Matthew 1:25? Mary not a virgin?

[Good_Fella]

All of that is pure conjecture, as there are many other scenarios with just as much validity. The real answer is that the use of the word “until” in the Bible does not imply that everything changed afterwards, which evangelical English readers wrongly infer.

For example a parent leaving for an evening out says to a child “I want you to be good until I get home,” no way implies the parents expects the child to be as bad as he wants after the parent gets home.

The evangelist’s true meaning is that this child was not fathered by St. Joseph. That is ALL it is saying. It is NOT saying anything about their marital relations after the birth of Jesus. That is to misunderstand the meaning completely.

True, there is no reason for the evangelist to mean that Joseph and Mary had no conjugal relations until after the birth of Jesus unless he was trying to tell us that. But his concern is with the virgin birth and the time of the betrothal before the nativity to stress the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy (7,14) which he quotes in v. 23 of the same chapter.

PAX
:heaven:

 

[phillipbelgica]

virginity is almost understand in today’s situtation is always related to sex and activity. we need to consider that there are physical virginity which is different from what we can called moral virginity. and since Mary is the Mother of Jesus we can say that in the human and biological term she is not anymore virgin for she bore and gave birth to a son, but this is in the level of human understanding and physiological consideration for we relate her virginity to our understanding in a physical sphere. but Mary’s virginity surpasses and goes beyond this physical sphere for she remain virgin morally and spiritually, without stain.
anyway either Mary is a virgin or not physically, it does not affect her motherhood and does not diminishes her being immaculately conceived for it is natural for a mother to be de-virginize especially physically after giving birth and it will not affect her moral status for what affects ones moral status is SIN. we cannot say and equate that a de- virginized mother because of giving birth is a sinful mother. but rather it is just a natural process especially for a woman and much more for a mother. so i think whether Mary is Virgin or not(physically) does not matters most, but rather what matters most is that she is free from any stain and sin.for giving birth which causes a mother to be de- virginize (physically) is not sinful and even the act itself is not sinful.