2007-10-16 10:37:26 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
The Bible clearly states that she had other children besides Jesus. If she had perpetual virginity then how did she have other children? Also, a virgin is one that has never sexually know a man and one that still has their hymen intact. After she gave birth to Jesus her hymen was no longer in tact. Mary's perpetual virginity is a false teaching of the Catholic church.
2007-10-16 10:43:47 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 9⤋
Biblical teaching does not substaniate your claim.
Mary is Ever Virgin
Exodus 13:2,12 - Jesus is sometimes referred to as the "first-born" son of Mary. But "first-born" is a common Jewish expression meaning the first child to open the womb. It has nothing to do the mother having future children.
Exodus 34:20 - under the Mosaic law, the "first-born" son had to be sanctified. "First-born" status does not require a "second" born.
Ezek. 44:2 - Ezekiel prophesies that no man shall pass through the gate by which the Lord entered the world. This is a prophecy of Mary's perpetual virginity. Mary remained a virgin before, during and after the birth of Jesus.
Mark 6:3 - Jesus was always referred to as "the" son of Mary, not "a" son of Mary. Also "brothers" could have theoretically been Joseph's children from a former marriage that was dissolved by death. However, it is most likely, perhaps most certainly, that Joseph was a virgin, just as were Jesus and Mary. As such, they embodied the true Holy Family, fully consecrated to God.
Luke 1:31,34 - the angel tells Mary that you "will" conceive (using the future tense). Mary responds by saying, "How shall this be?" Mary's response demonstrates that she had taken a vow of lifelong virginity by having no intention to have relations with a man. If Mary did not take such a vow of lifelong virginity, her question would make no sense at all (for we can assume she knew how a child is conceived). She was a consecrated Temple virgin as was an acceptable custom of the times.
Luke 2:41-51 - in searching for Jesus and finding Him in the temple, there is never any mention of other siblings.
John 7:3-4; Mark 3:21 - we see that younger "brothers" were advising Jesus. But this would have been extremely disrespectful for devout Jews if these were Jesus' biological brothers.
John 19:26-27 - it would have been unthinkable for Jesus to commit the care of his mother to a friend if he had brothers.
John 19:25 - the following verses prove that James and Joseph are Jesus' cousins and not his brothers: Mary the wife of Clopas is the sister of the Virgin Mary.
Matt. 27:61, 28:1 - Matthew even refers to Mary the wife of Clopas as "the other Mary."
Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:47 - Mary the wife of Clopas is the mother of James and Joseph.
Mark 6:3 - James and Joseph are called the "brothers" of Jesus. So James and Joseph are Jesus' cousins.
Matt. 10:3 - James is also called the son of "Alpheus." This does not disprove that James is the son of Clopas. The name Alpheus may be Aramaic for Clopas, or James took a Greek name like Saul (Paul), or Mary remarried a man named Alpheus.
Jesus' "Brothers" (adelphoi)) = Cousins or Kinsmen
Luke 1:36 - Elizabeth is Mary's kinswoman. Some Bibles translate kinswoman as "cousin," but this is an improper translation because in Hebrew and Aramaic, there is no word for "cousin."
Luke 22:32 - Jesus tells Peter to strengthen his "brethren." In this case, we clearly see Jesus using "brethren" to refer to the other apostles, not his biological brothers.
Acts 1:12-15 - the gathering of Jesus' "brothers" amounts to about 120. That is a lot of "brothers." Brother means kinsmen in Hebrew.
Acts 7:26; 11:1; 13:15,38; 15:3,23,32; 28:17,21 - these are some of many other examples where "brethren" does not mean blood relations.
Rom. 9:3 - Paul uses "brethren" and "kinsmen" interchangeably. "Brothers" of Jesus does not prove Mary had other children.
Gen. 11:26-28 - Lot is Abraham's nephew ("anepsios") / Gen. 13:8; 14:14,16 - Lot is still called Abraham's brother (adelphos") . This proves that, although a Greek word for cousin is "anepsios," Scripture also uses "adelphos" to describe a cousin.
Gen. 29:15 - Laban calls Jacob is "brother" even though Jacob is his nephew. Again, this proves that brother means kinsmen or cousin.
Deut. 23:7; 1 Chron. 15:5-18; Jer. 34:9; Neh. 5:7 -"brethren" means kinsmen. Hebrew and Aramaic have no word for "cousin."
2 Sam. 1:26; 1 Kings 9:13, 20:32 - here we see that "brethren" can even be one who is unrelated (no bloodline), such as a friend.
2 Kings 10:13-14 - King Ahaziah's 42 "brethren" were really his kinsmen.
1 Chron. 23:21-22 - Eleazar's daughters married their "brethren" who were really their cousins.
Neh. 4:14; 5:1,5,8,10,14 - these are more examples of "brothers" meaning "cousins" or "kinsmen."
Tobit 5:11 - Tobit asks Azarias to identify himself and his people, but still calls him "brother."
Amos 1: 9 - brotherhood can also mean an ally (where there is no bloodline).
2007-10-17 12:41:02 · answer #2 · answered by Daver 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I've asked this before, and no one can really give me a good answer for it. It's nice of you to try again, but I doubt that it's going to work this time either. From what I have learned, the virginity comes as a logical sequence from other things -- like the immaculate conception of Mary -- and so on. One of the things I have pointed out is that the Bible states that Jesus had brothers and sisters. The Catholic church states that those are actually cousins rather than true siblings; therefore, Mary was a virgin.
2007-10-16 17:59:30 · answer #3 · answered by One Odd Duck 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Those verses do not state they had sex. A union can also be their marriage/relationship. Joseph was an old man when he married the blessed Virgin Mary. Mary was step mother to Joseph's children from a previous marriage and they were all older then Jesus
When forty years of age, Joseph married a woman called Melcha or Escha by some, Salome by others; they lived forty-nine years together and had six children, two daughters and four sons, the youngest of whom was James (the Less, "the Lord's brother"). A year after his wife's death, as the priests announced through Judea that they wished to find in the tribe of Juda a respectable man to espouse Mary, then twelve to fourteen years of age. Joseph, who was at the time ninety years old, went up to Jerusalem among the candidates; a miracle manifested the choice God had made of Joseph, and two years later the Annunciation took place. St. Joseph was an old man at the time of marriage with the Mother of God.
2007-10-16 17:56:23 · answer #4 · answered by tebone0315 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
"When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.
He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus."
No, this does not mention sex after she gave birth. It only means that he did not have sex with her before she gave birth.
When the angel Gabriel tells Mary that she will bear a son, Mary asks, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?" (Luke 1:34). At this point, Mary was engaged to Joseph. Why would she then be so surprised at being told she would conceive? If she were planning on having children with Joseph in the usual way, it wouldn’t make sense for her to ask how she would be able to have a child. This question makes sense only if Mary was already planning to remain a virgin.
If Jesus did have brothers, why would he have entrusted Mary to the beloved disciple, John, at the foot of the cross (John 19:26–27)? He would have had surviving siblings who would have taken care of her. It would be surprising for Jesus to release his brothers from their obligation to their mother, especially because he criticized the Pharisees for neglecting the support of their own parents in Matthew 15:3–6.
2007-10-16 18:07:41 · answer #5 · answered by Sldgman 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
An objection to Mary's virginity arises from the use of the word heos in Matthew's gospel. "He (Joseph) had no relations with her at any time before (heos) she bore a son, whom he named Jesus" (Mt 1:25, NAB).
The Greek and the Semitic use of the word heos (until or before) does not imply anything about what happens after the time indicated. In this case, there is no necessary implication that Joseph and Mary had sexual contact or other children after Jesus.
2007-10-17 05:49:42 · answer #6 · answered by Enrico 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
It doesn't state she has sex.
NIV:
"When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."
KJV:
Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.
This is how the NIV describes somebody actually having sex:
...Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home.
And here's KJV:
And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.
The NIV Bible does NOT say anywhere that Joseph "slept with" Mary. Nor does the KJV say anywhere that Joseph "lay with" Mary.
You see that the Bible has no qualms specifically stating that a couple is having sex. Even unmarried couples (Lot's daughters come to mind). But the Bible never, ever, EVER says that Mary had sex with any person. Nor does the Bible ever state that Mary gave birth to any child other than Jesus.
Are you worrying over the word "until" or "till" - ? Don't you know what those words mean? They mean "up to the point of." They do NOT mean "up to the point of but not afterwards." 2 Samuel 6 says that Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no children until the day she died (a punishment for ridiculing David for dancing before the Ark).
By your reasoning, Michal had children AFTER she died. How can that be?
2007-10-16 17:56:02 · answer #7 · answered by sparki777 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus. (Matthew 1:24-25)
The purpose of these verses is to emphasize that Joseph was not responsible for the conception of Jesus.
The Greek word translated "until" as in "until she bore a son" is ambiguous. It neither implies nor excludes sexual relations after Jesus' birth.
With love in Christ.
2007-10-17 01:25:09 · answer #8 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Mary was still a virgin when she gave brith to Jesus.
Matthew 1:24-25 states "When Joesph awoke he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and named him Jesus"
2007-10-16 17:42:56 · answer #9 · answered by ♥Brown Eyed Girl ♥ 5 · 3⤊ 4⤋
Misunderstanding about Matthew 1:25 (Joseph knew her "not until")
Matt. 1:25 - this verse says Joseph knew her "not until ("heos", in Greek)" she bore a son. Some Protestants argue that this proves Joseph had relations with Mary after she bore a son. This is an erroneous reading of the text because "not until" does not mean "did not...until after." "Heos" references the past, never the future. Instead, "not until" she bore a son means "not up to the point that" she bore a son. This confirms that Mary was a virgin when she bore Jesus. Here are other texts that prove "not until" means "not up to the point that":
Matt. 28:29 - I am with you "until the end of the world." This does not mean Jesus is not with us after the end of the world.
Luke 1:80 - John was in the desert "up to the point of his manifestation to Israel." Not John "was in the desert until after" his manifestation.
Luke 2:37 - Anna was a widow "up to the point that" she was eighty-four years old. She was not a widow after eighty-four years old.
Luke 20:43 - Jesus says, "take your seat at my hand until I have made your enemies your footstool." Jesus is not going to require the apostles to sit at His left hand after their enemies are their footstool.
1 Tim. 4:13 - "up to the point that I come," attend to teaching and preaching. It does not mean do nothing "until after" I come.
Gen. 8:7 - the raven flew back and forth "up to the point that" [until] the waters dried from the earth. The raven did not start flying after the waters dried.
Gen. 28:15 - the Lord won't leave Jacob "up to the point that" he does His promise. This does not mean the Lord will leave Jacob afterward.
Deut. 34:6 - but "up to the point of today" no one knows Moses' burial place. This does not mean that "they did not know place until today."
2 Sam. 6:23 - Saul's daughter Micah was childless "up to the point" [until] her death. She was not with child after her death.
1 Macc. 5:54 - not one was slain "up to the point that" they returned in peace. They were not slain after they returned in peace.
2007-10-16 17:44:48 · answer #10 · answered by Gods child 6 · 6⤊ 2⤋
In addition to what CC and Godschild said, there is also the Protoevangelium of James, an ancient document which shows that the early church said so also.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/infancyjames-roberts.html
2007-10-16 17:51:21 · answer #11 · answered by SpiritRoaming 7 · 5⤊ 1⤋