How come Protestants do not believe in the perpetual Virginity of Mary?

Question

Mary was a Virgin all her life, before and after Jesus.
Martin Luther and John Calvin, the leaders of the Protestant Reformation & Protestatism thought so, that Mary was always a Virgin

Martin Luther:
"It is an article of faith that Mary is Mother of the Lord and STILL A VIRGIN.... Christ, we believe came forth from a womb left perfectly intact"
Source: Works of Luther v. 11,pp.319-320; v. 6, pp.510.

John Calvin:
"there have been certain folk who wished to have suggest from this passage(matt 1:25) that the Virgin Mary had other children than the Son of God, and that Joseph had then dwelt with her later, BUT WHAT FOLLY THIS IS! For the gospel writer did not wish to record what happened afterwards; he simply wished to make clear Joseph's obedience and to show also that Joseph had been well and truly assured that it was God who had sent His angel to Mary. HE HAD THEREFORE NEVER DWELT WITH HER NOR HAD HE SHARED HER COMPANY....
Source: Sermon on Matthew 1:22-25, published 1562

Luther and Calvin started Protestantism!! They knew Mary was a Virgin her WHOLE life because that was what history and tradition said. The first Protestants believed this and they went by the Bible alone! sola scriptura!

welcome to h... Luther said in his 16th century writings that Mary was "STILL a Virgin".
Calvin also clearly states the Joseph never dwelt (sex) with her.

pseudogodj: Joseph was a holy man and knew Mary eas set aside by God. It is so hard to understand that he loved her and was celibate? He had true love for her. He' a man? The only men left are thos filled with lust.

Answer 1

Before we get into looking at specific Scriptures, it is important to understand why the Roman Catholic Church believes in the perpetual virginity of Mary. The Roman Catholic Church views Mary as "the Mother of God" and "Queen of Heaven." Catholics believe Mary to have an exalted place in Heaven, with the closest access to Jesus and God the Father. Such a concept is nowhere taught in Scripture. Further, even if Mary did occupy such an exalted position, her having sexual intercourse would not have prevented her from gaining such a position. Sex in marriage is not sinful. Mary would have in no way defiled herself by having sexual relations with Joseph her husband. The entire concept of the perpetual virginity of Mary is based on an unbiblical teaching, Mary as Queen of Heaven, and on an unbiblical understanding of sex.

So, what does the Bible say about the perpetual virginity of Mary? Using the New American Bible, which is a Catholic translation of the Bible, we can see that the perpetual virginity of Mary is not taught in the Bible. Matthew 1:25 NAB tells us, "He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus." He, Joseph, did not have sexual relations with her, Mary, UNTIL after she bore a son, Jesus." The meaning of this Scripture is abundantly clear. Joseph and Mary did not have sexual relations until after Jesus was born. Matthew 13:55-56 NAB declares, "Is He not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not His sisters all with us?" Catholics claim, correctly, that the Greek terms from "brothers" and "sisters" in these verses could also refer to male and female relatives, not necessarily literal brothers and sisters. However, the intended meaning is clear, they thought Jesus to be Joseph's son, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, and the brother of the unnamed and unnumbered sisters. Father, mother, brother, sister. It is straining the meaning of the text to interpret brothers and sisters as "cousins" or "relatives" with the mentioning of Jesus' mother and father.

Matthew 12:46 NAB tells us, "While He was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and His brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with Him." See also Mark 3:31-34; Luke 8:19-21; John 2:12; and Acts 1:14. All mention Jesus' mother with His brothers. If they were His cousins, or the sons of Joseph from a previous marriage, why were they mentioned with Mary so often? The perpetual virginity of Mary cannot be drawn from Scripture. It must be forced on Scripture, in contradiction to what the Scriptures clearly state.

Answer 2

There are two main reasons that Protestants do not believe that Mary remained a virgin.

First -- the main justification for the Catholic belief is because of a passage in the Bible where Mary is worried about being married -- because she took a vow of virginity. Catholics believe that if Mary took a vow to god, she would keep it -- so must remain a virgin for her entire life. Why don't Protestants believe this? Because it is in one of the books of the Bible that Martin Luther decided does not belong. Most Protestants use his version of the Bible.

Second -- Most Protestants who believe this are English speakers and use the King James Version. In it, it says that Joseph did not have relations with Mary until the birth of Jesus (or something like that). Elsewhere Jesus refers to some people as his Brothers. However, both of these statements come from bad translations. The original greek word does not have the same connotation as the word 'until' -- and there is no implication that Joseph had sex with Mary after the birth of Jesus.

Similarly, the word that the translators of the KJV says is "brother" actually just means "close relation" and can be used to indicate cousins.

Answer 3

Martin Luther and John Calvin weren't there, now, were they? The bible never once says she stayed a virgin for her entire life, but it does mention Jesus had brothers and sisters. Sorry, but that's just illogical, Joseph would have divorced her, and that certainly would have been grounds for divorce. Being a good Jewish girl, it was her duty to be a wife. Are you saying she didn't uphold her part of the marriage, didn't do that "be fruitful and multipy thing? That really wouldn't make her much of a saint, now, would it? She and Joseph didn't have sex until after the birth of Christ, doesn't ever say they never had sex.

Answer 4

Many protestants do not have proof that this is so, and the word of these two men stated will not be proof enough to them. So to them, Mary could have had children after Jesus. In fact, didn't he have a brother? Plus, from what I've read in the bible, it doesn't mention her that much, and she seemed to mainly be a vessel to bring jesus into the world, and the fact that she was a virgin was also just a miracle to prove the holiness of jesus.

Answer 5

Come on now. Lets be serious here. You're telling me that Joseph went his entire life married to a woman that was reasonable attractive, and didn't have sex with her! He's a man, and men have urges, and especially back in those days because that's all there was to do for entertainment!

There is no way that Mary went her entire life without giving it up to Joseph.

Answer 6

I am sorry to say that there's a whole lot that our Protestant brethren are missing out on, being protest-ants, and the perpetuity of Mary's virginity is one of them. Maybe that's why they took so many books out of the Bible when they made up theirs. I was born into the Roman (not "American") Catholic Church, and through no one's fault but my own, I spent some years in well-founded Protestant churches, before returning to God's Own Church. I sure wish I could open the doors to the Protestant brethren I came to know over the years, but they seem too programmed to fear God's Own Church, the Roman Catholic Church, to make anything easier for them. They might look at some of their more well known brethren who have made the journey across the faithful line, but then they disown those that do, so . . .. God Bless you.

Answer 7

Because its NOT BIBLICAL. The bible indicates that Mary and Joseph were a LOVING COUPLE who later had children. Being a loving couple, Mary would not have been a virgin long.

All of your examples come from MEN. Only the bible is correct. Not man.

Answer 8

Matthew 1: 24-25, John 2:12 and others.

Answer 9

I have a question back? Why do Catholics believe Mary remained a virgin? What could it possibly matter? The Bible says Jesus had siblings. So what? What's the big problem there?

Answer 10

You're getting your tenses mixed up- Luther is *only* saying that she was a virgin directly after the birth of Jesus. He's *not* sayng that she was a virgin all her life.

And likewise Calvin's peice is far from conclusive. He could be talking about anything. where's it shown that to talk about 'dwelling' means to make love to?

But well done for a generally well constructed and well thought out and researched presentation.