To: The Ignorant Fisherman
An attack on the Immaculate Conception and the perpetual virginity of Mary.
The Immaculate Conception doctrine is debatable among Christians, but Mary’s perpetual virginity has always been Christian tradition. To claim that the Bible teaches against it is simply false.
The larger question, I suppose, is why some who imagine themselves Christian feel the need to be so strongly schismatic.
————————I don’t understand. Mary had other children, by Joseph, how could she be a perpetual virgin? Yes, at the time of Christ’s immaculate conception, but not with the other children. Right? So no, I did not see this as an attack at all on the immaculate conception. But frankly, I have never heard,read or been told that Mary was always (perpetually) a virgin. Yes, that one immaculate conception is perpetual.(going on for forever). In Christian teachings, reading etc, I am not aware of a ‘tradition’ that you speak of.
Mary’s perpetual virginity has been Christian teaching for two thousand years. She and Joseph did not have children after Christ. Scriptural reference to Jesus’ “brothers” could mean cousins or Joseph’s children from his first marriage. The original Greek is not the same as our English word “brother.”
See, for example:
http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith9174
http://www.oca.org/QA.asp?ID=204&SID=3
No she didn't. Every time Jesus's "brother" is mentioned by name, whe know who his mother is, and she is not Mary.
"Immaculate conception", by the way, refers to the conception of Mary, not of Jesus.
INDEED.