[mnehring]

to rwfromkansas: Were you there when Mary lost her virginity? Mary had other sons and daughters besides Jesus, so Mary didn't die a virgin.

I am curious about something. In the original writing of the scripture in the original language, did it really say that Mary was a physical virgin (virgo intacta) or just young woman (almah). How much are we looking at the Word through the glasses of tradition versus accurate translation?

It is like a previous poster who still has the image of Jesus as a 'hippie', when in fact, he was actually of royal dynastic descent directly from King David (Nazrie ha-Brit or mistranslated Nazerene) who came 'not as a peacemaker but with a sword.' (paraphrased)

Are people offended that their religion was offended or that their tradition was offended?

[CounterCounterCulture]

I am not a biblical scholar, nor obviously a master of the orignal text in its original language(s), so somebody more knowledgable can add to the discussion about modern translations, but I will post what's in the Bible (NIV text) just so it's out here...

From Matthew 1...

18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[c] because he will save his people from their sins."

22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"[d]—which means, "God with us."

24When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

The book of Mark doesn't go into the story, nor does the book of John.

Luke 1 starts with the story behind the birth John the Baptist, then...

26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."
29Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

34"How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

35The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[c] the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37For nothing is impossible with God."

38"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

Luke 2...

1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.
4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

An obvious cultural difference now is the definition of husband and wife, as matthew says how "His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph," (and there was to be no sexual relations until the actual marriage), yet Joseph was considered "her husband" and you can see the word "divorce" used as well even though they were not officially "married" as we view it today.

As far as the previous virginity of Mary (which I'll choose to believe), y'all can add to the debate and discuss all you want. The important thing is that whether or not Jesus is the true Son of God, showed us how to live a purposeful and righteous life as God wants for us, and that Jesus died on a cross for all our sins because He loved us so much.

Enough religious discussion from me for one day. :-)