Posted on 06/13/2011 3:57:07 PM PDT by HarleyD
One of the more controversial teachings of the Catholic church deals with the perpetual virginity of Mary. This doctrine maintains that Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Jesus and that biblical references suggesting Jesus had siblings are really references to cousins (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 510).
As the veneration of Mary increased throughout the centuries, the vehicle of Sacred Tradition became the means of promoting new doctrines not explicitly taught in the Bible. The virginity of Mary is clearly taught in scripture when describing the birth of Jesus. But is the doctrine of her continued virginity supported by the Bible? Did Mary lose her virginity after Jesus was born? Does the Bible reveal that Mary had other children, that Jesus had brothers and sisters?
The Bible does not come out and declare that Mary remained a virgin and that she had no children. In fact, the Bible seems to state otherwise: (All quotes are from the NASB.)
• Matthew 1:24-25 - "And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took as his wife, and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus."
• Matthew 12:46-47 - "While He was still speaking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. And someone said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You."
• Matthew 13:55 - "Is not this the carpenters son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?"
• Mark 6:2-3 - "And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?"
• John 2:12 - "After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother, and His brothers, and His disciples; and there they stayed a few days."
• Acts 1:14 - "These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers."
• 1 Cor. 9:4-5 - "Do we not have a right to eat and drink? Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?"
• Gal. 1:19 - But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lords brother."
In Greek, the word for brother is adelphos and sister is adelphe. This word is used in different contexts: of children of the same parents (Matt. 1:2; 14:3), descendants of parents (Acts 7:23, 26; Heb. 7:5), the Jews as a whole (Acts 3:17, 22), etc. Therefore, the term brother (and sister) can and does refer to the cousins of Jesus.
There is certainly merit in this argument, However, different contexts give different meanings to words. It is not legitimate to say that because a word has a wide scope of meaning, that you may then transfer any part of that range of meaning to any other text that uses the word. In other words, just because the word brother means fellow Jews or cousin in one place, does not mean it has the same meaning in another. Therefore, each verse should be looked at in context to see what it means.
Lets briefly analyze a couple of verses dealing with the brothers of Jesus.
• Matthew 12:46-47, "While He was still speaking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. And someone said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You."
• Matthew 13:55 - "Is not this the carpenters son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?"
Psalm 69, A Messianic Psalm
There are many arguments pro and con concerning Jesus siblings. But the issue cannot be settled without examining Psalm 69, a Messianic Psalm. Jesus quotes Psalm 69:4 in John 15:25, "But they have done this in order that the word may be fulfilled that is written in their Law, they hated Me without a cause."
He also quotes Psalm 69:9 in John 2:16-17, "and to those who were selling the doves He said, "Take these things away; stop making My Fathers house a house of merchandise." His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Thy house will consume me."
Clearly, Psalm 69 is a Messianic Psalm since Jesus quoted it in reference to Himself two times. The reason this is important is because of what is written between the verses that Jesus quoted.
To get the whole context, here is Psalm 69:4-9, "Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; Those who would destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies, What I did not steal, I then have to restore. 5O God, it is Thou who dost know my folly, And my wrongs are not hidden from Thee. 6May those who wait for Thee not be ashamed through me, O Lord God of hosts; May those who seek Thee not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel, 7Because for Thy sake I have borne reproach; Dishonor has covered my face. 8I have become estranged from my brothers, and an alien to my mothers sons. 9For zeal for Thy house has consumed me, And the reproaches of those who reproach Thee have fallen on me."
This messianic Psalm clearly shows that Jesus has brothers. As Amos 3:7 says, "Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret counsel to His servants the prophets." Gods will has been revealed plainly in the New Testament and prophetically in the Old. Psalm 69 shows us that Jesus had brothers.
Did Mary have other children? The Bible seems to suggest yes. Catholic Tradition says no. Which will you trust?
Of course, the Catholic will simply state that even this phrase "my mother's sons" is in reference not to his siblings, but to cousins and other relatives. This is a necessary thing for the Catholic to say, otherwise, the perpetual virginity of Mary is threatened and since that contradicts Roman Catholic tradition, an interpretation that is consistent with that tradition must be adopted.
The question is, "Was Jesus estranged by His brothers?". Yes, He was. John 7:5 says "For not even His brothers were believing in Him." Furthermore, Psalm 69:8 says both "my brothers" and "my mother's sons." Are these both to be understood as not referring to His siblings? Hardly. The Catholics are fond of saying that "brothers" must mean "cousins." But, if that is the case, then when we read "an alien to my mother's sons" we can see that the writer is adding a further distinction and narrowing the scope of meaning. In other words, Jesus was alienated by his siblings, His very half-brothers begotten from Mary.
It is sad to see the Roman Catholic church go to such lengths to maintain Mary's virginity, something that is a violation of biblical law to be married and fill the earth.
You know what I am claiming and that claim is a rebuttal to your statement that
Were all that is necessary containable in a Book God would have repeated the Mosaic process and sent the Gospel on Stone Tablets. Instead He sent His Son to establish a Church.
And yes again, all that was necessary is contained within a book, the Bible...
No one, including you, knows what you are claiming.
"And yes again, all that was necessary is contained within a book, the Bible..."
So sayeth John Calvin. Just don't expect Christians to buy into that bibliolatry nonsense.
I don't think you are an attorney. Maybe a "pretend" attorney, but then I have come to expect pretense from you.
Now be a good boy and drink your 
You know what’s always struck me about this, and similar types of debates that are, ultimately not about whether or not Mary had kids, (they are about whether or not the Magisterium of the Catholic Church has the knowledge, much less the authority, to teach the Faith, and if that’s “mind reading” to say that, so be it I don’t care anymore)...
....but what has really struck me is the implied claim that for over 1500 years, “apparently”, the same Magisterium never bothered to read Scripture as “effectively” or as “rationally” as say, Matt Slick.
Such people, whoever they may be, obviously have a low opinion of their fellow man, so low in fact that they must believe the Holy Spirit would never deign to help such people who obviously desired to teach the Faith (the Magisterium). No, He just pretty much gave up on His Church for 1500 years until people with the “right way to read the Bible, i.e., anything anti Catholic came along”, and then He said, “Finally, some people who are worthy of my Grace”.
Is the hubris there only obvious to me? (note, that’s a rhetorical question; if one chooses to respond to it in writing, don’t take my non-response as proof of some great point made, as that would be a foolish thing to do, for an answer to a rhetorical question)
I don't know about those other guys but I guarantee OLD REGGIE doesn't understand "hidden" Revelation.
Look! Up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's the Magisterium!
The difference between Calvin and the Roman Catholic church regarding the Jews is that Calvin wanted to covert them while Rome wanted to exterminate them (and they did.)
You continue to post ONE DISGRUNTLED MAN’S OPINION over and over and over, as if it were some big revelation.
ONE MAN’S OPINION.
Who cares? It means nothing. And everyone knows that.
No one claims it’s hidden, even when they “discover” it. Tulip, Sola Scriptura, Calvinism, Dispensationalism, Universal Unitarianism, Reggieism.. whatever - so long as it’s not Catholic some folks will follow it.
We can conveniently overlook the Protestants that voted the Nazis into power.
Not a single person was saved until Martin Luther came along. Even the guys that put the Bible together are now burning in hell because they belonged to the Church (talk about your irony overload!) Think of all those Church members burning in hell. Every single one of them. If that's not proof the god of the Protestant cults is pure evil, I don't know what is.
This guy ain't no ONE disgruntled man -- he's one of your ex-ruling elders and he knows the level of dirt in your cult.
Guess what, the times up -- your anti-Christian, anti-semitic cult is going the way of the PCUSA, and quickly. Buh-bye...
Why is your cult so anti-semitic? Why does your cult hate Jews and Christians?
you got it right — these are egotistical folks who will embrace any of their own selfish philosophies — we even have one Unitarian Universalist here who says it’s all “biblical” and sola scriptura — well, with sola scriptura a Unitarian can prove his point!
Yes, the cults these guys belong to are pure evil
See the hubris.
It takes real talent for a Christian to get a church with pagans, muslims and atheists from Scripture.
You and your Lazy Boy do not make a church.
You would think that after getting so many things wrong, so consistently, that it might open up their eyes to the fact that it isn't "just me and my Bible". This is a classic example of why He left a teaching Church.
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