The Church Fathers- Mary: Ever Virgin

The Church Fathers ^ | 120AD-450AD

[marshmallow]

The Protoevangelium of James

“And behold, an angel of the Lord stood by [St. Anne], saying, ‘Anne! Anne! The Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive and shall bring forth, and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.’ And Anne said, ‘As the Lord my God lives, if I beget either male or female, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God, and it shall minister to him in the holy things all the days of its life.’ . . . And [from the time she was three] Mary was in the temple of the Lord as if she were a dove that dwelt there” (Protoevangelium of James 4, 7 [A.D. 120]).

“And when she was twelve years old there was held a council of priests, saying, ‘Behold, Mary has reached the age of twelve years in the temple of the Lord. What then shall we do with her, lest perchance she defile the sanctuary of the Lord?’ And they said to the high priest, ‘You stand by the altar of the Lord; go in and pray concerning her, and whatever the Lord shall manifest to you, that also will we do.’ . . . [A]nd he prayed concerning her, and behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him saying, ‘Zechariah! Zechariah! Go out and assemble the widowers of the people and let them bring each his rod, and to whomsoever the Lord shall show a sign, his wife shall she be. . . . And Joseph [was chosen]. . . . And the priest said to Joseph, ‘You have been chosen by lot to take into your keeping the Virgin of the Lord.’ But Joseph refused, saying, ‘I have children, and I am an old man, and she is a young girl’” (ibid., 8–9).

“And Annas the scribe came to him [Joseph] . . . and saw that Mary was with child. And he ran away to the priest and said to him, ‘Joseph, whom you did vouch for, has committed a grievous crime.’ And the priest said, ‘How so?’ And he said, ‘He has defiled the virgin whom he received out of the temple of the Lord and has married her by stealth’” (ibid., 15).

“And the priest said, ‘Mary, why have you done this? And why have you brought your soul low and forgotten the Lord your God?’ . . . And she wept bitterly saying, ‘As the Lord my God lives, I am pure before him, and know not man’” (ibid.).

Origen

“The Book [the Protoevangelium] of James [records] that the brethren of Jesus were sons of Joseph by a former wife, whom he married before Mary. Now those who say so wish to preserve the honor of Mary in virginity to the end, so that body of hers which was appointed to minister to the Word . . . might not know intercourse with a man after the Holy Spirit came into her and the power from on high overshadowed her. And I think it in harmony with reason that Jesus was the firstfruit among men of the purity which consists in [perpetual] chastity, and Mary was among women. For it were not pious to ascribe to any other than to her the firstfruit of virginity” (Commentary on Matthew 2:17 [A.D. 248]).

Hilary of Poitiers

“If they [the brethren of the Lord] had been Mary’s sons and not those taken from Joseph’s former marriage, she would never have been given over in the moment of the passion [crucifixion] to the apostle John as his mother, the Lord saying to each, ‘Woman, behold your son,’ and to John, ‘Behold your mother’ [John 19:26–27), as he bequeathed filial love to a disciple as a consolation to the one desolate" (Commentary on Matthew 1:4 [A.D. 354]).

Athanasius

“Let those, therefore, who deny that the Son is by nature from the Father and proper to his essence deny also that he took true human flesh from the ever-virgin Mary” (Discourses Against the Arians 2:70 [A.D. 360]).

Epiphanius of Salamis

“We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of all things, both visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God . . . who for us men and for our salvation came down and took flesh, that is, was born perfectly of the holy ever-virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit” (The Man Well-Anchored 120 [A.D. 374]).

“And to holy Mary, [the title] ‘Virgin’ is invariably added, for that holy woman remains undefiled” (Medicine Chest Against All Heresies 78:6 [A.D. 375]).

Jerome

“[Helvidius] produces Tertullian as a witness [to his view] and quotes Victorinus, bishop of Petavium. Of Tertullian, I say no more than that he did not belong to the Church. But as regards Victorinus, I assert what has already been proven from the gospel—that he [Victorinus] spoke of the brethren of the Lord not as being sons of Mary but brethren in the sense I have explained, that is to say, brethren in point of kinship, not by nature. [By discussing such things we] are . . . following the tiny streams of opinion. Might I not array against you the whole series of ancient writers? Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, and many other apostolic and eloquent men, who against [the heretics] Ebion, Theodotus of Byzantium, and Valentinus, held these same views and wrote volumes replete with wisdom. If you had ever read what they wrote, you would be a wiser man” (Against Helvidius: The Perpetual Virginity of Mary 19 [A.D. 383]).

“We believe that God was born of a virgin, because we read it. We do not believe that Mary was married after she brought forth her Son, because we do not read it. . . . You [Helvidius] say that Mary did not remain a virgin. As for myself, I claim that Joseph himself was a virgin, through Mary, so that a virgin Son might be born of a virginal wedlock” (ibid., 21).

Didymus the Blind

“It helps us to understand the terms ‘first-born’ and ‘only-begotten’ when the Evangelist tells that Mary remained a virgin ‘until she brought forth her first-born son’ [Matt. 1:25]; for neither did Mary, who is to be honored and praised above all others, marry anyone else, nor did she ever become the Mother of anyone else, but even after childbirth she remained always and forever an immaculate virgin” (The Trinity 3:4 [A.D. 386]).

Ambrose of Milan

“Imitate her [Mary], holy mothers, who in her only dearly beloved Son set forth so great an example of material virtue; for neither have you sweeter children [than Jesus], nor did the Virgin seek the consolation of being able to bear another son” (Letters 63:111 [A.D. 388]).

Pope Siricius I

“You had good reason to be horrified at the thought that another birth might issue from the same virginal womb from which Christ was born according to the flesh. For the Lord Jesus would never have chosen to be born of a virgin if he had ever judged that she would be so incontinent as to contaminate with the seed of human intercourse the birthplace of the Lord’s body, that court of the eternal king” (Letter to Bishop Anysius [A.D. 392]).

Augustine

“In being born of a Virgin who chose to remain a Virgin even before she knew who was to be born of her, Christ wanted to approve virginity rather than to impose it. And he wanted virginity to be of free choice even in that woman in whom he took upon himself the form of a slave” (Holy Virginity 4:4 [A.D. 401]).

“It was not the visible sun, but its invisible Creator who consecrated this day for us, when the Virgin Mother, fertile of womb and integral in her virginity, brought him forth, made visible for us, by whom, when he was invisible, she too was created. A Virgin conceiving, a Virgin bearing, a Virgin pregnant, a Virgin bringing forth, a Virgin perpetual. Why do you wonder at this, O man?” (Sermons 186:1 [A.D. 411]).

“Heretics called Antidicomarites are those who contradict the perpetual virginity of Mary and affirm that after Christ was born she was joined as one with her husband” (Heresies 56 [A.D. 428]).

Leporius

“We confess, therefore, that our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, born of the Father before the ages, and in times most recent, made man of the Holy Spirit and the ever-virgin Mary” (Document of Amendment 3 [A.D. 426]).

Cyril of Alexandria

“[T]he Word himself, coming into the Blessed Virgin herself, assumed for himself his own temple from the substance of the Virgin and came forth from her a man in all that could be externally discerned, while interiorly he was true God. Therefore he kept his Mother a virgin even after her childbearing” (Against Those Who Do Not Wish to Confess That the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God 4 [A.D. 430]).

Pope Leo I

“His [Christ’s] origin is different, but his [human] nature is the same. Human usage and custom were lacking, but by divine power a Virgin conceived, a Virgin bore, and Virgin she remained” (Sermons 22:2 [A.D. 450]).

[Cronos]

He was ever in the church created by Constantine.

There was no church created by Constantine. However there were cults created by men like the ones you've been to, but those are new stuff created in the past 100 years. These New-Age cults never last long as there is no work of the Holy Spirit in them

[Cronos]

and, for you quix taking your posts:

We shall see then how well Quix managed to be Christ-like in all he said and thought.

We shall see then how well Quix managed to love as he wanted to be loved.

We shall see then how well Quix judged as he wanted to be judged.

And this is after Quix's post nix all of the above with

1. Defending the frauds Jesse Duplantis and Benny Hinn (are they demonic possessed -- shout yeah)
2. Talking of Quix's cult that has demonic possession like Jesse as standard with the playing of the Organ -- a rather slavish, virtually mindless, lock-step, lemming sort of robotish behavior pretending to be “sacred”
3. When, in all likelihood, Holy Spirit left the buildings of Quix' cult a LONG time ago -- if it was ever there at all
4. UnBiblical explanations, BTW, That is, UNBiblical forces and influences . . . . That is, UNGodly forces and influences -- as demonstrated in the Jesse Duplantis and Benny Hinn cults

And it gets better and better. What a silly cult.

[Cronos]

Missionary! That's a joke! Jesse Duplantis is demonic possessed --->

Give Jesse your money! And he'll talk about how he used new tanning cream!!

No, Quix -- your cult is filled with unbiblical, un-religious points that every Christian from Lutheran to Presbyterian to Baptist will denounce as a cult.

how can you defend Benny Hinn's

1. God has 9 parts (tri-theistic).
   A. God has a body, soul and spirit.
   B. Jesus has a body, soul and spirit.
   C. Holy Spirit has a body, soul and spirit. (Benny Hinn, Benny Hinn broadcast, recorded 10/13/90)

2. "He [Jesus] who is righteous by choice said, 'The only way I can stop sin is by Me becoming it. I can't just stop it by letting it touch Me; I and it must become one.' Hear this! He who is the nature of God became the nature of Satan where He became sin!" (Benny Hinn, TBN, 12/1/90)

don't just say he's a "queer fish" -- feel free to condemn his unbiblical stuff.

[Judith Anne]

I appear to be taking flak. Perhaps I’m over the target.

[Cronos]

to quix: All Christians are more convinced than ever that y'all's fantasies about the demonic-possessed fraudster Jesse Duplantis and BEnny Hinn are horrific seductions that originate in hell.

Your cult's belief in ouija boards and the likes of demonic possession are more akin to a worship of Ravana than anything Christian

Playing satanic music and shaking the booty instead of actually worshipping God -- what a travesty

[Cronos]

There’s no point arguing with folks who don’t even believe in the incarnation. They don’t believe Jesus’s words in John 6, they don’t believe Jesus was 100% God and 100% man...

[Cronos]

Everything was contingent. However do note that if the response had been negative the plan would have continued with another, but she was humble, believing enough to say ‘yes’. Of course, He foreknew, but for some reason He lets us have an ability to say yes or no, to accept or reject.

[Cronos]

He could have immediately raised up a virgin daughter of David and Abraham from a Bethlehem rock.

Where's your Biblical proof? Are you now dismissing Isiah about Jesus's lineage? Do you read the Biblical prophecies of Jesus?

And that is Jesus, not Jesse Duplantis.....

[Cronos]

Do note that our Lutheran and Anglican brethern believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

[Cronos]

note — a few say that they were a part of the church, yet don’t seem to know some basics, some things everyone would know. But they do now a lot about taqqiyah!!

[Mad Dawg]

You and your alligators!

I think you lacked a sufficient amount of reverent awe.

My bad.

LOL!

[Cronos]

Milton Berle is a funny guy,

his autobio has a wonderful story on Aimee Semple the founder of the Foursquare Ahoy!

      When I was dressing to leave, she stuck out her hand. "Good luck with your show, Milton."
      What the hell. I couldn't resist it. "Good luck with yours, Aimee."

Funny!

[Cronos]

Though the founderess was a good show-woman too!

[Quix]

Perhaps I’m over the target.

!NOPE!

[Cronos]

Talking of blasphemy — how about when Jesse Duplantis goes to heaven and comforts Jesus? Have you seen the video? The fraudster Jesse actually talks about how everyone thought his sun-tan shining was some kind of “shining” ;-P

[Quix]

I’m not really THAT responsible for your Biblical ignorance of the UNRUBBERIZED Bible.

[Quix]

Then . . .

I must live, work, vacation & do my shopping over the target! LOL.

[Cronos]

so, quixo -- stop defending the demonic possessed Jesse Duplantis

If your cult believes in this same non-biblical stuff from hell then

[Cronos]

so, quixo -- stop defending the demonic possessed Jesse Duplantis

If your cult believes in this same non-biblical stuff from hell then

(Legal Disclaimer: This image is not from Photobucket. It in no-way infringes upon anyone's bogus claim to Photobucket ownership or use of Photobucket bandwidth - whatever that may be.)

[Cronos]

Quix: I must live, work, vacation & do my shopping over the target! LOL.

(Legal Disclaimer: This image is not from Photobucket. It in no-way infringes upon anyone's bogus claim to Photobucket ownership or use of Photobucket bandwidth - whatever that may be.)