Do all Christians believe the Bible on Jesus' "Virgin Birth"? Do Protestants reject "Immaculate Conception"?

Question

Pope Pius IX Defines Immaculate Conception as Dogma (on THIS day, December 8th, in 1854) exactly 153 years ago today.

The Immaculate Conception is often confused with the Virgin Birth of Jesus, though the two Christian doctrines deal with entirely different events.

The Immaculate Conception asserts that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was preserved from the stain of original sin at the moment of her conception, was filled with grace by God, and lived her life completely free from sin.

This was decided by the Catholic church. I'm notsure where fundamental bible believing protestants will find proof of that in Holy Scriptures.

Can you quote chapter and verse for Mary's unexplainable devine sinlessness? If it is true, and I doubt that, did sinlessness continue after His birth?

The "Virgin Birth", on the other hand, asserts what about the conception of Jesus?

For that matter, where does the Word of God say that Josep's wife Mary STAYED a virgin, as Catholics do teach?

Answer 1

Bible believing Christians agree that Jesus was born to Mary while she was a virgin.

Bible believing Christians also know that 60 days after Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph started having sex and they produced four more sons and at least two daughters.

Matthew 13:55-56 names the four boys but not the girls.

To be clear, the children described in Matthew 13:55-56 are the biological children of both Joseph and Mary who is obviously no longer a virgin.

The teaching on the Immaculate Conception is a lie.

Its a man made doctrine which is not tolerated in a Bible believing church.

There is nothing in the Bible to support it.

Pastor Art

Answer 2

Many Protestant religions do not believe in Original Sin -- so the Immaculate Conception is not an issue for them.

Many of the teachings of the Catholic Church are not actually IN the Bible -- but follow logically from what is there. I think that the idea of the Immaculate Conception follows logically from the believe that Jesus is God -- and God would not be carried by a woman whose soul was marked with sin.

As for Mary remaining a Virgin, there are two reasons why Catholics believe she stayed a virgin while Protestants think that she had other children. The first reason involves translation errors and the second reason is that Protestants have excluded books from the Bible that imply that she remained a virgin.

First -- the translation errors. The KJV says that Mary had no relations with Joseph until Jesus was born. In English, it is implied that they DID have relations after his birth. However, in the original Greek, there is no such implication. The KJV also refers to the brothers of Jesus. However, the original Greek uses a word that merely means 'close relative.' Catholics believe that these people are cousins.

The Apocrypha has been part of the Catholic Bible since the Bible was finalized at the Council of Rome in the fourth century. Protestants have thrown out those books. But in one of those books, Mary expresses concerns over her marriage to Joseph because she has taken a vow of virginity. Catholics believe that the mother of Jesus would never break a vow to God -- so she would have remained a virgin -- even after the birth of Jesus.

Answer 3

Mary could not have remained a virgin, because Jesus had brothers and sisters.

Mary also cannot intervene on our behalf to God. Only Jesus can do that. He says, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes unto the Father, but by Me." (It doesn't say we can come to the Father, by Mary).

Mary was a virgin at Jesus' conception, which was by the Holy Spirit.

Anyone who believes otherwise, should not consider themselves a Christian, because Christians believe the Word of God.

Answer 4

I would suggest that there is nothing that all "Christians" (meaning, a generic sense of the word) believe

I think that there are some denominations that teach God had a physical sexual relationship with Mary, thus she would not be a virgin

As for the doctrine of immaculate conception, I am aware of no protestant denominations which teach/hold it. However, protestant denominations which hold Calvinist doctrine may; this idea/doctrine was created to explain how Jesus could be born without sin, when many believe that all men are tainted with original sin.

The Word of God states that Mary remained a virgin UNTIL Jesus was born.
Matthew 1:24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.

Jesus also had brothers and sisters younger than Him, including James and Jude, authors of books in the Bible

Answer 5

The Bible teaches the Virgin Birth, but NOT the Immaculate Conception.

There is evidence in the Bible of Mary's sinful nature.
Luke 1:46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
Luke 1:47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.


There is evidence that she was no longer a virgin after the birth of Jesus.
Matthew 1:25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Jesus had half-siblings
Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him

Answer 6

IN agreement with you again. Good question. WE believe what the Bible says only, and it tells only of the virgin birth. and it also tells us not to worhip anyone other than God. Not the saints, or even Jesus' mother. We are glad and grateful that Mary gave birth to this son, and we honor and respect her, but we dont make a saint of her, we dont pray to her, and we sure dont put her above Jesus. God says to pray to noone But Him, thru Jesus. So how can one say they cant pray to Mary? GOd also says not to add or take away from His Bible. To come to the conclusions cathoics have and many other churches have today, one must add to the Bible. God says ppl will be destroye for even one little word that is changed. I rest my case. You said it all< AGAIN. LEt us get into Gods word alone and learn jsut what God says about everything, and then we wont go wrong. God bless you again.

Answer 7

I am a protestant and believe in the virgin birth. After Jesus was born, there were other siblings born, so Mary didn't remain a virgin. (Mt 12:47 Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.") I do not believe that Mary lived a sinless life. I don't see it in the Bible, so I don't believe it.

Answer 8

I do not think that Protestants want to go against Christ's words by using the word 'teacher'. You find many who call these as Pastor. It all signifies respect to those who teach or take care of the flock of Christs's people. We, Catholics do not call our priests as Fathers to compare with our One Holy Father. This is a respect and that they are the fathers who look after us in our faith. They are the fathers of the the worldly family of God.

Answer 9

Mary was not sinless. If she had been, there would have been no need for Christ. She could have died in our place. Mary was a virgin when she became pregnant and delivered Jesus. She went on to have other children with Joseph, so no, she did not remain a virgin. Many Catholics believe that Mary was sinless, and as such, she can get them into heaven. This flies in the face of the truth of the gospel. You only come to God through His Son, Jesus Christ. Anything else is idolatry.

Answer 10

The Immaculate Conception means that Mary, whose conception was brought about the normal way, was conceived without original sin or its stain—that’s what "immaculate" means: without stain. The essence of original sin consists in the deprivation of sanctifying grace, and its stain is a corrupt nature. Mary was preserved from these defects by God’s grace; from the first instant of her existence she was in the state of sanctifying grace and was free from the corrupt nature original sin brings.

When discussing the Immaculate Conception, an implicit reference may be found in the angel’s greeting to Mary. The angel Gabriel said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28). The phrase "full of grace" is a translation of the Greek word kecharitomene. It therefore expresses a characteristic quality of Mary

The traditional translation, "full of grace," is better than the one found in many recent versions of the New Testament, which give something along the lines of "highly favored daughter." Mary was indeed a highly favored daughter of God, but the Greek implies more than that (and it never mentions the word for "daughter"). The grace given to Mary is at once permanent and of a unique kind. Kecharitomene is a perfect passive participle of charitoo, meaning "to fill or endow with grace." Since this term is in the perfect tense, it indicates that Mary was graced in the past but with continuing effects in the present. So, the grace Mary enjoyed was not a result of the angel’s visit. In fact, Catholics hold, it extended over the whole of her life, from conception onward. She was in a state of sanctifying grace from the first moment of her existence.

Catholic Christianity does believe that Mary was a sinner. Not an ACTUAL sinner, but a POTENTIAL sinner who was redeemed by God from the moment of her conception so that she never fell into sin. So yes, Mary was redeemed, but she was also predestined by God to bear his Son and so she was upheld from falling into sin.

Can you show from scripture where it says Mary had relations with Joseph and that she birthed other children?