Post on British parenting website calls immaculate conception 'clearly rape'

A user’s post on a British parenting site called the virgin birth of Jesus “utterly and clearly rape,” prompting some strong reactions, the Daily Mail reports.

A user going by the name Huppopapa posted the claim on Mumsnet, which bills itself online as “the UK’s biggest network for parents.” A screenshot of the post was captured by the newspaper.

The post argued, “The Virgin Mary was made pregnant by a man/God/spirit she had never met and without a single word of consent being spoken or even discussed. To my mind that is utterly and clearly rape.”

“I am told it is offensive to say so but I don’t hold with protecting the reputation of rapists so I don't really mind,” the post continued.

The user then asked, “But can anyone actually come up with an explanation of how God’s treatment of the Virgin was in any way acceptable?”

In remarks captured by the Daily Mail, some users reacted harshly.

One user, SaturndayNight, wrote, “Tacky attempt to be controversial and have a snipe at Christians preparing for what they consider a holy event,” user SaturndayNight wrote. “TBH I struggle to believe you are actually a grown-up, let alone a professional person.

“What a load of old b*****ks this all is," user EastMidsMummy reportedly said.

User ScarlettDarling was quoted as saying that “if you read the bible, Mary basically says that she is happy to do what God wants, so she is consenting to carrying his son.”

The thread on Mumsnet appears to have been taken down.

“We've had a number of reports come in about this thread and while we never like to shut down debate, we really can't allow a thread to stand with such an inflammatory opening post,” a message at the link from “MNHQ” says. “It looks like the OP has received the answers she was looking for so we're going to take this thread down now.”