“If the Catholic church meant that He had cousins, why use the word for *brother*?”
We’ve been through all that and Matthew 1:24-25 at least 50 times before here on FR, M. Now, no Orthodox will ever say you have to believe what we believe. But 2000 years of consistent Church history and praxis ought to be acknowledged. If you choose to believe that the Holy Spirit took a 1600 year nap after Pentecost, that is certainly your prerogative. You won’t mind, I trust, if I and the other Orthodox and Latins here find your theology “unorthodox”, like we found that of, say, Arius or the more recent “bring your own snake” crowd?
“Which is why I don’t do it [pray the Creed].”
Your confidence in the 4th century work of a group of old Greek and Latin speaking bishops makes me smile. I am glad you find a use for what they did, even if you can’t accept the reasons why they came up with what they came up with. But, as I asked before, are you an Arian? Are you a believer in the Trinity?
What does Mary always having been a virgin prove anyway?
Absolutely nothing.
Her immaculate conception and perpetual virginity play no role in God’s plan of redemption for mankind, nor does it have any effect on Christ’s work on the cross.
I don’t care how long a lie has been around and whose believed it.
Scripture says in all four gospels that Jesus had brothers. Two of them name them.
For the Catholic church to claim that Mary was always a virgin when it claims that it wrote the Bible and included that Jesus had brothers and named them by name, is ludicrous.