SPLIT: Scripture verses re: Mary's Perpetual Virginity

[NeedImprovement]

According to other texts of the time, such as the Protoevangelium of James, Joseph’s children were already adults when he married Mary. Joseph was said to be a widower and was chosen to be Mary’s husband.

Actually , I was commenting in light of the post partially quoted below (pertinent part highlighted in purple) :

yes, those scriptures are clear, the people are speaking about Jesus brothers and sisters so clearly people understood that Jesus was raised with COUSINS that were the children of Joseph from his first marriage.

…, Mary died a virgin never having had sex or any other children.

As I understand it, to “be raised” with other children implies that the children involved would be of closer proximity in age. Furthermore , Joseph’s yet unsubstantiated " children form a previous marriage" would have also been obliged to go and register at Bethlehem during the census, because they also would have belonged to the house of David. Surely they could have somehow prevented the “stable” scenario - if they were already even semi-caring adults - particularly for a kinswoman who was about to give birth.

Granted, the Protoevangelium of James is a most interesting read , but Catholics are not required to lend it any credence regarding children of Joseph from a previous marriage. We are only asked to give our assent of faith to :

“The only point that Catholic doctrine holds regarding the “brethren of the Lord” (Matt. 12:46, 13:55; Mark 3:31–34; Luke 8:19–20; John 2:12, 7:3, et al) is that they are not biological children of Mary.”

catholic.com/thisrock/2002/0212eye.asp

…which, I agree, doesn’t necessarily rule out children of Joseph from a previous marriage.
My point would be that at this point, we can’t precisely tell whether or not St. Joseph had children from a previous marriage

In my own limited opinion, that scriptures could be so accurate about the lineage of Jesus ( **Son of David **- a title which traditionally was derived from the ancestry of the “father” of a family ) yet somehow omit mentioning any half-siblings of Jesus (through adoption) almost implies a type of *deceptiveness *on the part of the Gospel writers.

A Catholic priest/friend/associate of mine who is from Congo , tells me it is still common today for people there to refer to cousins, neices, nephews and remote relatives as “brother” or “sister”. So why do we have such difficulty believing this may also have been the custom of those living 2000 years ago…?.. particularly in a society where people’s identities were defined by their lineage.

catholic.com/thisrock/2000/0007sbs.asp

 

[NeedImprovement]

… I get upset when people question the word.

I share that same concern too.

 

[JRKH]

yes, those scriptures are clear, the people are speaking about Jesus brothers and sisters so clearly people understood that Jesus was raised with COUSINS that were the children of Joseph from his first marriage.

Also we know Mary was a virgin her whole life because Saint Matthew says 1:25 Joseph “He had no relations with her until she bore a son…” the word UNTIL clearly indicates that Mary never ever had sex with Joseph.

The bible is clear on that, Mary died a virgin never having had sex or any other children.

The “until” issue is a good one. But let me ask this.
Have you ever watched an intructional program where the host said at the end, “So until next time, I’m…” Does that mean that after “Next time” he will be someone else??

Of course not. So Until does not necessarily mean a change in status atfer the refered to event.

Peace
James

 

[JRKH]

hi everybody,

i have an issue befor me which i need a solution

i know mary had no other child but jesus i need biblical proves to defend myself

thank you all.

I actually take a somewhat different approach to the question of the Perpetual Virginity. I tend to look at it from the viewpoint of Joseph.

We know that Mary, in submission the Will of God conceived of the Holy Spirit. (Luke 1:26-38)
We also know that when Joseph learned of the pregnancy he intended to “divorce here quietly”. (Mt 1:19)
But look at what happens in the next verse. Joseph is visited by an Angel and told, “do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit;”.(Mt 1:20)

Thus it can be seen that Joseph, “A Just Man” (Mt 1:19) knew from the beginning that Mary was the Chosen of the Almighty God and that she was to give birth to the Son of God.

The question each of us should consider is this. Would we, put in Joseph’s position, and knowing what he knew, choose to have “marital relations” with the Chosen one, the mother of the Son of God?

Ask your detractors to ponder this question carefully for themselves.

Peace
James