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Justified112

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Nothing in the story says it will be immediate. The Angel told Mary that she WILL have a son. WILL is future tense.
She understood it to be immediate. She understood it to mean before she and Joseph were to be wed. And that is exactly how it happened.
 
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☦Marius☦

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[/QUOTE]

We were talking about John at the cross, not the various times beforehand that people doubted him. And you did say they mocked him, so since we were discussing the state of their souls during the crucifixion I assumed that's what you were referring to.
 
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☦Marius☦

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St Ignatius and St Polycarp were writing letters while various apostles were still alive. St Ignatius was a personal student of the Apostle John and met Christ (he was 3rd Bishop of Antioch).

And lol that you think I'm "told" these things. As a protestant I studied the Church Father's critically but realized the evidence was in favor of them and converted.
 
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Alithis

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ad hominem much ?

The fact remains
We read what is written and believe it.
You read what is written and manipulate it to match your traditions.
Jesus warned of those who make the word of god null and void . -by thier many traditions.
 
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☦Marius☦

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ad hominem much ?

The fact remains
We read what is written and believe it.
You read what is written and manipulate it to match your traditions.
Jesus warned of those who make the word of god null and void . -by thier many traditions.

Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
 
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☦Marius☦

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ad hominem much ?

The fact remains
We read what is written and believe it.
You read what is written and manipulate it to match your traditions.
Jesus warned of those who make the word of god null and void . -by thier many traditions.

It's not ad hominem when we are talking about spiritual things and you are trying to preach at everyone.
 
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☦Marius☦

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ad hominem much ?

The fact remains
We read what is written and believe it.
You read what is written and manipulate it to match your traditions.
Jesus warned of those who make the word of god null and void . -by thier many traditions.

"I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you"
 
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FenderTL5

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Same here.
I was charismated in 2015 after 50+ years in Baptist churches.
 
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Monk Brendan

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I didn't say singing hymns was extra-Biblical.

I said the use of hymnals was.
 
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Monk Brendan

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Remember that Matthewis the most Jewish of the Gospels. Some have opined it was originallay written in Hebrew or Aramaic.

FIRSTBORN SON has a technical meaning in Jewish thought. It applies if and only if a woman's first pregnancy resulted in the LIVE BIRTH of a male child. In such a case, it was subject to the redemption of the first-born.

If her first pregnancy ended in a stillbirth, miscarriage, abortion or a daughter, if a son were born next, this was NOT considered a "firstborn son."

In none of these cases, was it necessary for the woman to have any other children.
 
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Ing Bee

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The second, and primary reason I do not hold to your opinion is that the Council of Nicea, convening in 325 AD and composed of men who spoke the original language of the new testament, declared the virginity of Mary to be the belief of the Church.

Can you provide references for this point? Mary is not even mentioned in either of the Nicene Creeds and was not on the agenda at Nicea. IF you can point me to some prime source documentation (english translations : ) I would be interested. It seems that Mary's perpetual viriginity is a later addition that began to pop up in the second century but didn't become dogmatized until the 7th century.

My biggest issue with this dogma by Catholics (not sure how big of a deal it is for E.Orthodoxy) is that it has been made a mandatory doctrine and rejection of it on reasonable, rationale and biblical grounds is anathema (damning) for the person who so believes. That right there is a deal breaker since it is a non-issue in the gospels and the canon. Regardless of how 'early' a new theological issue develops, it can be no earlier that the Lord and the Apostles. Since they did not make it a "believe or burn" issue, no church has the power to make it so. It is an unnecessary obstacle to unity.

What's the E.O. view?
 
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HTacianas

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You've caught a mistake of mine. It was the second Council of Nicea that decreed the perpetual virginity of Mary, not the first Council of Nicea.

To Orthodoxy, Mary's perpetual virginity is simply accepted by the Church. Why should it not be? I mentioned earlier in this thread, or maybe in a similar thread, the protoevangellion of James. It is a non canonical work rejected by the Church long ago, but it does establish that Mary remained a virgin after giving birth to Jesus was the belief of the early Church. The writer would first have to get that idea from somewhere before creating a narrative, fictional as that narrative is. There is certainly no reason to believe that a person could not be set aside to remain celibate after being chosen by God for some task.

But for the incessant and needless attacks against the Roman Church by some protestants, Mary's perpetual virginity would be accepted without controversy. But then those attacks are not merely against Mary, but continue into attacks against the foundations of Christianity itself.

Now if you accept the idea that a virgin can give birth, why would you even want to question whether she remained a virgin after giving birth?
 
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Archivist

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The bible doesn't say he was married before therefore any sisters and brothers that are mentioned are children of Mary.
The Bible also does not say that Joseph wasn’t married before.
 
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JacksBratt

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But they didn't.

Many times, the Bible uses "brothers" without their necessarily having the same mother.

An example of this is in Matthew 1, where we read of "Judah and his brothers," though they actually had 4 mothers among them.
I beg to differ...

Joseph was going to "quietly" end the marriage process when he found out that she was pregnant.

If he was not planning to have a family with her and was just going to be her "guardian".... why all the fuss.

No man, in those times, would "marry" a girl just to take care of her..

He was marrying her so she could provide him with a family to help him with his business and carry it on. All families needed children to take car of them, also, in their later years, when they could no longer work and support themselves.

To say that Joseph just took a wife and remained celibate the rest of his life... is an unnecessary concept and who knows why it was propagated.

Nothing in scripture is contradicted if Mary had a virgin birth with Christ and went on to mother a family after that.
 
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Ing Bee

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You've caught a mistake of mine. It was the second Council of Nicea that decreed the perpetual virginity of Mary, not the first Council of Nicea.

Thanks for the clarification. I still can't find any documentation for the claim though. I can't find anything before the 7th century. Help me out?


Most of the gnostic gospels are from that time as well and it is putting it mildly to say that they have issues. The Protoangelion was, as you note, tossed out. Therefore it can't established anything, even for those who give church tradition more weight than scripture. A hundred years is not too soon for bad ideas to be in circulation; indeed, this was happening at the time of the apostles!

I am not disputing that last sentence in the paragraph: What could or could not happen is a vast collection of possibilities. I'm not even taking issue in principle. If that's the way it happened, that's the way it happened. But Jesus and the Biblical authors don't make it an issue AT ALL, certainly not anything near a dogmatic statement. Anyone reading the gospels and epistles would never even have the thought enter their minds. In order for the linguistic gymnastics to begin ("brother" could be "male relatives", etc.) you have to assume the permanent virginity a priori. Therefore it can't be a big deal and certainly not a reason to anathematize someone for non-agreement.


if you examine the above paragraph, you might see that this is not really an argument in favor of your point. Let's replace some of the words with alternates and see if it make sense:

"But for the incessant and needless attacks agains the Flat Earth movement by some astronomers, the non-spheroid shape of earth would be accepted without controversy."
Right. Without disagreeing points of view, we would all be in agreement.

But even were that the case that would not guarantee that we would all be correct. It would only mean we're not disagreeing. If you are Roman Catholic, you CANNOT disagree without fear of excommunication…along with the immaculate conception and the ascension of Mary.

And I guess that's my main issue, not that some, or even many people, hold these views. But that a canonically supported "idea" has become a salvation issue rather than the standard presented in 1 John 5:11.

I appreciate the dialogue. If you can get me any references regarding the first paragraph that would be helpful. I recognize that this is one of those issues that are hot button topics. Whenever I encounter this topic, part of me laughs at the ridiculousness of the situation, the other part is weighed down because it is so divisive. I pray for unity in the Body of Christ and for a diverse Christianity noted for active love rather than theological pinwheeling.
 
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Ing Bee

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The Bible also does not say that Joseph wasn’t married before.
True, but if you just read the text as a normal human being reading a story, what conclusions would you come to if you didn't have any concepts of Marian theology overlaying your vision?

  • They didn't come together until the child was born.
  • No other children mentioned in the birth narratives, 12 year old scene, etc.
  • Brother's and sisters mentioned
  • Jesus calling those who do the father's will his brothers, sisters, and mother
  • James the brother of the Lord
Would you think "Joseph and Mary NEVER came together" and those must be step-siblings from a previous marriage?"
 
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prodromos

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Where does it say that in the Bible?
She must have told him personally, since there is no other way he could possibly know what her thoughts were at the time
 
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