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faitparafait · Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 9

the ancient world abounded with traditions, prophecies, fables and myths of miraculous conceptions and births, long before the Christian era, and the virgin-mother motif is common enough in pre-Christian cultures to demonstrate its unoriginality and non-historicity within Christianity. In early Christian times, Mary herself was believed to have been born of a virgin, which, if taken literally, would represent a virgin birth prior to Christ, rendering his own nativity unoriginal and mundane, rather than miraculous and divine. One source of Mary's immaculate conception was Christian writer and saint John of Damascus (c. 676-c. 754-787), who asserted that Mary's parents were "filled and purified by the Holy Ghost, and freed from sexual concupiscence." Concerning this matter, the Catholic Encyclopedia ("Immaculate Conception") states that "even the human element" of Mary's origin, "the material of which she was formed, was pure and holy." In other words, Roman Catholic doctrine dictates that, like Jesus, "the Blessed Virgin Mary" was "conceived without sin." (Hackwood, 17) In order to maintain the "uniqueness" of Christ's virgin birth, however, this contention regarding Mary is not taken seriously. What it proves, nonetheless, is that fabulous Christian claims are based on pious speculation, not historical fact, speculation by the faithful that changes from era to era, depending on the need.

jim8147 · Joined: 15 Jul 2004 Posts: 5

I assume at some point in their lives, both of Mary's parents were virgins.But no doubt they weren't anymore when they had Mary.

XmarcusX · Joined: 24 Dec 2003 Posts: 2

It is all Catholic doctrine, not Christian. The Immaculate conception of Mary's Mother was never taught to be a virgin birth, but simply she was born without sin.

cutie5965 · Joined: 20 Apr 2007 Posts: 6

Born of a virgin ...........NO !!!!!!!!!!!!Only Jesus was born of a Virgin...........Concieved not of man..But of the Holy Ghost The Spirit of Godthat overshadowed her

Thomas2SellRealtor3661 · Joined: 30 Jul 2006 Posts: 6

Mary was not born of a virgin. Mary was a sinner that needed to believe in Jesus to be saved, like the rest of us. Jesus was born of a miracle virgin birth. After His birth, Mary had relations with Joseph and many children with him. Mary has no role in anyone's salvation. Mary also can't hear anyone "praying" to her.

wizjp5381 · Joined: 28 Feb 2006 Posts: 4

No, she was protected from original sin at birth by God's grace.In ChristFr. Joseph

joeoctivs · Joined: 18 Dec 2005 Posts: 3

i think that everyone is born a virgin.

stevemincer9131 · Joined: 18 Sep 2007 Posts: 3

The virgin birth scenario is a pagan myth.

Suzy · Joined: 24 Jul 2006 Posts: 5

Just because something is mythological does not mean it is not true.

foreclosures101 · Joined: 25 Aug 2007 Posts: 5

The Bible gives us many ways whereby we can clearly identify the Messiah. One of these ways is called a "sign" and is specifically linked to his miraculous birth. In the Book of Isaiah we read:Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isa. 7:14, KJV).Along with many other Scriptures, that passage clearly points us to the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, who was born of a "virgin". But even among those who agree that Mary was a virgin, at that point in time, there arises a controversy, that being: Did she stay a virgin after Jesus was born? Let's go to the Scriptures to find the answer:And Joseph, having risen from the sleep, did as the messenger of the Lord directed him, and received his wife, and did not KNOW her TILL she brought forth her son -- the first-born, and he called his name Jesus (Matt. 1:24,25, Young's Literal).The Greek word translated "know" in that verse is ginosko. It is also used at Lk. 1:34, where it carries the same meaning:And Mary said unto the messenger, "How shall this be, seeing a husband I do not know?" (Young's Literal).Mary couldn't understand how she could possibly give birth without first coming to "know" her husband, that is, having sexual union. This is the meaning here and in Matt. 1:25 of ginosko. Such did not happen between Joseph and Mary "till" Jesus was born (Matt. 1:25).Please note: Had the Holy Spirit wanted to convey the thought that Mary was a perpetual virgin her whole life through, He could have stopped Matt. 1:25 before the words: "TILL she brought forth her son." Then the sentence would have taught Mary was a perpetual virgin by reading: "Joseph ... did not know her" or as the NIV would have read: "But he had no union with her." This, however, is NOT how the Biblical record reads! That verse states, by implication, that there was a point in time that Joseph and Mary had sexual union, that is, after Jesus was born. This is in perfect agreement with Isa. 7:14, and the other passages on this topic, yet to be cited in this article.Let's move on to a clear supportive text from Luke's Gospel:"And she gave birth to her FIRSTBORN, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2:7, NIV).The word "firstborn" is used elsewhere for the oldest of the children. Many examples in Scripture could be cited to prove this. The following are but two:Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, "It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household." The second son he named Ephraim and said, "It is because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering" (Gen. 41:51,52).The sons of Josiah: Johanan the firstborn, Jehoiakim the second son, Zedekiah the third, Shallum the fourth (1 Chron. 3:15).Jesus was not called Mary's "only-born" but instead Mary's "firstborn," thereby suggesting Mary had other children, which is indeed the case. A more clear indication of this occurred when Jesus, as a full grown man, came to his hometown (Nazareth) and began to teach. People from there, who apparently knew his family, stated the following in disbelief:Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" They asked. "Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" (Matt. 13:54-56).According to that text, Mary had at least four other sons, besides Jesus, and at least two daughters. Some argue that the word "brothers," found in this passage, merely means relatives such as cousins. If that is the true intended meaning, then one must wonder why the Greek word meaning "cousin" (anepsios) was not used there as it was in Col. 4:10:My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.Again, in contrast to Col. 4:10, a different Greek word is used in Matt. 13:55 -- adelphos. This Greek word translated "brothers" comes from the word, delphus, which means womb.Furthermore, we should also focus our attention in upon the word "sisters" in Matt. 13:56. The Greek word for "sisters" is adelphe. It is also found in the following:Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity (1 Tim 5:1,2).As in Matt. 13:56, the usage of adelphe in 1 Tim. 5:2 means natural sister born as to the same mother. The context from verse 1 shows the meaning to be the natural family. This is how the same Greek word must be understood in Matt. 13:56, since spiritual sister can't fit the context.Mary had 7 or more children: Jesus the firstborn (or oldest) and at least 6 others, with at least 2 or more being daughters. But there is even more truth on this subject found in the Old Testament book of Psalms, where it is stated in the first person singular, as being spoken of by Jesus:

Sharon · Joined: 08 Sep 2007 Posts: 5

isn't everyone born a virgin

NEOPIRATE8708 · Joined: 26 Jul 2005 Posts: 4

mary is crying

JewishGirl · Joined: 17 Jun 2006 Posts: 4

Remember, in Hebrew the word for virgin means young woman. Interject this concept into the 'virgin birth' treatise and see what you get. The Bible was translated from Hebrew several times before the English version.

TERRYC · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 4

Mary was conceived without sin, yes, according to Catholic teaching.Sex between two married people is not a sin, in Christendom.So the joining of her parents would have been pure and holy.Thank you for playing, next time do better research.

Nicky · Joined: 17 Dec 2005 Posts: 3

Was she a first born child or did she have siblings?If she was a firstborn...yes, yes she was born of virgin...otherwise her mother would have been stoned to death...you know the "you can't have sex until you're married thing".