I'm Baptist. We believe Mary was just a vessel chosen to carry the blessed child. A womb, but that's all. After his birth, she proceeded with her normal wifely duties. She was born into sin like any other woman. Why shouldn't she service her husband like other wives?
"Mary was betrothed to Joseph. This was more than what we mean by being engaged. It involved a public pledge and implied the possibility of intimate relations. Joseph and Mary had evidently made a promise of abstinence or virginity to each other. This can seem strange to us, but some of the things we have learned about the Essenes from the Dead Scrolls help to put such a promise in a context. The Essenes had a monastery in Qumran where some of the members lived lifelong celibacy. There were also married couples associated with them who abstained from sexual relations for short or long periods of time in order to devote themselves more fully to prayer. Paul makes a reference to that practice (which had Old Testament roots) in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 7:5: "Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer."). Joseph and Mary who were pious Jews may have been influenced by the Essene milieu. For that reason when the angel told Mary she would conceive and give birth to a son, she did not say, "Oh, Joseph and I are going to have a child." No, what she said was, "How is this possible since I have no relations with a man?" Or as another translation say, "since I am remaining a virgin."The angel Gabriel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you."
Is this an opening for Jewish Wives jokes?
She would and she did. The Bible states regarding Joseph "But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus." - Mat. 1:25
The Catholic Bible I have renders that verse this way; "But he had no sexual relations with her before she gave birth to her son. And Joseph named him Jesus.
It would have been a violation of Jewish law for Mary to take a vow of virginity and then be married to Joseph. It also makes no sense to try and paint her as "ever virgin" as the Catholic church does, as if somehow Mary and Joseph having normal relations as husband and wife would somehow "taint" the birth of Jesus, her firstborn. Also, the word "firstborn" is not used by accident in the Scriptures. Even the Catholic Bible says that "She gave birth to her first son..." - Luke 2:7.
If Jesus was the only child born of Mary and Joseph, the Word would have said "only" son. God is perfectly capable of having written in His Word exactly what He wants written.
"We believe Mary was just a vessel"
Mary was chosen because of her lineage and her devout religion, by God. She was Not just any vessel, you belittle her (without thinking, I surmise).
Without contrary evidence I would agree she would honor her husband with further children, brothers and sisters of Jesus.
We believe Mary was just a vessel chosen to carry the blessed child. A womb, but that's all. After his birth, she proceeded with her normal wifely duties. She was born into sin like any other woman. Why shouldn't she service her husband like other wives?
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There you go again. Trying to be logical, reasonable, historically accurate etc. when you know all such has zilch influence on . . .
those determined to believe otherwise.
But, great effort. Someone needs to stick up for the truth!