Did Mary Have Other Children?

Did Mary have other children? The Bible seems to suggest yes. Catholic Tradition says no. Which will you trust?

"The Bible seems to suggest"? Since when is a "seeming suggestion" in somebody's opinion authoritative for Christians?

I won't do "seeming suggestions". I'll present three facts:

No verse of Scripture identifies anyone except Jesus as Mary's biological child.
Unless all of his siblings predeceased him (unlikely), a Jesus with younger brothers or sisters commits a sin from the cross in John 19:26-27, by relieving them of their obligation under Torah to support their mother
Here are some opinions of sola Scriptura Protestants, who may have known their Bibles even better than Matt Slick (!!) on the subject:

Martin Luther:

A new lie about me is being circulated. I am supposed to have preached and written that Mary, the mother of God, was not a virgin either before or after the birth of Christ, but that she conceived Christ through Joseph and had more children after that. – Martin Luther, “That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew,” in Luther’s Works, vol. 45, ed. Walther I. Brand, 1962, Muhlenberg Press, p. 199.

John Calvin:

Helvidius displayed excessive ignorance in concluding that Mary must have had many sons, because Christ’s "brothers" are sometimes mentioned. (Harmony of Matthew, Mark and Luke, sec. 39 [Geneva, 1562], vol. 2 / From Calvin’s Commentaries, translated by William Pringle, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1949, p.215; on Matthew 13:55)

[On Matt 1:25:] The inference he [Helvidius] drew from it was, that Mary remained a virgin no longer than till her first birth, and that afterwards she had other children by her husband . . . No just and well-grounded inference can be drawn from these words . . . as to what took place after the birth of Christ. He is called "first-born"; but it is for the sole purpose of informing us that he was born of a virgin . . . What took place afterwards the historian does not inform us . . . No man will obstinately keep up the argument, except from an extreme fondness for disputation. (Pringle, ibid., vol. I, p. 107)

Under the word "brethren" the Hebrews include all cousins and other relations, whatever may be the degree of affinity. (Pringle, ibid., vol. I, p. 283 / Commentary on John, [7:3] )

Huldreich Zwingli:

I give an example: taught by the light of faith the Christ was born of a virgin, we know that it is so, that we have no doubt that those who have been unambiguously in error have tried to make a figure of speech of a real virgin, and we pronounce absurd the things that Helvidius* and others have invented about perpetual virginity. “Friendly Exegesis, that is, Exposition of the Matter of the Eucharist to Martin Luther, February 1527,” in Selected Writings of Huldrych Zwingli, Volume Two, trans. and ed. by H. Wayne Pipkin, Pickwick Publications, 1984 p.275. [As Calvin notes above, Helvidius was the 4th C. heretic who rejected the perpetual virginity of Mary. Zwingli calls Helvidius' opinions "absurd".]

John Wesley:

"The Blessed Virgin Mary, who, as well after as when she brought him forth, continued a pure and unspotted virgin." (Wesley, Letter to a Roman Catholic, 1749)

The only major religion that chooses to dispute this is the Roman Catholic religion.

Eastern Orthodoxy, non-Chalcedonian Orthodoxy (the Copts, Armenians, etc.), and the Nestorians (Assyrian Church of the East, principally), don't count as "major religions"?

The PCA has a whole 29,421 members, per Wikipedia. The Greek Orthodox Church has 10,000,000 in Greece alone.

Your move.

Dr. Eckleburg {falsely} wrote:

The only major religion that chooses to dispute this is the Roman Catholic religion.

Martin Luther, Founder of the Reform, Speaks on Mary

In his sermon of August 15, 1522, the last time Martin Luther preached on the Feast of the Assumption, he stated:

There can be no doubt that the Virgin Mary is in heaven. How it happened we do not know. And since the Holy Spirit has told us nothing about it, we can make of it no article of faith . . . It is enough to know that she lives in Christ.

The veneration of Mary is inscribed in the very depths of the human heart. (Sermon, September 1, 1522).

[She is the] highest woman and the noblest gem in Christianity after Christ . . . She is nobility, wisdom, and holiness personified. We can never honor her enough. Still honor and praise must be given to her in such a way as to injure neither Christ nor the Scriptures. (Sermon, Christmas, 1531).

No woman is like you. You are more than Eve or Sarah, blessed above all nobility, wisdom, and sanctity. (Sermon, Feast of the Visitation, 1537).

One should honor Mary as she herself wished and as she expressed it in the Magnificat. She praised God for his deeds. How then can we praise her? The true honor of Mary is the honor of God, the praise of God's grace . . . Mary is nothing for the sake of herself, but for the sake of Christ . . . Mary does not wish that we come to her, but through her to God. (Explanation of the Magnificat, 1521).

Luther gives the Blessed Virgin the exalted position of "Spiritual Mother" for Christians:

It is the consolation and the superabundant goodness of God, that man is able to exult in such a treasure. Mary is his true Mother .. (Sermon, Christmas, 1522)

Mary is the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of all of us even though it was Christ alone who reposed on her knees . . . If he is ours, we ought to be in his situation; there where he is, we ought also to be and all that he has ought to be ours, and his mother is also our mother. (Sermon, Christmas, 1529).

Martin Luther had the belief of Mary's Immaculate Conception, Luther's words follow:

It is a sweet and pious belief that the infusion of Mary's soul was effected without original sin; so that in the very infusion of her soul she was also purified from original sin and adorned with God's gifts, receiving a pure soul infused by God; thus from the first moment she began to live she was free from all sin" (Sermon: "On the Day of the Conception of the Mother of God," 1527).

She is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin- something exceedingly great. For God's grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil. (Personal {"Little"} Prayer Book, 1522).

Martin Luther on Mary's Perpetual Virginity

Here are some of the founders of refom commenting on Mary:

Christ, our Savior, was the real and natural fruit of Mary's virginal womb . . . This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that.
{Luther's Works, eds. Jaroslav Pelikan (vols. 1-30) & Helmut T. Lehmann (vols. 31-55), St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House (vols. 1-30); Philadelphia: Fortress Press (vols. 31-55), 1955, v.22:23 / Sermons on John, chaps. 1-4 (1539) }
Christ . . . was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him . . . I am inclined to agree with those who declare that 'brothers' really mean 'cousins' here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers.
{Pelikan, ibid., v.22:214-15 / Sermons on John, chaps. 1-4 (1539) }

A new lie about me is being circulated. I am supposed to have preached and written that Mary, the mother of God, was not a virgin either before or after the birth of Christ . . .
{Pelikan, ibid.,v.45:199 / That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew (1523) }
Scripture does not say or indicate that she later lost her virginity . . .
When Matthew [1:25] says that Joseph did not know Mary carnally until she had brought forth her son, it does not follow that he knew her subsequently; on the contrary, it means that he never did know her . . . This babble . . . is without justification . . . he has neither noticed nor paid any attention to either Scripture or the common idiom.

{Pelikan, ibid.,v.45:206,212-3 / That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew (1523) }
Editor Jaroslav Pelikan (Lutheran) adds:

Luther . . . does not even consider the possibility that Mary might have had other children than Jesus. This is consistent with his lifelong acceptance of the idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary.
{Pelikan, ibid.,v.22:214-5}
". . . she is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin. . . . God's grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil. . . . God is with her, meaning that all she did or left undone is divine and the action of God in her. Moreover, God guarded and protected her from all that might be hurtful to her."
Ref: Luther's Works, American edition, vol. 43, p. 40, ed. H. Lehmann, Fortress, 1968

". . . she is rightly called not only the mother of the man, but also the Mother of God. . . . it is certain that Mary is the Mother of the real and true God."
Ref: Sermon on John 14. 16: Luther's Works (St. Louis, ed. Jaroslav, Pelican, Concordia. vol. 24. p. 107)

"Christ our Savior was the real and natural fruit of Mary's virginal womb. . . . This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that."
(REf: On the Gospel of St. John: Luther's Works, vol. 22. p. 23, ed. Jaroslav Pelican, Concordia, 1957)

"Men have crowded all her glory into a single phrase: The Mother of God. No one can say anything greater of her, though he had as many tongues as there are leaves on the trees." (From the Commentary on the Magnificat.)

Commentaries on Luther

". . . in the resolutions of the 95 theses Luther rejects every blasphemy against the Virgin, and thinks that one should ask for pardon for any evil said or thought against her." (Ref: Wm. J. Cole, "Was Luther a Devotee of Mary?" in Marian Studies 1970, p. 116:)

"In Luther's Explanation of the Magnificat in 1521, he begins and ends with an invocation to Mary, which Wright feels compelled to call 'surprising'".
(David F. Wright, Chosen by God: Mary in Evangelical Perspecive, London: Marshall Pickering, 1989, p. 178, Cited from Faith & Reason, Spring 1994, p. 6.)

Martin Luther defends the Eucharist

In 1529 Martin Luther engaged the question of transubstantiation in the famous conference at Marburg with Zwingli and other Swiss theologians; he maintained his view that Christ is present in the bread and wine of the Eucharist.

Other Reformers on Mary's Perpetual Virginity

John Calvin

Helvidius displayed excessive ignorance in concluding that Mary must have had many sons, because Christ's 'brothers' are sometimes mentioned.
{Harmony of Matthew, Mark & Luke, sec. 39 (Geneva, 1562), vol. 2 / From Calvin's Commentaries, tr. William Pringle, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1949, p.215; on Matthew 13:55}
[On Matt 1:25:] The inference he [Helvidius] drew from it was, that Mary remained a virgin no longer than till her first birth, and that afterwards she had other children by her husband . . . No just and well-grounded inference can be drawn from these words . . . as to what took place after the birth of Christ. He is called 'first-born'; but it is for the sole purpose of informing us that he was born of a virgin . . . What took place afterwards the historian does not inform us . . . No man will obstinately keep up the argument, except from an extreme fondness for disputation.
{Pringle, ibid., vol. I, p. 107}
Under the word 'brethren' the Hebrews include all cousins and other relations, whatever may be the degree of affinity.
{Pringle, ibid., vol. I, p. 283 / Commentary on John, (7:3) }
Huldreich Zwingli

He turns, in September 1522, to a lyrical defense of the perpetual virginity of the mother of Christ . . . To deny that Mary remained 'inviolata' before, during and after the birth of her Son, was to doubt the omnipotence of God . . . and it was right and profitable to repeat the angelic greeting - not prayer - 'Hail Mary' . . . God esteemed Mary above all creatures, including the saints and angels - it was her purity, innocence and invincible faith that mankind must follow. Prayer, however, must be . . . to God alone . . .
'Fidei expositio,' the last pamphlet from his pen . . . There is a special insistence upon the perpetual virginity of Mary.

{G. R. Potter, Zwingli, London: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1976, pp.88-9,395 / The Perpetual Virginity of Mary . . ., Sep. 17, 1522}
Zwingli had printed in 1524 a sermon on 'Mary, ever virgin, mother of God.'
{Thurian, ibid., p.76}
I have never thought, still less taught, or declared publicly, anything concerning the subject of the ever Virgin Mary, Mother of our salvation, which could be considered dishonourable, impious, unworthy or evil . . . I believe with all my heart according to the word of holy gospel that this pure virgin bore for us the Son of God and that she remained, in the birth and after it, a pure and unsullied virgin, for eternity.
{Thurian, ibid., p.76 / same sermon}
Heinrich Bullinger

Bullinger (d. 1575) . . . defends Mary's perpetual virginity . . . and inveighs against the false Christians who defraud her of her rightful praise: 'In Mary everything is extraordinary and all the more glorious as it has sprung from pure faith and burning love of God.' She is 'the most unique and the noblest member' of the Christian community . . .
'The Virgin Mary . . . completely sanctified by the grace and blood of her only Son and abundantly endowed by the gift of the Holy Spirit and preferred to all . . . now lives happily with Christ in heaven and is called and remains ever-Virgin and Mother of God.'

{In Hilda Graef, Mary: A history of Doctrine and Devotion, combined ed. of vols. 1 & 2, London: Sheed & Ward, 1965, vol.2, pp.14-5}
John Wesley (Founder of Methodism)

The Blessed Virgin Mary, who, as well after as when she brought him forth, continued a pure and unspotted virgin.
{"Letter to a Roman Catholic" / In This Rock, Nov. 1990, p.25}

ABSOLUTELY INDEED.

Good to see you posting.

From: http://www.davidmacd.com/catholic/martin_luther_on_mary.htm

Martin Luther, Founder of the Reform, Speaks on Mary

In his sermon of August 15, 1522, the last time Martin Luther preached on the Feast of the Assumption, he stated:

There can be no doubt that the Virgin Mary is in heaven. How it happened we do not know. And since the Holy Spirit has told us nothing about it, we can make of it no article of faith . . . It is enough to know that she lives in Christ.

The veneration of Mary is inscribed in the very depths of the human heart. (Sermon, September 1, 1522).

[She is the] highest woman and the noblest gem in Christianity after Christ . . . She is nobility, wisdom, and holiness personified. We can never honor her enough. Still honor and praise must be given to her in such a way as to injure neither Christ nor the Scriptures. (Sermon, Christmas, 1531).

No woman is like you. You are more than Eve or Sarah, blessed above all nobility, wisdom, and sanctity. (Sermon, Feast of the Visitation, 1537).

One should honor Mary as she herself wished and as she expressed it in the Magnificat. She praised God for his deeds. How then can we praise her? The true honor of Mary is the honor of God, the praise of God’s grace . . . Mary is nothing for the sake of herself, but for the sake of Christ . . . Mary does not wish that we come to her, but through her to God. (Explanation of the Magnificat, 1521).

Luther gives the Blessed Virgin the exalted position of “Spiritual Mother” for Christians:

It is the consolation and the superabundant goodness of God, that man is able to exult in such a treasure. Mary is his true Mother .. (Sermon, Christmas, 1522)

Mary is the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of all of us even though it was Christ alone who reposed on her knees . . . If he is ours, we ought to be in his situation; there where he is, we ought also to be and all that he has ought to be ours, and his mother is also our mother. (Sermon, Christmas, 1529).

Martin Luther had the belief of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, Luther’s words follow:

It is a sweet and pious belief that the infusion of Mary’s soul was effected without original sin; so that in the very infusion of her soul she was also purified from original sin and adorned with God’s gifts, receiving a pure soul infused by God; thus from the first moment she began to live she was free from all sin” (Sermon: “On the Day of the Conception of the Mother of God,” 1527).

She is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin- something exceedingly great. For God’s grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil. (Personal {”Little”} Prayer Book, 1522).

Martin Luther on Mary’s Perpetual Virginity

Here are some of the founders of refom commenting on Mary:

Christ, our Savior, was the real and natural fruit of Mary’s virginal womb . . . This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that.
{Luther’s Works, eds. Jaroslav Pelikan (vols. 1-30) & Helmut T. Lehmann (vols. 31-55), St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House (vols. 1-30); Philadelphia: Fortress Press (vols. 31-55), 1955, v.22:23 / Sermons on John, chaps. 1-4 (1539) }
Christ . . . was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him . . . I am inclined to agree with those who declare that ‘brothers’ really mean ‘cousins’ here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers.
{Pelikan, ibid., v.22:214-15 / Sermons on John, chaps. 1-4 (1539) }

A new lie about me is being circulated. I am supposed to have preached and written that Mary, the mother of God, was not a virgin either before or after the birth of Christ . . .
{Pelikan, ibid.,v.45:199 / That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew (1523) }
Scripture does not say or indicate that she later lost her virginity . . .
When Matthew [1:25] says that Joseph did not know Mary carnally until she had brought forth her son, it does not follow that he knew her subsequently; on the contrary, it means that he never did know her . . . This babble . . . is without justification . . . he has neither noticed nor paid any attention to either Scripture or the common idiom.

{Pelikan, ibid.,v.45:206,212-3 / That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew (1523) }
Editor Jaroslav Pelikan (Lutheran) adds:

Luther . . . does not even consider the possibility that Mary might have had other children than Jesus. This is consistent with his lifelong acceptance of the idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary.
{Pelikan, ibid.,v.22:214-5}
“. . . she is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin. . . . God’s grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil. . . . God is with her, meaning that all she did or left undone is divine and the action of God in her. Moreover, God guarded and protected her from all that might be hurtful to her.”
Ref: Luther’s Works, American edition, vol. 43, p. 40, ed. H. Lehmann, Fortress, 1968

“. . . she is rightly called not only the mother of the man, but also the Mother of God. . . . it is certain that Mary is the Mother of the real and true God.”
Ref: Sermon on John 14. 16: Luther’s Works (St. Louis, ed. Jaroslav, Pelican, Concordia. vol. 24. p. 107)

“Christ our Savior was the real and natural fruit of Mary’s virginal womb. . . . This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that.”
(REf: On the Gospel of St. John: Luther’s Works, vol. 22. p. 23, ed. Jaroslav Pelican, Concordia, 1957)

“Men have crowded all her glory into a single phrase: The Mother of God. No one can say anything greater of her, though he had as many tongues as there are leaves on the trees.” (From the Commentary on the Magnificat.)

Commentaries on Luther

“. . . in the resolutions of the 95 theses Luther rejects every blasphemy against the Virgin, and thinks that one should ask for pardon for any evil said or thought against her.” (Ref: Wm. J. Cole, “Was Luther a Devotee of Mary?” in Marian Studies 1970, p. 116:)

“In Luther’s Explanation of the Magnificat in 1521, he begins and ends with an invocation to Mary, which Wright feels compelled to call ‘surprising’”.
(David F. Wright, Chosen by God: Mary in Evangelical Perspecive, London: Marshall Pickering, 1989, p. 178, Cited from Faith & Reason, Spring 1994, p. 6.)

Martin Luther defends the Eucharist

In 1529 Martin Luther engaged the question of transubstantiation in the famous conference at Marburg with Zwingli and other Swiss theologians; he maintained his view that Christ is present in the bread and wine of the Eucharist.

Other Reformers on Mary’s Perpetual Virginity

John Calvin

Helvidius displayed excessive ignorance in concluding that Mary must have had many sons, because Christ’s ‘brothers’ are sometimes mentioned.
{Harmony of Matthew, Mark & Luke, sec. 39 (Geneva, 1562), vol. 2 / From Calvin’s Commentaries, tr. William Pringle, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1949, p.215; on Matthew 13:55}
[On Matt 1:25:] The inference he [Helvidius] drew from it was, that Mary remained a virgin no longer than till her first birth, and that afterwards she had other children by her husband . . . No just and well-grounded inference can be drawn from these words . . . as to what took place after the birth of Christ. He is called ‘first-born’; but it is for the sole purpose of informing us that he was born of a virgin . . . What took place afterwards the historian does not inform us . . . No man will obstinately keep up the argument, except from an extreme fondness for disputation.
{Pringle, ibid., vol. I, p. 107}
Under the word ‘brethren’ the Hebrews include all cousins and other relations, whatever may be the degree of affinity.
{Pringle, ibid., vol. I, p. 283 / Commentary on John, (7:3) }
Huldreich Zwingli

He turns, in September 1522, to a lyrical defense of the perpetual virginity of the mother of Christ . . . To deny that Mary remained ‘inviolata’ before, during and after the birth of her Son, was to doubt the omnipotence of God . . . and it was right and profitable to repeat the angelic greeting - not prayer - ‘Hail Mary’ . . . God esteemed Mary above all creatures, including the saints and angels - it was her purity, innocence and invincible faith that mankind must follow. Prayer, however, must be . . . to God alone . . .
‘Fidei expositio,’ the last pamphlet from his pen . . . There is a special insistence upon the perpetual virginity of Mary.

{G. R. Potter, Zwingli, London: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1976, pp.88-9,395 / The Perpetual Virginity of Mary . . ., Sep. 17, 1522}
Zwingli had printed in 1524 a sermon on ‘Mary, ever virgin, mother of God.’
{Thurian, ibid., p.76}
I have never thought, still less taught, or declared publicly, anything concerning the subject of the ever Virgin Mary, Mother of our salvation, which could be considered dishonourable, impious, unworthy or evil . . . I believe with all my heart according to the word of holy gospel that this pure virgin bore for us the Son of God and that she remained, in the birth and after it, a pure and unsullied virgin, for eternity.
{Thurian, ibid., p.76 / same sermon}
Heinrich Bullinger

Bullinger (d. 1575) . . . defends Mary’s perpetual virginity . . . and inveighs against the false Christians who defraud her of her rightful praise: ‘In Mary everything is extraordinary and all the more glorious as it has sprung from pure faith and burning love of God.’ She is ‘the most unique and the noblest member’ of the Christian community . . .
‘The Virgin Mary . . . completely sanctified by the grace and blood of her only Son and abundantly endowed by the gift of the Holy Spirit and preferred to all . . . now lives happily with Christ in heaven and is called and remains ever-Virgin and Mother of God.’

{In Hilda Graef, Mary: A history of Doctrine and Devotion, combined ed. of vols. 1 & 2, London: Sheed & Ward, 1965, vol.2, pp.14-5}
John Wesley (Founder of Methodism)

The Blessed Virgin Mary, who, as well after as when she brought him forth, continued a pure and unspotted virgin.
{”Letter to a Roman Catholic” / In This Rock, Nov. 1990, p.25}

ABSOLUTELY INDEED.

NONE . . .

NOT A SINGLE ONE . . . IIRC,

OF THE RC’S AND CERTAINLY NONE OF THE RABID CLIQUE TYPES

have EVER

dealt much at all, if at all,

and certainly NOT remotely convincingly

with the obvious fact that

if “cousins” were meant in those verses—the

WHOLE PURPOSE OF THE VERSES IS NUKED—DISAPPEARS!

Cousins in that culture were a dime a hundred. There would have been little to no great emphasis or significance in referring to cousins in the context of those verses.

ONLY BROTHERS AND SISTERS FITS THE CONTEXT.

But the Scriptures do. "and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas"

Please post the Scripture that calls any of those gentlemen sons of Mary, or that calls Mary their mother.

You can't. It doesn't exist.

In fact, we know who the father of James and Joses are from Scripture; his name is Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3). We know also that James and Judas (not the Iscariot) were not really blood brothers, but father and son (Acts 1:13).

Those are facts we can actually establish from Scripture. The idea that James was the son of Mary the mother of Jesus, is not.

ABSOLUTELY INDEED.

the WHOLE PURPOSE OF THE VERSES IS NUKED—DISAPPEARS!

That objection is hilarious, in view of the meaningless hash which Protestant "interpretation" makes out of Matthew 16 and John 6.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen

Magníficat ánima mea Dóminum,
et exsultávit spíritus meus
in Deo salvatóre meo,
quia respéxit humilitátem
ancíllæ suæ.

Ecce enim ex hoc beátam
me dicent omnes generatiónes,
quia fecit mihi magna,
qui potens est,
et sanctum nomen eius,
et misericórdia eius in progénies
et progénies timéntibus eum.
Fecit poténtiam in bráchio suo,
dispérsit supérbos mente cordis sui;
depósuit poténtes de sede
et exaltávit húmiles.
Esuriéntes implévit bonis
et dívites dimísit inánes.
Suscépit Ísrael púerum suum,
recordátus misericórdiæ,
sicut locútus est ad patres nostros,
Ábraham et sémini eius in sæcula.

Glória Patri et Fílio
et Spirítui Sancto.
Sicut erat in princípio,
et nunc et semper,
et in sæcula sæculórum.

Amen.

She became the Mother of God, in which work so many and such great good things are bestowed on her as pass man’s understanding. For on this there follows all honor, all blessedness, and her unique place in the whole of mankind, among which she has no equal, namely, that she had a child by the Father in heaven, and such a Child . . . Hence men have crowded all her glory into a single word, calling her the Mother of God . . . None can say of her nor announce to her greater things, even though he had as many tongues as the earth possesses flowers and blades of grass: the sky, stars; and the sea, grains of sand. It needs to be pondered in the heart what it means to be the Mother of God.

(Commentary on the Magnificat, 1521; in Luther’s Works, Pelikan et al, vol. 21, 326)

Good to see you posting.

Same here. I missed the smell of brimstone in the morning.

Mary's unique glorified 'enhousement' of Holy Spirit is no more special than that of all those Heaven residing obedient to The Lord.

LUKE 7:28

New International Version (©1984)
I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

New Living Translation (©2007)
I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!"

English Standard Version (©2001)
I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
"I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

International Standard Version (©2008)
I tell you, no one has ever been born who is greater than John. Yet even the least important person in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he."

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
I can guarantee that of all the people ever born, no one is greater than John. Yet, the least important person in the kingdom of God is greater than John.

King James Bible
For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

American King James Version
For I say to you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

American Standard Version
I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there is none greater than John: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

Bible in Basic English
I say to you, Among all the sons of women, not one is greater than John: but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

Douay-Rheims Bible
For I say to you: Amongst those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet that John the Baptist. But he that is the lesser in the kingdom of God, is greater than he.

Darby Bible Translation
for I say unto you, Among them that are born of women a greater prophet is no one than John the baptist; but he who is a little one in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

English Revised Version
I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there is none greater than John: yet he that is but little in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

Webster's Bible Translation
For I say to you, Among those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God, is greater than he.

Weymouth New Testament
"I tell you that among all of women born there is not one greater than John. Yet one who is of lower rank in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.

World English Bible
"For I tell you, among those who are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptizer, yet he who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he."

Young's Literal Translation
for I say to you, a greater prophet, among those born of women, than John the Baptist there is not; but the least in the reign of God is greater than he.'

.

MATTHEW 12:50

New International Version (©1984)
For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
New Living Translation (©2007)
Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!"
English Standard Version (©2001)
For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
New American Standard Bible (©1995)
"For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother."
International Standard Version (©2008)
because whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother and sister and mother."
King James Bible
For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
American King James Version
For whoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
American Standard Version
For whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Bible in Basic English
For whoever does the pleasure of my Father in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Douay-Rheims Bible
For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Darby Bible Translation
for whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in the heavens, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.
English Revised Version
For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Webster's Bible Translation
For whoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Weymouth New Testament
To obey my Father who is in Heaven--that is to be my brother and my sister and my mother."
World English Bible
For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Young's Literal Translation
for whoever may do the will of my Father who is in the heavens, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.'
.

.

[HERE'S A MUCH MORE BIBLICAL
DESCRIPTION OF MARY IN HEAVEN]:

.

Prepare to meet your God!
The Kingdoms of Heaven & Hell,
and the Return of CHRIST
by Angelica Zambrano

aka.23 Hours Dead

[section below is the last approximately 20% portion of the whole narrative posted at my blog]:

http://daaixin.wordpress.com/heavenly-visitations-heavenly-visits/

Then he started showing me women. He told me, “Daughter, “that woman that you see there is my servant, Mary Magdalene; my servant, Sara,” and suddenly He told me,” Daughter, she is Mary, Mary, who gave birth to Jesus Christ, Who I am.” “Daughter, I want to tell you that she has no knowledge of anything that exists on Earth. I want to tell you that you must go and tell humanity, tell idol worshippers that hell is real and that idolaters will not inherit my kingdom, but go and tell them that if they repent, they can enter my heavenly dwelling place.

Go tell them that I love them and tell them that Mary has no knowledge of anything and the only One that they must exalt is me, because neither Mary, nor St. Gregory nor any other saint can offer salvation. I am the only One who saves and outside of me – nobody, nobody, nobody- saves!” He repeated it three times – that nobody could save; only He saves.

Humanity has been deceived believing in an assumed saint, which is not, but is a demon working through that idol made by the hand of man. But, let me tell you that the Lord wants to give you the best. He wants you to enter the Kingdom of Heaven; to repent and to leave idolatry to the side because idolatry will not save you. He who saves is Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who gave his life for you, for me and for all humanity. The Lord has a great message for humanity.

As He wept, He told me, “Please, Daughter, do no be silent; go and tell the truth, go and tell what I have shown you.” I then saw how Mary worshipped the Lord and I could see those women with very beautiful hair, long hair and I told the Lord, “Lord, how pretty the way they wear their hair.” He told me, “Daughter, that which you see is the veil that I have given to a woman.” He added, “Daughter, go and tell women to take care of the veil that I have given them.”

.

FROM:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/2691659/posts?page=6#6

http://endtimerevelations.org/downloads/RaptureTrib-Canela.pdf

Visions of the Rapture, Tribulation, the Holy City, & the Thrones of GOD and satan.

The testimony of an 8 year old girl who encountered Jesus Christ.

(Jannet Balderas Canela)

. . .

It was so beautiful; the presence of the Lord could be felt there, such glory and majesty! The Lord said, “Servant, come here because I will show you other things.” We arrive at a place with many beautiful doors, so many beautiful doors. I said, “Lord what’s behind those doors?” He said,

3 “Behind these doors are My disciples, behind these doors are My apostles, behind these doors are all those who once walked over the Earth praising and glorifying My Name.” -

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

We began to ride again and arrive at a door that was half-opened, and the Lord said,

“Servant come here, come here because behind this door is Mary. Get close and hear what she is saying, so you can go and tell My people, so you can tell the people how Mary is suffering.”

I got closer and saw a young lady, such a beautiful young lady, so beautiful, her face was so pretty. She was looking through a very tiny window. She was kneeling down and looking to the face of the Earth, crying with tremendous pain.

She said, “Why are you worshiping me? Why, if I do not have any power! Why are you worshiping me? I do not do anything! Do not worship me! Do not bow before me! For I cannot save you! The only one that can save, the only one that can redeem you is Jesus, who died for all mankind!

Many people say that I have power, that I can perform miracles, but that is a lie! I do not do anything! Almighty God was satisfied with me and He used my womb so that Jesus could be born and save everyone, but I don’t have any power.

I cannot do anything! Do not bow before me! Do not worship me! For I am not worthy of worship. The only one that is worthy, the only one that you bow before and adore is Jesus! He is the only one that heals and saves!”

I could see how that young lady was in such tremendous pain, full of anguish and crying. She said, “No! No! Do not worship me! Why do you bow before me? I don’t do anything!”

You see dear brothers, it was a tremendous thing to look at this young lady, how she was crying with such pain and sadness.

Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of bringing forth the second Figure of the Trinity. Who was Joseph to follow the Holy Spirit and tread on God’s plan for the purpose of ?getting it on??

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness”
(Isaiah 5:20)

“Knowing this first, that in the last days there shall come deceitful scoffers, walking after their own lusts”
(2 Peter 3:3)

"Overriding Scriptures rather than letting the Scriptures renew the mind."

So Abraham and Lot were brohers in spite of Scripture to the contrary?

There was no word for cousin, nephew, and etc., so all of those related by blood were brothers not just those who had one or both parents in common as we use the word these days. You're doing the same thing as calling the 1890s in the US the "Queer Nineties" because a bunch of fags changed the meaning of the word "gay" you want to apply the modern definition. In fact, you're doing even worse, you're redefining words within the Holy Scriptures to suit your own preconceptions.

It is, in fact, anyone who would assert that their own misinterpretation of the Word they clearly do not understand is proof others should accept who would be invalidating Scriptures to justify their own preconception. Whether Mary had other children or not the quoted verse doesn't prove anything one way or the other. Anyone so unacquainted with His Word and the failings of the translations of His Word that they would claim this verse is proof of something is an embarrassment to those who do understand Scriptures no matter which side of the current issue they may be on.