely contested race, with RealClear Polling data showing Marshall leading by an average of 0.7 points.
