The reason that the doctrine of the Perpetual Virginity was believed although Scripture doesn't support it is simple--it's not based upon Scripture but upon "Tradition."
It is rooted in both Sacred Scripture:
Ex.13:2,12; 34:20, Ezk.44:2, Lk.1:31,34; 2:41-51, Jn.7:3-4,19:25-27, Mt.27:61,28:1, 10:3.
And in Tradition/Early Church Fathers:
Tertullian, On Monogamy, 8 (A.D. 213). Origen, Commentary on John, I:6 (A.D. 232). Athanasius, Orations against the Arians, II:70 (A.D. 362). John Chrysostom, Gospel of Matthew, V:5 (A.D. 370).
John Chrysostom, Gospel of Matthew, V:5 (A.D. 370). Gregory of Nyssa, On Virginity, 13 (A.D. 371). To name a few.
Can you "miss" something that isn't there to be read?
Hmmm... The Father of your Reformation (Martin Luther) didn't seem to miss it.
"Christ, our Savior, was the real and natural fruit of Mary's virginal womb . . . This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that."----- Sermons on John, chaps. 1-4 (1539)
"Christ . . . was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him . . . I am inclined to agree with those who declare that 'brothers' really mean 'cousins' here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers."-- Sermons on John, chaps. 1-4 (1539)
"A new lie about me is being circulated. I am supposed to have preached and written that Mary, the mother of God, was not a virgin either before or after the birth of Christ . . ." ---That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew (1523)
"Scripture does not say or indicate that she later lost her virginity . . .
When Matthew [1:25] says that Joseph did not know Mary carnally until she had brought forth her son, it does not follow that he knew her subsequently; on the contrary, it means that he never did know her . . . This babble . . . is without justification . . . he has neither noticed nor paid any attention to either Scripture or the common idiom."-----That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew (1523)
"Christ our Savior was the real and natural fruit of Mary's virginal womb. . . . This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that."-----(On the Gospel of St. John: Luther's Works)
Not even mentioning John Calvin, Huldreich Zwingli, Heinrich Bullinger, and John Wesley.
Let me ask you Albion the same thing I asked dreadnought. After reading these quotes from Martin Luther, could you show where in the history of the Anglican Church, where the belief of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary became problematic? As well by who's authority in the hierarchy of Anglican Church declared it problematic? Why is it problematic in the Anglican Church today considering it was not in Martin Luther's day?
Thank you