Luther, Calvin, and Other Early Protestants on the Perpetual Virginity of Mary

http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ460.HTM ^ | Dave Armstrong compiles quotes from Martin Luther, John Calvin, et al.,

[Patrick Madrid]

Amidst all the stimulating discussion here about the Catholic doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity, it ocurred to me that it would be instructive to point out that both Martin Luther and John Calvin -- the progenitors of two of the three major branches of the Protestant Reformation -- both held firmly to this Catholic teaching. For your consideration, let me add here some pertinent quotes from these two Protestant leaders.

I'd respectfully ask our Evangelical and Fundamentalist friends here to think carefully about these quotes and consider just how far modern-day Protestantism has drifted from its 16th-century moorings, not to mention how very far it has drifted from the fifteen centuries of the Catholic Faith that preceded the Protestant Reformation.

— Patrick Madrid

Luther, Calvin, and Other Early Protestants  on the Perpetual Virginity of Mary

All of the early Protestant Founders accepted the truth of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary. How could this be, if it is merely "tradition" with no scriptural basis? Why was its supposed violation of Scripture not so obvious to them, as it is to the Protestants of the last 150 years or so (since the onset of theological liberalism) who have ditched this previously-held opinion? Yet it has become fashionable to believe that Jesus had blood brothers (I suspect, because this contradicts Catholic teaching), contrary to the original consensus of the early Protestants.

Let's see what the Founders of Protestantism taught about this doctrine. If Catholics are so entrenched in what has been described as "silly," "desperate," "obviously false," "unbiblical tradition" here, then so are many Protestant luminaries such as Luther, Calvin, and Wesley. Strangely enough, however, current-day Protestant critics of Catholicism rarely aim criticism at them. I guess the same "errors" are egregious to a different degree, depending on who accepts and promulgates them -- sort of like the Orwellian proverb from Animal Farm: "all people are equal, but some are more equal than others."

General

Whatever may be the position theologically that one may take today on the subject of Mariology, one is not able to call to one's aid 'reformed tradition' unless one does it with the greatest care . . . the Marian doctrine of the Reformers is consonant with the great tradition of the Church in all the essentials and with that of the Fathers of the first centuries in particular . . . . .

In regard to the Marian doctrine of the Reformers, we have already seen how unanimous they are in all that concerns Mary's holiness and perpetual virginity . . .

{Max Thurian (Protestant), Mary: Mother of all Christians, tr. Neville B. Cryer, NY: Herder & Herder, 1963 (orig. 1962), pp. 77, 197}

The title 'Ever Virgin' (aeiparthenos, semper virgo) arose early in Christianity . . . It was a stock phrase in the Middle Ages and continued to be used in Protestant confessional writings (Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Andrewes; Book of Concord [1580], Schmalkaldic Articles [1537]).

{Raymond E. Brown et al, ed., Mary in the New Testament, Phil.: Fortress Press / NY: Paulist Press, 1978, p.65 (a joint Catholic-Protestant effort) }

Mary was formally separated from Protestant worship and prayer in the 16th century; in the 20th century the divorce is complete. Even the singing of the 'Magnificat' caused the Puritans to have scruples, and if they gave up the Apostles' Creed, it was not only because of the offensive adjective 'Catholic', but also because of the mention of the Virgin . . .

[But] Calvin, like Luther and Zwingli, taught the perpetual virginity of Mary. The early Reformers even applied, though with some reticence, the title Theotokos to Mary . . . Calvin called on his followers to venerate and praise her as the teacher who instructs them in her Son's commands.

{J.A. Ross MacKenzie (Protestant), in Stacpoole, Alberic, ed., Mary's Place in Christian Dialogue, Wilton, Conn.: Morehouse-Barlow, 1982, pp.35-6}

Martin Luther

Christ, our Savior, was the real and natural fruit of Mary's virginal womb . . . This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that.

{Luther's Works, eds. Jaroslav Pelikan (vols. 1-30) & Helmut T. Lehmann (vols. 31-55), St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House (vols. 1-30); Philadelphia: Fortress Press (vols. 31-55), 1955, v.22:23 / Sermons on John, chaps. 1-4 (1539) }

Christ . . . was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him . . . I am inclined to agree with those who declare that 'brothers' really mean 'cousins' here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers.

{Pelikan, ibid., v.22:214-15 / Sermons on John, chaps. 1-4 (1539) }

A new lie about me is being circulated. I am supposed to have preached and written that Mary, the mother of God, was not a virgin either before or after the birth of Christ . . .

{Pelikan, ibid.,v.45:199 / That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew (1523) }

Scripture does not say or indicate that she later lost her virginity . . .

When Matthew [1:25] says that Joseph did not know Mary carnally until she had brought forth her son, it does not follow that he knew her subsequently; on the contrary, it means that he never did know her . . . This babble . . . is without justification . . . he has neither noticed nor paid any attention to either Scripture or the common idiom.

{Pelikan, ibid.,v.45:206,212-3 / That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew (1523) }

Editor Jaroslav Pelikan (Lutheran) adds:

Luther . . . does not even consider the possibility that Mary might have had other children than Jesus. This is consistent with his lifelong acceptance of the idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary.

{Pelikan, ibid.,v.22:214-5}

John Calvin

Helvidius displayed excessive ignorance in concluding that Mary must have had many sons, because Christ's 'brothers' are sometimes mentioned.

{Harmony of Matthew, Mark & Luke, sec. 39 (Geneva, 1562), vol. 2 / From Calvin's Commentaries, tr. William Pringle, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1949, p.215; on Matthew 13:55}

[On Matt 1:25:] The inference he [Helvidius] drew from it was, that Mary remained a virgin no longer than till her first birth, and that afterwards she had other children by her husband . . . No just and well-grounded inference can be drawn from these words . . . as to what took place after the birth of Christ. He is called 'first-born'; but it is for the sole purpose of informing us that he was born of a virgin . . . What took place afterwards the historian does not inform us . . . No man will obstinately keep up the argument, except from an extreme fondness for disputation.

{Pringle, ibid., vol. I, p. 107}

Under the word 'brethren' the Hebrews include all cousins and other relations, whatever may be the degree of affinity.

{Pringle, ibid., vol. I, p. 283 / Commentary on John, (7:3) }

Huldreich Zwingli

He turns, in September 1522, to a lyrical defense of the perpetual virginity of the mother of Christ . . . To deny that Mary remained 'inviolata' before, during and after the birth of her Son, was to doubt the omnipotence of God . . . and it was right and profitable to repeat the angelic greeting - not prayer - 'Hail Mary' . . . God esteemed Mary above all creatures, including the saints and angels - it was her purity, innocence and invincible faith that mankind must follow. Prayer, however, must be . . . to God alone . . .

'Fidei expositio,' the last pamphlet from his pen . . . There is a special insistence upon the perpetual virginity of Mary.

{G. R. Potter, Zwingli, London: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1976, pp.88-9,395 / The Perpetual Virginity of Mary . . ., Sep. 17, 1522}

Zwingli had printed in 1524 a sermon on 'Mary, ever virgin, mother of God.'

{Thurian, ibid., p.76}

I have never thought, still less taught, or declared publicly, anything concerning the subject of the ever Virgin Mary, Mother of our salvation, which could be considered dishonourable, impious, unworthy or evil . . . I believe with all my heart according to the word of holy gospel that this pure virgin bore for us the Son of God and that she remained, in the birth and after it, a pure and unsullied virgin, for eternity.

{Thurian, ibid., p.76 / same sermon}

Heinrich Bullinger

Bullinger (d. 1575) . . . defends Mary's perpetual virginity . . . and inveighs against the false Christians who defraud her of her rightful praise: 'In Mary everything is extraordinary and all the more glorious as it has sprung from pure faith and burning love of God.' She is 'the most unique and the noblest member' of the Christian community . . .

'The Virgin Mary . . . completely sanctified by the grace and blood of her only Son and abundantly endowed by the gift of the Holy Spirit and preferred to all . . . now lives happily with Christ in heaven and is called and remains ever-Virgin and Mother of God.'

{In Hilda Graef, Mary: A History of Doctrine and Devotion, combined ed. of vols. 1 & 2, London: Sheed & Ward, 1965, vol.2, pp.14-5}

John Wesley (Founder of Methodism)

I believe... he [Jesus Christ] was born of the blessed Virgin, who, as well after as she
 brought him forth, continued a pure and unspotted virgin.

{"Letter to a Roman Catholic," quoted in A. C. Coulter, John Wesley, New York: Oxford University Press, 1964, 495}

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Uploaded by Dave Armstrong on 27 January 2002.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Try to edit your responses of unnecessary material before attempting to impress us with your insight. The evidence that you are a loser will still be available to readers, but they will be able to access it more rapidly.

BigMack

[JesseShurun]

okay Skippy, I will. I know that you have difficulty comprehending whole paragraphs and I should have been more cognisant of that fact. Also the double vision is a problem after a couple cases isn't it?

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Your words are like an empty scabbard, the absence of cloud in the wide Kansas sky. Were we in Kyoto, you would be worshipped by saffron-robed Buddhist monks and stone-faced Zen masters as the "no-mind", having achieved a state of perfection through the elimination of all rational thought.

BigMack

[JesseShurun]

Sounds tempting, but why go there when I can stay here and have you stalk me?

As to "rational thought", now would that be based on Aristotle's philosophy or Plato's, or even Philo's, because Socrates and Plato closely allied the knowledge of isotes- geometrical equality- the foundation of the physical cosmos- with dikaiosyne and sophrosyne and if we are going to define the absence of rational thought, I really need to know which one you mean, and if Philo's, well then we have to bring in the Jewish idea of it, now don't we, Skippy?

[MarMema]

I am open to more discussion. I refuse to allow you to drag my church into an alliance with your church's excessive mariology, so I posted agreement with the doctrine with what I felt were important cautions.

The eagerness with which your pope and many in your church rush to classify us as "the same" as you, a demeaning approach which denies us our own doctrine and church separate from yours, refuses us respect for who we are, and tries to box us into some sub-papist classification in the vatican's earthly institution, has made me overly cautious about these things.

This is not your fault, though I have seen a few posts from you along these lines. It has been a trend here for quite some time. We are considered merely fodder to boost your membership numbers and cause your vicar to be exalted for foisting his idea of unity upon us and succeeding.
When we have resisted this approach and protested that we are not the same church, things have turned ugly.

It is the FR Protestants who have given us the respect of being a different church and allowed us to exist with our own doctrine and beliefs. They may argue with us about doctrine but they don't demean us by denying we have our own, and they don't try to force theirs down my throat, at least.
So there is a short history lesson for you about my experiences on this forum and an explanation about why I am extremely hesitant to agree with anything posted from your church on this forum. Which I believe was your initial question.....

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

You're the one stalking me, you posted to me on this thread first, you must be too drunk to remember. When you lay down tonight don't lay on yer back, you could drown in yer own puke, it ya have any left after ya flung it all over FR today.

[JesseShurun]

so erudite and eloquent, words befitting a great great intellect indeed, alsost equal to the Hermantic mantra from the starting gate, "I know you are, but what am I?"

Show up and spew your vile poison at me or my friends again, and we'll have to go another round, but Skippy, seriously, don't mope over losing a battle of the wits, you were unarmed. Next time, instead of a beercan, pick up a clue

[Chancellor Palpatine]

The eagerness with which your pope and many in your church rush to classify us as "the same" as you, a demeaning approach which denies us our own doctrine and church separate from yours, refuses us respect for who we are, and tries to box us into some sub-papist classification in the vatican's earthly institution, has made me overly cautious about these things.

Amen.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I have never claimed a great intellect, you're the one who does that. I'm just a good old common sense boy, and my common sense tells me, you with all your high and mighty opinion of yourself, you couldn't pour piss out of a boot with the directions written on the heel.

Now run along and play with yer phoney friends, and take your vile poison with ya.

BigMack

[Ex-Wretch]

Well, after checking out the verbal sparring going on between you two, if you were both women, I'd have to yell:

Cat Fight!!!!

Let it be. Amen?

[JesseShurun]

well no, I don't have your experience with pouring waste out of my boot, but no doubt in the establishments that you frequent, that's considered the equivalent of an olympic sport, especially if you can accomplish it at closing time.

Hey is that you on that tv show putting ferrets down your pants! Cause I really really like that show. Is there something else I can help you with here Skippy, cause I want to go watch it

[JesseShurun]

he wants to serve up his version of a big beefburger, like him eat one for a change

[malakhi]

I've found his posts to be polite, to the point and he has not slandered or personally insulted anyone.

You mean aside from

you either don't understand Orthodox theology as well as you would like others to think you do, or you do know the historic Orthodox position but yet you obscure it in an attempt to (as if it were possible) counter the Catholic teaching on this age-old issue. (#179)

and

Maybe you don't attend the Divine Liturgy as you should, if you are, in fact, Orthodox. (#180)

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Jesse its too bad your gonna be the last person I get in a flame war with on FR, you just don't have it boy, I'm not even warmed up and I'm bored with ya. I gotta go, be sure to watch for my opus!

BigMack

[malakhi]

No, not a dodge at all. Actually, I did post a response to #s 160 & 161, but did so, inadvertently, I think, in another thread. #155 posted on 07/07/2003 5:08 PM PDT by Patrick Madrid. ( http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/934893/posts?page=155#155)

Actually, you did not post a response to OP's #160 and #161. The link you gave above is to your #155 on this thread. In fact OP was responding specifically to the arguments made in your cut-'n-paste from the Catholic Encyclopedia article. I'd be very interested in seeing you address the specific points he raises.

[malakhi]

but it would be nice to see you address the topics on threads in your own words (i.e. no cutting and pasting)

You mean like Patrick's #155? Did you criticize him for this? Or is it simply a matter of whose ox is being gored? People from both sides make use of cut-'n-pastes. So what?

[JesseShurun]

be sure to watch for my opus

Okey dokey Skippy, put some pictures of them ferrets in there for us will ya, and the picture on the door in the bar, that has a little man with pants on, is where you want to do your business from now on, if you can find it

[connectthedots]

Tha6t Christ was born of a virgin cannot be reasonably disputed. As to whether or not she remained a virgin even is irrelevant to the deity of Jesus Christ and really warrants little, if any time spent in speculation. Whether Mary had other chilren fathered by Joseph has no bearing on the church or ones faith in Christ.

[MarMema]

As to whether or not she remained a virgin even is irrelevant to the deity of Jesus Christ and really warrants little, if any time spent in speculation.

Thanks.

[MarMema]

Thanks to you also. :-)