[redgolum]

LOL! Since the general consensus among Lutherans is that Mary remained a virgin her whole life, I doubt it. :) Mary wasn't one of the reasons for the Lutheran Reformation, nor the Calvinist one if I recall right. If you want to go into the theological and political reasons, that is a whole different thread. One that would probably get to heated for FR.

Now, Joseph might have had kids from a previous marriage, which is talked about in some places. But there is very little historical evidence that there were any half siblings of Jesus.

[wagglebee]

Yeah, I know. I was being sarcastic.

For the record, I think that Martin Luther is one of the most remarkable and fascinating men ever and I have no qualms about admitting that. I obviously don't agree with all of his conclusions, but I do not think he acted with any malice. Pope Benedict has also studied Luther extensively and has spoken about it on occasion.

For what it's worth, I think the focus was put on Mary sometime in the 18th or 19th centuries when anti-Catholic bigots started realizing that the religious wars had ended and that many Protestants didn't seem to hate Catholics to the extent that these bigots felt was necessary.