A Critique of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary

The oldest painting of Mary

The perpetual virginity of Mary is the doctrine that Mary, the mother of Jesus remained a virgin for her whole life even after Jesus was born. This teaching is emphasized in the Roman Catholic church, the Eastern Orthodox church, the Oriental Orthodox church and the Assyrian church of the East, however it is also taught by some Lutherans, Anglicans and Reformed individuals, with however less emphasis on it. 

However, this doctrine is explicitly contradictary to the bible itself, and has lead into the doctrine of a "Josephite marriage", which is a practice in direct violation to God's purpose in marriage. This doctrine has also been used to justify endless ascetism and to devalue marriage.

Scripturally, it is clearly said that Jesus had brothers and sisters:

Matthew 13:55-57

55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?

57 And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.

However, those who advocate the perpetual virginity of Mary often have a sneaky way around this by arguing that the Greek word translated brother "adelphos" can refer to some other relatives, like cousins. However, although they may cite some Greek places where this usage did exist, it was an exceptionally rare usage of the word. In fact, the word "adelphos" literally means 'from the same womb'.

Additionally, there are extra details which suggest that Mary did indeed have children after Jesus, such as Matthew 1:25:

25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.

The word "till" means that a change happened after this time, aka, after Jesus was born she and Joseph had a totally normal marriage. Additionally, the usage of the term "firstborn" may imply that Mary had children later on, as with a "first" it is often implied that a "second" also exist. Though admitedly the usage of the term "firstborn" is a more implicit argument.

Nevertheless, they will object that the Greek word "heos" does not necessarily mean "till" in the same way as in English, however again, this view relies on a non-normative use of the term. The most basic and normal usage of the word is to be used to refer to a change in a point of time, such as in the following verses:

Matthew 2:9

9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

Matthew 2:13

13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

Matthew 2:15

15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

One could provide many more examples, but these three verses all use the same Greek word "heos", where it is used clearly to denote a change in time. One must read a very unusual usage of the word to support the claim that Jesus never had genetic brothers and sisters.

But as a third point, and the most dangerous point is the doctrine of a "Josephite marriage" which this doctrine has created. The claim is that since Joseph and Mary abstained within their own marriage, it serves as an example people can follow. However, this is in the most explicit terms condemned by the Bible, where Paul says:

1 Corinthians 7:5

5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.

The Bible in the most direct terms says that abstinence in marriage cannot be done except for a time with prayer and fasting, because that opens doors for Satan to tempt you and destroy that marriage, and as Paul previously wrote in 1 Corinthians 7:3 "Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.", there is no room for permanent and absolute abstinence. The "Josephite marriage" is not a virtue, but it is directly condemned by Paul the apostle as something that cannot be done. This also serves as a strong reason why the perpetual virginity of Mary is incorrect, as it would be condemned by Paul's writings.

The perpetual virginity of Mary also directly attacks Jesus' full humanity, due to the doctrine of "virginitas in partu", which is the claim that Jesus did not exit the womb of Mary in the same manner humans do, but instead existed the womb miraculously so that Mary's hymen was not broken and so she did not experience labour. This however distances Jesus from the ordinary human experience of human birth, and thus seems to diminish Jesus' human experience, which seems to conflict with the emphasis on Jesus' full human experience in the Bible:

Philippians 2:7

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

Hebrews 2:17-18

17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

The doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary is actually first found in Gnostic and heretical pseudo-gospels such as the gospel of James. Among early heretical writings to mention the doctrine are:

1. The Gospel of James (Made by the Encratites, who believed that marriage is sin)
2. The Gospel of Peter (Made by an unknown sect, but is known to be heretical)
3. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas (Made by an unknown Gnostic sect)

In fact, the earliest non-Gnostic person to explicitly mention this doctrine (Tertullian) rejected the perpetual virginity of Mary in his writings:

Tertullian (155 AD – c. 220 AD)

She who bare (really) bare; and although she was a virgin when she conceived, she was a wife when she brought forth her son. (On the Flesh of Christ)

 However, due to the influence of these pseudographical gospels, ascetic philosophy and the growth of the monastic tradition, the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary became mainstream.