Brothers and Sisters?

Q. I know that the Church believes in Mary’s perpetual virginity, but what are we to make of the passages in the Gospel that refer to Jesus’ brothers and sisters?

A. There are a number of places in the New Testament (see Mk 3:31-34; 6:3; Mt 12:46; 13:55; Lk 8:19-20; Jn 2:12; 7:3-10; Acts 1:14; and 1 Cor 9:5) where Jesus’ kinsfolk are mentioned using terms such as “brother” (adelphos), “sister” (adelphe) or “brethren” (adelphoi). But “brother” has a wider meaning both in the Scriptures and at the time they were written. It is not restricted to our literal meaning of a full brother or half-brother in the sense of sibling.

Even in the Old Testament “brother” had a wide range of meaning. In the Book of Genesis, for example, Lot is called Abraham’s brother (see 14:14), but his father was Haran — Abraham’s brother (Gn 11:26-28). So, Lot was actually a nephew of Abraham.

The term “brother” could also refer widely to friends or mere political allies (see 2 Sm 1:26; Am 1:9). Thus, in family relationships, “brother” could refer to any male relative from whom you are not descended. We use words like kinsmen and cousins today, but the ancient Jews did not.

In fact, neither Hebrew nor Aramaic had a word meaning “cousin.” They used terms such as “brother,” “sister” or, more rarely, “kin” or “kinsfolk” (syngenis) — sometimes translated as “relative” in English.

James, for example, whom St. Paul called the “brother of the Lord” (Gal 1:19), is identified by Paul as an apostle and is usually understood to be James the Younger. But James the Younger is elsewhere identified as the son of Alphaeus (also called Clopas) and his wife, Mary (see Mt 10:3; Jn 19:25). Even if James the Greater were meant by St. Paul, it is clear that he is from the Zebedee family, and not a son of Mary or a brother of Jesus (in the strict modern sense) at all.

The early Church was aware of the references to Jesus’ brethren, but was not troubled by them, teaching and handing on the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity. This is because the terms referring to Jesus’ brethren were understood in the wider, more ancient sense. Widespread confusion about this began to occur after the 16th century with the rise of Protestantism and the loss of understanding the semantic nuances of ancient family terminology.

Read the Old Testament. God refers to Israel (and by extension, all believers), over and over as the bride. (And when they turned their backs on him, he called them harlots. When they repented, He accepted them as his bride, again). Both the Old and the New Testament refer to Jesus as the Bridegroom, and the church (that is, the entire body of believers, Catholic or protestant) is the bride. To say Mary is the bride and Jesus is her bridegroom, in a relational sense, is nonsense. Yes, as a believer, Mary is a part of the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, but not in a marital sense. To believe otherwise, is to believe that Mary is the bride of her Son, which is sick. But I don’t know why I waste my breath. You’re going to believe what the Catholic church teaches, whether it is Scriptural or not. As long as you do that, we’re just butting our heads against a brick wall. There are millions of former Catholics, who when shown the Gospel, have received it and been born again, and reject the non-Scriptural parts of Catholicism. There are also millions of Catholics who have been born again, and remain Catholics, and are on a path of discovery about the truth of scripture. I don’t doubt your sincerity, but as long as you believe that Mary is your co-redemption, (of which there is NO Scriptural evidence), you minimize the very reason Jesus came to this earth, as the ONLY sacrificial Lamb. Only through HIS sacrifice, are we saved. He paid the price that was owed for our sins, because God demands a just scale, and the price MUST be paid. It is for this reason He came. God in the flesh, settled all accounts HIMSELF, because only He could. The amazing love of God, that He loves us so much, and knew we owed a debt we could not pay, paid it Himself. I ascribe honor to Mary, as the mother of Jesus, that she was obedient to the task asked of her, but like every other human being, she was required to accept Jesus as her Savior, in order to be redeemed. “There is NONE Holy. No not one”, but the triune God.

“. If I’m reading the info correctly, to earn his divinity degree he didn’t have to take any Greek/Hebrew as required classes...they were electives.

You are probably spot on.

I reviewed 3 prominent seminary curriculum requirement and all were extremely thin on Bible and languages - almost an afterthought.

All the pagan stuff was taught though.

All the pagan stuff was taught though.

There sure is a LOT of that, isn't there?
I think I have said it before, but I knew a pastor in Houston, Tx. He was an ex Catholic himself, and the author of several books. He said it this way. As far as the cults go, the less real spiritual "light" there is in a cult, the more "lights" it has to have, to remain somewhat attractive to the people. I would classify many of the false beliefs and sacraments, as false "lights" the Catholic Church must have, to show any semblance of attractiveness to their adherents. 👎

“I would classify many of the false beliefs and sacraments, as false “lights” the Catholic Church must have, to show any semblance of attractiveness to their adherents.”

I’ve been told here that the had to have those things so that illiterate pagans would feel comfortable.

In the end though, it was pagans who reshaped the Roman Catholic Church.

“He who deliberately lies to cause strife is the son of the adversary.

You do that her in your posts all the time.

Rood has made a career out of this - starting with his +20 years in The Way cult and now as a fake levite.

Do you and Michael still deny the deity of Christ and the Trinity???

The Way International denied the deity of Christ and the Trinity.

Since False Levite Rood was in that cult as a leader for 20 or more years - and I’m assuming you met him there - do you both still deny the deity of Christ and the Trinity??

Or would you rather avoid outing yourself here??

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