When will you guys ever learn that the only way to understand this stuff is to understand Jewish culture. The only way to read the Scriptures "in context" is to read them in the context of Jewish culture. And, in Jewish culture - and the culture of that region at that time - the mother of a King was always the queen, the "Gabirah" - Queen Mother.
You don't get it. The "Tradition" lay in knowing which of those writings were inspired and which were not. There is gobbs of stuff that is "written." We quote ECFs all the time. But the decision in the 4th century regarding which 27 books were inspired was based on apostolic Tradition.
We "get it" fine, we just don't pick it up & run with it. We don't confuse His humanity with His divinity and in Jewish Culture His kingship wasn't an established fact despite His lineage and in Jewish Culture only the mothers of established kings were established queens. Mary was the mother of His humanity, not the mother of His divinity (for which there was none) so her 'application' for that throne is denied.(Error 404 File Not Found).
Originally Posted by
WarriorAngel
The ancient Churches have always known and believed she remained a virgin...
How did they know?
Originally Posted by
katholikos
The same way they knew which books to canonize into the NT, by the tradition handed down to them
The truth is, the whole Bible is "Tradition." The stories of Adam & Eve, Noah, Abraham, etc. were all written down thousands of years after the fact. The books of the NT were not canonized until hundreds of years after their writing.
The Bible is Tradition put down in writing. So, your question "How did they know" could apply to ANY Christian truth, and the answer will always be the same: TRADITION
Epistles are not tradition.
When something becomes "It is written", it is no longer tradition.
& "Tradition" doesn't answer the question "How did they know?" it merely answers the question."What did they choose to believe?"
I am asking
how did they know what to choose to believe"?
Tradition has to start somewhere even if it goes wildly off track.
Where did the tradition that she was PV begin? In the affectionate but religiously vain imagination of nearby wannabees with a hyper-piety agenda.
That would aid in the Nicolaitin agenda of dividing the Body of Christ into leaders & followers. That follows the institutional model not the family model given us.