There are some people that believe there is no scriptural support for the Dogmatic teaching on the Perpetual Virginity of Mary.
18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James, the Lord’s brother.
And I still don’t despite the handsprings and contortions in your article
And those people who believe there is no scriptural support for the perpetual virginity of Mary are absolutely correct.
Hoss
An extensive essay. I will read it through, perhaps more than once, with great interest. Thanks for the ping.
It appears that you contradict yourself: "There are some who will say that the word betrothed meant that they were merely engaged, but scripture shows differently ..." Mary was already betrothed to Joseph when Jesus was conceived in her womb. When the Angel visited Mary to tell her what was going to happen, she was already betrothed to Joseph, she was already in a marriage contract with Joseph. Your comment shows you understand that so long as she was still betrothed to Joseph, she was not free to be the wife of another unless Joseph had divorced her. Whioch divorce The Angel told Joseph not to do. Somehow you have inverted the first betrothal to read in your argument as God was first betrother. THAT IS NOIT ACCURATE based upon your own quoted passages.
Further, you make a huge assumption not supported by what you've offered: "Her response only makes sense if she had no intention of having a conjugal relation with the man she was already betrothed to." That is an aside, not a portion of the argument you have posed. It is an assumption not supported by any data in evidence. It makes Mary to be duplicitous, continuing in a betrothal to Joseph that she has no intention of honoring after she gives birth. I don't have that image of the Blessed Mary, the Mother of Jesus. That is an implied dishonesty not warranted by the data presented.
While there is plenty of Scriptural support for her having a normal marital relationship with Joseph and producing children with him>
All the rationalization and "interpreting" in the world doesn't change the clear meaning of Scripture.
Psalm69:8 I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's sons.
Matthew 1:24-25 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
Matthew 12:46-47 While He was still speaking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. And someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.”
Matthew 13:55 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?”
Mark 6:2-3 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?”... “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?”
John 2:12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother, and His brothers, and His disciples; and there they stayed a few days.”
Acts 1:14 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
1 Corinthians 9:4-5 Do we not have a right to eat and drink? Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?
Galatians 1:19 But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.
Strong's Concordance
http://biblehub.com/greek/80.htm
adelphos: a brother
Original Word: ἀδελφός, οῦ, ὁ
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: adelphos
Phonetic Spelling: (ad-el-fos')
Short Definition: a brother
Definition: a brother, member of the same religious community, especially a fellow-Christian.
Here is a link to the occurrences of the Greek word *adelphos*.
http://biblehub.com/greek/80.htm
The word *sister* (adelphe) in the Greek is the same.
http://biblehub.com/greek/79.htm
The word used is *brother* not *cousin*.
It can't mean a member of the same religious community in the context in which they occur, because then that would mean every man in Israel could be identified as Jesus' brother. So that would not identify Jesus as anyone in particular's brother.
It's not going to mean *brother in Christ* as that concept was not yet in place and the Jews, who knew Jesus as a Jew and knew His brothers as Jews, would not even begin to understand the new birth and what being in Christ meant.
They didn't even understand who JESUS was, much less being a *brother in Christ*.
The only definition left then, is to mean physical brother.
And it would not be *cousin*.
The word for *relative* that is used for Elizabeth is *suggenes*, not *adelphe*.
http://biblehub.com/greek/4773.htm
Strong's Concordance
suggenes: akin, a relative
Original Word: συγγενής, ές
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: suggenes
Phonetic Spelling: (soong-ghen-ace')
Short Definition: akin, a relative
Definition: akin to, related; subst: fellow countryman, kinsman.
If that is too daunting maybe you would consider quoting from Luther, Zwingli, Calvin about this heinous belief of those "pagan" Catholics.
No rush, I just be sitting here waiting.