[34] Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
And nothing about Mary being a perpetual virgin here! Mary is questioning HOW she could be pregnant since she has NOT had sex with a man. She conceived with the help of the Holy Spirit. There is absolutely NOTHING about being a perpetual virgin stated here or even HINTED AT. NOTHING. It's rather straight forward what's going on here.
She took NO VOWS of VIRGINITY. No where does she state that or is it required by anyone. You have been fooled. Simply READ what she stated. There are NO hidden innuendos here. Her question makes perfect sense when she has NOT slept with a man. If I were her, I'd be asking too - how can I conceive when I haven't had sex with a man.
Funny how the advocates of "straight forward" and "common sense" reading of Scripture can't even see the ridiculousness of the arguments they put forth.
Riddle me this: If you were a regular young lady two weeks from her wedding night, and an angel said "you will conceive a child" would you be befuddled as to how this could happen?
Either Mary has no knowledge whatsoever about where babies come from and what actions make a girl conceive, or something else is going on.
Think for just a minute about this exchange.
In all the history of the world not one person had ever been born without engaging in sexual relations. People do this after they are married. God had foretold the birth of babies before. He told Abraham and Sarah they would have a son. Sarah didn't say "but how can this be?"
She knew how this be.
So, was Mary so ignorant of human reproduction that she was bedazzled by the idea that after she got married she might have a baby? Or is something else going on?
The facile, glossed over Protestant "nothing going on here" interpretation does not make any sense. Maybe the writer of Sacred Scripture left out the part where the angel explained the birds and the bees to Mary?
SD
Riddle me this: If you were a regular young lady two weeks from her wedding night, and an angel said "you will conceive a child" would you be befuddled as to how this could happen?
Was Mary 'two weeks' from her wedding night ?
Were there even any wedding plans in the works ?
Jewish betrothals can last a long time ... even years.
Quester is right, Dave. Mat. 1:18 plainly states that Miryam (Mary) and Joseph were "espoused" or "bethrothed" to Joseph, and the very next verse states that Joseph, her husband-to-be, was considering divorcing her quietly for what he thought was the result of infidelity during the engagement period.
Pay attention now - "I HAVE NO...." is present tense. Riddle solved.