You wrote:
“The Bible never says she chose to remain a virgin or that they did not have a conjugal marriage.”
So say you. Ask yourself why Mary went unpunished for putting a question to Gabriel when Zachariah was struck mute.
“My vocab choice was fine.”
Not for a Christian.
Good question. I've wish I could hear the tone of their voices. Was Zachariah being sarcastic? Antagonistic? I'm a teacher and I can ask 2 students if they did their homework. One will politely answer "yes, I did" and the second one may be belligerent and stare at me while muttering "yes, I did". You don't think they both mean the same, do you? I'm NOT saying that Zachariah was ugly to Gabriel, all I'm saying is that just because Mary and he asked basically the same question it does not mean they both believed and submitted to God's will the same way!
This has nothing to do with my faith. Whether she chose to or must have remained a virgin isn’t important. I believe, as a Christian, that she was a virgin when she conceived and gave birth.
Mary and Zacharia didn’t ask the same questions, and one showed faith, the other doubt. That still doesn’t support your claim.
However, again, this is not a debate thread and you still did not answer my question but that is ok.
Very simple. See Luke 1:20, "And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, BECAUSE thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season." Elizabeth prophetically said to Mary in Luke 1:45 "And blessed is she that BELIEVED: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord."
Faith is released through words as shown in 2 Cor 4:13, Rom 10:8-10, etc. Had Zachariah not been struck mute, his unbelief would have hindered the miracle of John's birth, just as the unbelief of those in Jesus' own country hindered his ability to perform miracles in Mark 6:6 and Mat 13:58.