the 'virgin' (maiden) Mary -- Rape Is this not disgusting?

Question

The fable of the virgin[*] birth always made me queasy. Just as Zeus jumped on hapless girls, the god of the new testement did the same. Rape. Of course alteration was necessary, as normal, healthy sexual intercourse between Joseph & Mary was considered a repeat offense of original sin. But I find the alternative repulsive, and as a woman and a feminist it always angered me.
As someone once said, 'If I'd been the Virgin Mary I have said 'No.' " But rape hardly allowed that option.
Christians, past & present, seem to view immaculate conception necessary. Seems unpleasantly prurient, indeed deviant. How they can not only condone the rape of a young girl by their perfect god
and complacently tell this disgusting, misogynistic myth to their children is beyond me. If anyone ever tells my young niece this trash, my liberal heart will cease to bleed immediatly!


*"virgin" is a mistranslation, changed in the Greek. In the original Hebrew text it means a young woman, a maiden

. When the Jews pointed out this corruption the Greeks took no heed, made no correction. The Catholic Church deliberately stuck to and taught this falsity.

Does this make anyone else nauseated?
(I am speaking of this as myth.)

I mentioned The I.C. in passing, to point out the obsession w/ sexuality most fundIeChristians seem to have. I'm aware it peratains toThe Virgin Mary. I should've made that more clear,instead of mentioning it in passing. As for being uninformed about the translation, theGreeks deliberately used "virgin" to make the story more compelling and gain converts. I see no excuse in the lie. Nether the repetitionn or acceptance of the mistranslation makes it excusable."if it bothers u and u dont believe then dont think about it and put a cork in it ... " Shut up because my question bothers you? No. Don't think about it? I do think.Yr entitled to do otherwise. "chill! just because you don't believe it doesn't mean it can't be true." It's always disgusted me-tho. no more than the corresponding behavior of Zeus. As for my niece,one who tries to brainwash her or tell her this will have to get past me&her parents.She's6LATER. We protect her from abuse! "Where didYou get...info"I READ.

Answer 1

I would agree that the idea is warped but nauseated is a bit stronger than my feelings.

The "virgin" birth (and you are correct that the text is more properly translated as young woman) is a late addition to the christian mythos. The virgin birth is not mentioned in the earliest books (Paul's letters) nor in the first gospel to be written (Mark's). I believe it was put in precisely to make Jesus more of a god on Earth in the European mind. After all, the Romans and Greeks were used to demi-gods walking the Earth. Hercules was a prominent example and even the Caesars were claiming divinity when Matthew and Luke were written.

I view the whole thing as an attempt to make Jesus, a preacher who ran afoul of the establishment and was executed, into something more impressive.

P.S. you are wrong on the immaculate conception. Mary was the one immaculately conceived. How, I've never actually understood, but the catholics swear by it.

Answer 2

wow!
first of all, sorry to say that...but u are making a huge confusion.... Zeus is nothing like God! First of all: Zeus doesn`t exists!
Second of all, what has to do the feminist opinion with the Immaculate Conception???
Thirdly, u don`t have the right to decide for others! U can advice...but not choose for someone! Protection doesn`t means forbidding the knowledge...
Last... have u ever been raped? Or have u even studied old Greek, along with Aramaic language and so on? Have u been there, when Mary received the news about her pregnancy?
If the answer is no... shut up! And let her decide for her own!
And I am a women as well! although not a feminist

Answer 3

No, it doesn't nauseate me, and you are seriously misinformed...

The Virgin Mary said "yes" to God. She was asked and she CHOSE to do his will. This is not rape by any standard then or now.

In Isaiah the original word that is commonly translated as "virgin" can also mean "young woman" but neither is exclusive. So I don't see how you could know that the translation is incorrect when many scholars still argue over it. But the same verse quoted in Matthew is definitely translated as "virgin" and there can be no other meaning.

I certainly hope someone informs your niece of the truth so she can come to know salvation through Christ.

Answer 4

So let me get this right. In your opinion, there was no immaculate conception. Mary was raped, so therefore the New Testament is nothing more than a cover-up. How obsurd is your thinking? That's a lot of time an effort to cover up a rape isn't it? It would have been easier and faster to just kill (or punish) Mary and Joseph.
God chose Mary to bear Jesus because she was pure. There was no rape. Read the bible, it is the worlds greatest collection of history books, full of actual and factual events with eye witness accounts.

Answer 5

It would make me nausated if what you say is true but it's it not true. Have you bothered to truly read the Bible and study it to know the truth? Read the book of John, for 30 days and then come back and tell us whether or not your concept about God and him raping Mary is true. The Bible does not teach this and to have carried and delivered the God's only son would be the most blessed honor I could receive from God, other than my salvation

Answer 6

actually the same word appeared many other times in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament and in every other case of the same word, the word was translated virgin

in context in the case in Isaiah you probably mean, God challenged a King to ask for a sign and told him to make it as tough as he could.. and since the king would not... God picked the sign... A VIRGIN SHALL GIVE BIRTH... a young woman shall give birth would hardly be a noteworthy sign... would it?

in context of Isaiah the sign was to be "as high as heaven or as low as hell"... and a young woman shall be with child happens everyday... not a sign... sorry... a virgin being with child... well... that would be remarkable

Answer 7

Indeed it is nauseating. I've often wondered about the mind's capacity to selectively digest barbarous prescriptions - turning them into, as one answer has it, things of "beauty."

And as to what's properly translated in the "Septuagint" etc., let's just say it smacks of uninformed arrogance that these folks could presume to tell (even the Jews!) what the Jewish scriptures say.

Answer 8

You are entitled to your opinion but i am too.
Mary was not raped by Joseph. They did not have sex before they were married. But because of this pregnancy they were looked upon in their village because it was custom to wait a matter of months after you were maried in Jewish villages. God planted the baby into Mary's stomach with out intercourse. God created the earth, sun, moon, stars, animals YOU, and me, he created EVERYTHING, dont you think he would have the ability to make Mary pregnant without her having sex? I think so. God chose her to be the mother of Jesus, and if you have ever read the whole story in the bible you will see that she truly was a Virgin. and i think you need to read the whole story before making accuisations.

Answer 9

Interesting to learn how the Christian (Greek) Bible plays around with the text of the Hebrew Bible to get "virgin" out of the book of Isaiah.

http://www.outreachjudaism.org/virgin.html

Answer 10

Both men and women have in them both types of hormone....male and female, don't they? Ecen a man can conceive with the help of science. Then why can't Mary conceive without a man being beside her as her spouse or rapist?