The virgin Mary?

Question

I've seen this question pop up a few times..but never a solid answer. Is there any claiming Christian faith that actually believes Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Christ? And my second question aiming probably more towards Catholics...Is the name Mary mother of God just a title or do you believe her to equal in a way with God that she could actually be his mother?

Atheist and non-faith people comment if you like but I'm not addressing this to you and could care less your opinion.

O by the way I know Mary didn't remain a virgin nor is she the actual mother of God...I'm curious about other peoples beliefs here...and this question has been asked a million times but not by me.

I love it when you folks say she remained a virgin! You're gonna tell me Joseph a man stayed married for 20+ years to a woman and did not have sex? lol

Answer 1

Please, ignore the idiots who spatter nonsense on here.

I'll answer these in reverse order:

2) The title of "Mother of God" is appropriate, as she gave birth to Jesus, God the Son. This does not, in any way, shape, or form, place Mary as above, equal to, or near the level of God. Mary tells the angel that she is the handmaiden of God, and His will is to be done. Nonetheless, she did give birth to Jesus, who is God the Son...and thus may be considered Mother of God.

1) There is no biblical claim that Mary remained a virgin after giving birth to Jesus. However, there is no biblical claim otherwise. The "brothers and sisters" comment is a mistranslation of the term for "cousins." All we know is what the Apostles taught. This is known as the "Tradition" of the Catholic Church. After all, it was the Apostles, under instruction from Jesus, who created the Catholic Church; and, it was their traditions that were handed down from generation to generation. They say Mary remained a virgin. I tend to believe the Apostles.

Amen.

Answer 2

>>Is there any claiming Christian faith that actually believes Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Christ?<<

Both Catholicism and Orthodoxy teach that Mary was ever-virgin. This was also taught by Protestant reformers Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli.

>>Is the name Mary mother of God just a title or do you believe her to equal in a way with God that she could actually be his mother?<<

She is not equal to God. It means that Jesus is God, and she is His mother.

Answer 3

It is official Roman Catholic doctrine that Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Jesus. Further more, the RCC also believes that Mary did NOT have any more children. (obviously). They believe this in spite of the fact that the New Testament states that Jesus had brothers and sisters. Now the RCC tries to get around this by saying that the word used for "brother and sister" is generic, and can be used for "cousins". Now it is true that sometimes it CAN be. But not in this case. Why? Because if the N.T. wanted to specify "cousins", there was a perfectly good greek word that COULD have been used. But it wasn't. The idea that Mary remained a perpetual virgin is an invention of the late middle ages. Why the RCC keeps wanting to insist on this strange doctrine is a mystery. Its like they believe that there is something "wrong" or sinful about having sex within marriage. As far as the "Mother" of God, I have known catholics who atually believe it, and some who wont go that far. I once had an interesting conversation with a RCC priest, where he said; "Mary is the Mother of Jesus, Jesus is God, therefore, Mary is the Mother of God. I asked him why he "stopped". He said, "what do you mean?". I said lets take your "logic" to its "logical" conclusion. "Mary is the Mother of God, (in your view) God is a Trinity, therefore, Mary is the Mother of the Trinity". He replied, "Thats nonsense". I replied, "No more than what you just said. I'm just carring on with your own argument. If my statement is "nonsense" then so is yours". SAME faulty logic. In RCC theology, Mary is the "Queen of Heaven" and co-redemptrix with Christ". In actual BIBLICAL theology, Mary is the "Handmaiden of the Lord", who herself needs a Savior. Remember, when the Angel Gabriel told Mary that she was going to be the Mother of Jesus, she praised, "God MY Savior". Now only SINNERS need a Savior, and Mary recognized this. So, the whole package of Mary in RCC theology, is COMPLETLY unbiblical. And by the way, whenever you point this out to RC's they accuse you of "Catholic Bashing". Its NOT bashing "catholics' but refuting FALSE doctrine. There IS a difference.....theBerean

Answer 4

If you look at the Catholic faith and doctrine you will see that their beliefs are that of the virgin birth and of Mary's Perpetual Virginity. They believe that Jesus was born from Mary, but that He just passed through the utrine wall, through her stomach and never came out the birth canal - (so that she would remain a virgin). They also believe that Mary and Joseph never had any other children and that Mary remained a virgin.

There are MANY objections to this. If it was a virgin birth, then it undermines Jesus' true humanity. He was fully God AND fully man.

Jesus’ brothers are mentioned in several Bible verses. Matthew 12:46, Luke 8:19, and Mark 3:31 say that Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see Him. The Bible tells us that Jesus had four brothers: James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas (Matthew 13:55). The Bible also tells us that Jesus had sisters, but they are not named or numbered (Matthew 13:56). In John 7:1-10, His brothers go on to the festival while Jesus stays behind. In Acts 1:14, His brothers and mother are described as praying with the disciples. Later, in Galatians 1:19, it mentions that James was Jesus’ brother. The most natural conclusion of these passages is to interpret that Jesus had actual blood siblings.

Some Roman Catholics claim that these “brothers” were actually Jesus’ cousins. However, in each instance, the specific Greek word for “brother” is used. While the word can refer to other relatives, its normal and literal meaning is a physical brother. There was a Greek word for cousin, and it was not used. Further, if they were Jesus’ cousins, why would they so often be described as being with Mary, Jesus’ mother? There is nothing in the context of His mother and brothers coming to see Him that even hints that they were anyone other than His literal, blood-related half-brothers.

"But he (Joseph) had no union with her (Mary) UNTIL she gave birth to a son. And he gave Him the name Jesus" (Matthew 1:25).

Mary was a HUMAN that God used. She was a great person, but NOT worthy of worship. The ONLY one worthy of worship is GOD!

Answer 5

The Blessed Virgin Mary is blessed and was chosen by God to carry His Living Word. There are a lot of parallels of the BVM in Old Testament and New Testament especially the one about the Ark of the Covenant. God wanted it pure and perfect so it would hold His written word. Why not then would He not want to keep The BVM pure since she was the one to carry His Living Word. Also, just like Eve(before original sin) said chose not to obey God(in other words, she said, "No" to God), BVM gave the perfect "Yes" to God.

There are a lot of interesting answers, especially about Jesus having several brothers and sisters. Notice the bible never calls any of them Mary's children. How many times are any of Jesus' brothers or sisters called "children of Mary?" Jesus is often called the son of Mary, but never a son of Mary. Someone also put out the pointed that Jesus entrusts His mother to John the Apostle (Zebedee's son). (John 19:26-27) Jesus wouldn't have said that if He had siblings. Rather He is showing that the BVM is our Mother and guide.

Now for those of you who want to quote Matthew 1:24-25: "Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife; and he knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son; and he called his name Jesus" (King James Version).

The "till" doesn't necessarily imply a later change of condition. In 1 Corinthians 15:25: "Christ must reign until God has put all enemies under his feet." Does this mean that after God has put all enemies under His feet, Christ will cease to reign? No Christ will reign forever (Luke 1:32-33).

The other misconception is since Jesus is called "firstborn son," Mary must have had other children. "Firstborn " is a legal term indicating a special privilege or rank. Psalm 89:28 callse David "firstborn" even though he was Jesse's 8th son (1 Samuel 16). Colossians 1:15 calls Jesus the "firstborn of all creation." Many people were born before Christ. St. Paul is simply indicating that Jesus has primacy over all creatures.

Also in Acts 1:13-14: After the Ascension, the followers of Jesus-including Mary, John the Apostle with whom Mary now lived, and the brothers of Jesus-gathered in the Upper Room. If these brothers of Jesus were also Mary's sons, Mary would be praying together with her sons who were faithful followers of Jesus, and yet going home with John. In her Jewish culture, such a situation could not happen.

Answer 6

The title "Mother of God" is synonymous with "Mother of Jesus," except that the former explicitly affirms the Deity of Christ. But those who call her "Mother of God" are talking about the birth of Jesus Christ - they are not saying that Mary preceded Almighty God in eternity.

As for Mary remaining a Virgin, the Bible indicates that she did not engage in any sexual activity either before or after the birth of Christ. For example, Christ commends Mary to John - according to Jewish law, he should have committed her to any surviving siblings first. All of the "brothers" of Jesus (James, Joses, Judas, Simon...) are explicitly identified as his cousins elsewhere in the text. The Jewish concept of the sanctity of matter would make the idea of Joseph and Mary consummating their marriage nothing short of ridiculous.

Answer 7

I am Christian and Baptist. We believe Mary was a virgin until after the birth of Jesus. Then she was the wife of Joseph and had other children. We believe she was a wonderful woman but not God-like. We do call her Mary the Mother of God. We do not recognize her as being a deity at all.

Answer 8

Yes! Mary actually did remain a virgin after Jesus' birth! Consider these points:

1. The bible states, "Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, a brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not his sisters our neighbors here?" Well, there was NO word for "cousin, aunt, uncle, etc" in Hebrew, so everyone called themselves brother or "adelphos" which means a real brother.
(This is shown in the Old Testament when Lot is called Abraham's brother instead of his nephew.)

2. Let's say that Mary wasn't a virgin after Jesus' birth since the bible supposedly makes references to Jesus' brothers and sisters. If you count how many "children" Mary had, you'd probably end up with 80 or 90 children! These are one of the things that are not supposed to be taken literally.

3. John 19:26 tells us that Jesus instructed one of his apostles to take care of Mary. Now if Jesus had brothers and sisters, why didn't he ask one of THEM to take care of their mother? Talk about a slap in the face! Jesus' last actions would not be to offend his "brothers and sisters" right before his death!

And yes, Mary IS the mother of God! The Bible teaches us that God is Jesus and Jesus is God, thus the title of Mary.

God bless you for your interest :)

Answer 9

She is a virgin. She is the mother of christ, and god chose her to be the one to give birth to christ, to be gods son. God made a miracle so that he can have a son. She is one of the most sacred, because she is the mother of christ, and that she got married to joseph.

Answer 10

Okay, yes, some Christians do believe that Mary remained a Virgin all her life and had no children besides Jesus. (Ths does not mean she did not have step-children - if Joseph was a widower as is believed by some - or extended family - nieces and nephews and all that). The belief that Mary remained a Virgin all her life is one of the core beliefs of the Catholic Church concerning her.

As to the title "Mother of God" - it is a title, but an important one. No, it is not intended, and never was intended, to put Mary on "equal footing" with her Son. It is to point up the fact that Christ was fully God. Remember that at the time that title was given to her, the Arian heresy was in full swing. Arians believed (as do some modern sects) that Jesus was not divine - that he was created. In essence they denied the Trinity. To emphasize the Church's belief of the divinity of Christ - fully God, and fully human - Mary was given the title "Theotokos" - which in Greek means "God-bearer". She carried God Incarnate - Christ Jesus - in her womb, and He truly took flesh from his mother, just like any other human child. (Remember he was BOTH God and Man.)

This term was also inportant in helping to define "orthodox" Christian belief against the Nestorians, who believed that the natures of Christ - the Divine and the Human - were seperate, and that Mary only carried the human nature of Christ in her womb (in other words, that his natures were not united at the moment of His conception, but rather sometime after His birth - this idea is some times found in the "adoptionism" idea held by some sects today). (This title was given to Mary at the Council of Ephesus in 431.)

But the point of the title is to emphasize the Divinity of Christ, and to call attention to the Incarnation.

The standard English translation of "Theotokos" is "Mother of God". But again, it is to emphasize Christ's divine and human natures united in the Incarnation, not to raise Mary up to "goddesshood".

"Mary's Divine motherhood is based on the teaching of the Gospels, on the writings of the Fathers, and on the express definition of the Church. St. Matthew (1:25) testifies that Mary "brought forth her first-born son" and that He was called Jesus. According to St. John (1:15) Jesus is the Word made flesh, the Word Who assumed human nature in the womb of Mary. As Mary was truly the mother of Jesus, and as Jesus was truly God from the first moment of His conception, Mary is truly the mother of God. Even the earliest Fathers did not hesitate to draw this conclusion as may be seen in the writings of St. Ignatius [ad Ephes., 7, P.G., V, 652 ], St. Irenaeus [adv. haer., III, 19, P.G., VIII, 940, 941 ], and Tertullian [adv. Prax. 27, P.L., II, 190 ]. The contention of Nestorius denying to Mary the title "Mother of God" [Serm. I, 6, 7, P.G., XLVIII, 760-761 ] was followed by the teaching of the Council of Ephesus proclaiming Mary to be Theotokos in the true sense of the word." -- Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913, " The Blessed Virgin Mary" [1]