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Why is the perpetual virginity of Mary so important to Catholics? [Ecumenical Vanity]
Reaganaut | 3/17/12 | Reaganaut

Posted on 03/17/2012 2:30:01 PM PDT by reaganaut

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To: reaganaut
Douay-Rheims Bible
And he knew her not till she brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS. (Matthew 1:25).

Just curious: why "firstborn son" rather than just "son" or "child" if she had no other children later?

61 posted on 03/17/2012 3:51:06 PM PDT by dorothy ( "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty." - Thomas Jefferson)
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To: cloudmountain; reaganaut
True of the Virgin Birth. But reaganaut is asking about the dogma of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary; the belief that the Blessed Mother was a virgin for her entire life.

Another point I forgot to mention before. At the Annunciation, Mary says to the angel, "How can this be, since I know not man?" That question doesn't make sense from a young woman engaged to be married under normal circumstances. It only makes sense if Mary had already taken a vow of perpetual virginity.

62 posted on 03/17/2012 3:53:19 PM PDT by Campion ("It is in the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins." -- Franklin)
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To: vladimir998

Not sure if you’re disagreeing with something, but you are certainly welcome to expand on Whom Jesus is!


63 posted on 03/17/2012 3:54:14 PM PDT by skr (May God confound the enemy)
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To: freedumb2003
sideways Catholic-bashing

Not at all intended as such or to offend (although it obviously did). Use of the word "cult" was not meant to imply "worship" of Mary, but prayer to Her or any Saints for intercession with God. I believe that is still allowed and somewhat encouraged by the RCC and is a point of honest theological discussion between friends and brothers who agree on most but not on everything.

Pax

64 posted on 03/17/2012 3:55:48 PM PDT by katana (Just my opinions)
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To: dorothy

There is an emphasis upon “only son” wherever it applies in numerous passages within the Bible, in both Old and New Testaments, not only in the instance of the only begotten Son of God, so your question has merit.


65 posted on 03/17/2012 3:58:32 PM PDT by RegulatorCountry
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To: dorothy
why "firstborn son"

Firstborn children are special under the Mosaic Law. Exodus 13:2 reads (God speaking), "Consecrate to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and beast; it is Mine."

66 posted on 03/17/2012 3:59:03 PM PDT by Campion ("It is in the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins." -- Franklin)
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To: FatherofFive

Thank you for the link, I will definitely check it out.


67 posted on 03/17/2012 3:59:52 PM PDT by reaganaut ("I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see")
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To: Campion

Mary’s Perpetual Virginity emphasizes the divinity and miraculous conception of Jesus. He was not an ordinary human child, and he was not biologically Joseph’s child. Because of this, Mary was “off limits” to Joseph in sexual terms.

- - - - -
The virgin birth covers this, not the perpetual virginity.

There are other reasons why Jesus would have said that to John other than the lack of half brothers, but that isn’t the topic of this thread.


68 posted on 03/17/2012 4:02:41 PM PDT by reaganaut ("I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see")
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To: dorothy

Mary had many other children: Matthew 12:46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Acts 1:14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Mark 6:3
This is the builder, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon, isn’t it? His sisters are here with us, aren’t they?” And they were offended by him. The meaning is clear: For neither did his brethren believe in him. At first they might take to him, and embrace him as the Messiah, and expect he would set up a temporal kingdom; in which they might hope, on account of their relation to him, according to the flesh to enjoy great honors and privileges; but finding that he was not inclined to anything of that nature, and talked in a quite different way, they grew sick of him, and rejected him, as the Messiah. The Bible mentions at least 6 children. Amen!


69 posted on 03/17/2012 4:03:18 PM PDT by Colorado Cowgirl (God bless America!)
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To: cloudmountain

That is why the VIRGIN BIRTH is important, not the perpetual virginity.


70 posted on 03/17/2012 4:04:54 PM PDT by reaganaut ("I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see")
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To: Colorado Cowgirl
Mary had many other children: Matthew 12:46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Acts 1:14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Mark 6:3

The ancient Aramaic language had no word for cousin. Jesus had no brothers and sisters. The ancient Jews even used "brothers and sisters" for other people of their village and ALL cousins.

If Jesus had had brothers, He would have consigned His mother's care, speaking from the Cross, to one of His brothers, not to John. It would have made NO sense for Jesus to tell John to take care of Mary if there had been other children of Mary. She had no other children.

71 posted on 03/17/2012 4:09:43 PM PDT by cloudmountain
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To: mgist

St. Paul wasn’t a Christian when he thought he was defending Judaism.


72 posted on 03/17/2012 4:10:11 PM PDT by skr (May God confound the enemy)
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To: reaganaut
Reaganaut,

I'm thinking that it might be a “hot button” because it is connected to something that Catholics revere (Mary) but is often misstated in attacks on them. Clearly Catholics do not worship Mary in the same manner that they worship Christ. They revere her, and her relationship to Christ, but they get ready to be attacked at the mention of Mary.

As a Mormon, we have similar “hot button” topics. We don't worship Joseph Smith, but we revere him as the first prophet of the restoration. But as soon as the topic comes up, we get ready for the claim that we worship JS, and don't even talk about Christ.

That is untrue, just as the statement that Catholics worship Mary in the same manner as God is untrue.

Doctrinally, I agree with you. There is nothing scriptural that seem to require Mary remaining a virgin after Christ's birth, but clearly Catholics teach that, and are sensitive when the topic comes up.

73 posted on 03/17/2012 4:12:36 PM PDT by T. P. Pole
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To: reaganaut

You asked a fair, legitimate question and you’ve obviously done your homework, so I’ll take a shot.

There are a lot of arguments folks can make in favor of the doctrine and probably none of them really get at the heart of what you are asking: WHY is it so important? Why MUST she have been perpetually a virgin?

Well, perhaps she mustn’t have after all.

Don’t get me wrong, I think it is most fitting that Our Lady was ever-virgin, but that is only my human sensibilities talking. Perhaps God could have arranged it some other way. I don’t know. I would not presume to limit Him in that way. So I think the theoretical arguments are useful only to a point.

In the end, we do not defend Mary’s ever-virginity because we think it must be theoretically true. We defend it because we believe it is historically true—that it is part of the deposit of the faith that was passed down through the Apostles to the early Church to us.

So I would ask you to strip away all the theorizing on both sides and just consider it as a historical question. Let’s suppose Mary was ever virgin as a fact. And suppose the Apostles knew that, and suppose they passed that fact down to us. It wouldn’t be quite as important *why* God chose to do it that way—we would just accept that like we accept the Resurrection or the miracles or anything else.


74 posted on 03/17/2012 4:17:05 PM PDT by Claud
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To: reaganaut
From what I've learned Mary was consecrated to the Temple at her birth, that is, perpetual virginity. I believe that is what the consecration meant for baby girls.

Also, I learned that Joseph accepted this and that Mary would remain a virgin. We don't know when Joseph died, but Joseph was NEVER mentioned again after Jesus' birth. Mary was mentioned again, but not Joseph. It's assumed that he didn't live too much longer. But, who knows really.

75 posted on 03/17/2012 4:17:10 PM PDT by cloudmountain
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To: cloudmountain; Colorado Cowgirl

But Matthew was written in Greek and there is a word for cousin in the greek so that would have been used.

And, Jesus still could have consigned Mary to John because she was a spiritual mother, not because there were no physical brothers. Scripture states, Mary believed, but most (if not all) of his family did not. Why would he trust his mother to unbelievers?


76 posted on 03/17/2012 4:17:24 PM PDT by reaganaut ("I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see")
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To: T. P. Pole

Yet, I did not mistate it nor have I ever claimed that Catholics worship Mary. Also, in my research I have not seen this mistated in an attack on Catholicism either. Other things related to Mary, but not this.

Not going to get into LDS doctrine with you on this thread, you know where I stand on that.

However, thank you for your measured and polite response.


77 posted on 03/17/2012 4:21:16 PM PDT by reaganaut ("I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see")
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To: cloudmountain
Mary was consecrated to the Temple at her birth, that is, perpetual virginity [...] Joseph accepted this and that Mary would remain a virgin

Tradition, right? Not Scriptural.

78 posted on 03/17/2012 4:23:10 PM PDT by Former Fetus (Saved by grace through faith)
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To: Claud

Finally! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! That is exactly what I was searching for.

Your post helped greatly in my understanding of why.


79 posted on 03/17/2012 4:26:19 PM PDT by reaganaut ("I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see")
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To: reaganaut
But Matthew was written in Greek and there is a word for cousin in the greek so that would have been used.
And, Jesus still could have consigned Mary to John because she was a spiritual mother, not because there were no physical brothers. Scripture states, Mary believed, but most (if not all) of his family did not. Why would he trust his mother to unbelievers?

Why do you assume that ancient Greek had the word for cousin?
Besides, why would the translator CHANGE a meaning from "brother" to "cousin," just because Greek had the word and Aramaic didn't? A translator would have held to what the speaker said: brother.

If Jesus had brothers the brothers wouldn't have let their mother travel around following Jesus. The brothers would have been taking care of her all along. The brothers would have been at the Cross with their mother and brother.
Jesus had no brothers.

Where does it say that Jesus' family were non-believers? His cousin John the Baptist and his parents believed.

80 posted on 03/17/2012 4:26:33 PM PDT by cloudmountain
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