The Perpetual Virginity of Mary

This is a Christian doctrine that Jesus’ mom, Mary, was a virgin before, during, & after Jesus’ birth.

In Western Christianity, Catholics, many Anglicans, some Lutherans, Reformed, & other Protestant sects believe in this doctrine. It’s 1 of the 4 Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. In Eastern Christianity, the Oriental Orthodox Churches & the Church of the East both follow this doctrine. Eastern Orthodox churches recognize Mary as Aeiparthenos, meaning “ever-virgin.”

The surviving written tradition of the perpetual virginity of Mary 1st appears in a 2nd century text called the Protoevangelium of James. The Second Council of Constantinople in 533 gave her the title of “Aeiparthenos.”

At the Lateran Synod of 649, Pope Martin I emphasized the 3-fold character of the perpetual virginity, before, during, & after the birth of Jesus.

The Lutheran Smalcald Articles (1537) & the Reformed Second Helvetic Confession (1562) codified the doctrine of perpetual virginity of Mary as well.

The doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity has been challenged on the basis that the New Testament doesn’t say that Joseph had adult spicy adult time with Mary until AFTER the birth of Jesus. It mentions that Jesus had brothers (adolphoi).
The brothers (& sisters for that matter) are the basis for contention because they may have been:

• Sons of Mary & Joseph, born AFTER Jesus (making Jesus the 1st born son, which is a HUGE deal in that time period).
• The sons of Joseph from a previous marriage. Joseph was married before Mary came into the picture, but it’s theorized that Joseph’s 1st wife passed away. Thus making way for Mary to be these kids’ stepmom. Jesus would be Mary’s 1st born son.
• The sons of another woman named Mary in Mark 15:40, whose been identified as the wife of Clopas & the sister of the Virgin Mary, or a sister-in-law to Joseph.

The infancy narratives in Matthew & Luke show Mary as a virgin at the time she conceives Jesus. A conception that doesn’t involve sexual relations with a man. But this fact by itself doesn’t require the further claims that she remained a virgin in childbirth or afterward.

Only in later doctrinal reflection do Christians explicitly describe Mary as a virgin before, during, & after Jesus’ birth. The Protevangelium of James provides the earliest surviving text that clearly supports this view.

The Gospel of James states that Mary remained a lifelong virgin. Because Joseph was an old man who married her without physical desire (Sure guys, sure.). The brothers of Jesus mentioned in the canonical Gospels are explained, again, as Joseph’s sons from a previous marriage.

The Second Apocalypse of James portrays James (James the Just or James, brother of Jesus) as the canonical bio brother of Jesus. Not as a kid of Joseph’s. But of a certain “Theudas,” who was a relative of Jesus.

The 8th book of the Christian Sibylline Oracles (circa late 2nd or early 3rd centuries) describes Mary as “always virgin” & that she received God in her “intact bosom.” (Umm…not to be disrespectful but did we miss that day in human biology class?)

The Ebionites denied the virgin birth & Mary perpetual virginity.

The Protestant Reformation saw a rejection of the special moral status of lifelong celibacy. As a result, marriage & parenthood were praised. Mary & Joseph were seen as a normal married couple.

Mary’s perpetual virginity was upheld by Martin Luther (who named her “ever-virgin” in the Smalcald Articles, a Lutheran confession of faith written in 1537), Huldrych Zwingli, John Wycliffe, & later Protestant leaders, including John Wesley (co-founder of Methodism).

In Evangelical Lutheranism, the Formula of Concord upholds the perpetual virginity of Mary. This is in addition to the Smalcald Articles.

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Entering Heaven Alive

This is also called ascension, assumption, or translation. This is the belief that’s held in a variety of religions.

Sine death is the normal end to an individual’s life on Earth & the beginning of afterlife, entering Heaven without dying 1st is considered exceptional & usually a sign of a deity’s special recognition of a person’s piety.

In the Hebrew Bible, there are 2 people, Enoch & Elijah, who are to have entered Heaven alive. But both wordings are subject to debate. Genesis 5:24 says, “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” But it doesn’t say whether he was alive or dead nor where God took him.

The Book of Kings describes the prophet Elijah being taken towards the Heavens in a whirlwind. But the word can mean can mean either Heaven as the home of God or the sky.

According to the post-biblical Midrash, 8 people went to, or will go to, Heaven alive. This is also referred to as the Garden of Eden & Paradise. The 8 people were: 1) Enoch, Noah’s great-grandpa (Genesis 5:22-24). 2) Elijah (II Kings 2:11). 3) Serah, the daughter of Asher, the son of Jacob. 4) Eliezer, the servant of Abraham who chose Rebecca to be Isaac’s wife. 5) Hiram I, King of Tyre, who helped Solomon build the First Temple. 6) Ebed-Melech, the Ethiopian 7) Jaabez, the son of Judan ha-Nasi, who was the editor of Mishnah 8) Pharaoh’s daughter, sometimes called Bithiah

There were also 4 rabbis who visited Heaven. 4 entered the orchard: Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Acher (also known as Elisha Ben Avuya) & Rabbi Akiva. One looked & died. One looked & was harmed. One looked & cut down the trees. The last one went up in peace & went down in peace.

Jesus is considered by vast majority of Christians to have passed away before being resurrected & ascending to Heaven, bodily, to sit at the right hand of God with a promise to someday return to Earth.

There are some people who believe that Jesus didn’t die. These are known as the Swoon hypothesis & Docetism. The Virgin Mary is thought in Eastern Orthodoxy to have passed away before being translated into Heaven. Roman Catholicism believe this also.

Protestants generally believe that Mary died and passed away naturally like another mortal person. Then Mary entered Heaven in a pretty usual manner. But certain observers belonging to the Evangelical Catholic tradition of Lutheranism & the Anglo-Catholic tradition of Anglicanism believe in the Assumption of Mary. Others in these traditions reject the Assumption of Mary.

With the adoption of the Nicene Creed in 325, the ascension of Jesus into Heaven has been officially taught by all Christian churches. It’s celebrated on Ascension Thursday. In the Roman Catholic Church, the ascension of the Lord is a Holy Day of Obligation. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the ascension is 1 of 12 Great Feasts.

In the Reformed Churches, which teaches Calvinist theology, belief in the ascension of Christ is included in the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Heidelberg Catechism, & the Second Helvetic Confession.

Dispensationalists believe in a “rapture.” The rapture is rejected by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, & most Protestants. The rapture comes from a reference to “being caught up” that’s found in I Thessalonians 4:17. This passage says that when the “dead in Christ” & “we who are alive and remain” will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord/God. Christians differ on the interpretation of this Bible passage.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church teach that Mary died a natural death like any other human being. She was buried by the Apostle, except for Thomas (of Doubting Thomas fame), who was late. 3 days later, after Thomas arrived, Mary was found to be missing from her tomb, just like her son Jesus.

They also teach that the Apostles got a revelation during which Mary appeared to them & told them that she’d been resurrected by Jesus & taken body & soul into Heaven. They teach of Heavenly bliss that other saints will experience only after the Last Judgment.

In Mandaeism, the Left Ginza (1 of their holy books) mentions that Shitil (Seth), the son of Adam, was taken alive to the World of Light without a masiqta or death mass.

In the Hellenistic religion, Apollonius of Tyana was said to have been “assumed” into Elysium by Philostratus.

In Hinduism, Yudhishthira, of the Mahabharata, & Lakshmana, of the Ramayana, are believed to be the only humans that were able to cross the plane between mortals & Heaven/Svarga while still in their mortal bodies. Nahusha was admitted to Heaven in his human body, as were several other kings. Tukaram is believed to have taken to Vaikuntha on Garuda. This event is reported to be seen by villagers.

In Islam, Muhammad was transported from the Great Mosque of Mecca to Al-Aqsa during the Night Journey. After he lead prayers at the mosque, Muhammad ascended into Heaven alive. In Heaven, he greets, individually, previous prophets. Later, he speaks to Allah. Allah gives Muhammad instructions regarding the details of prayer. Muhammad’s ascent into Heaven was temporary. He came back to Earth later. Islamic texts deny the idea of the crucifixion or death accredited to Jesus by the New Testament.

The Quran says that people (Jews & Romans) sought to kill Jesus. But they couldn’t crucify or kill him. Although “this was made to appear to them.” Muslims believe that Jesus wasn’t crucified but instead he was raised by God into the Heavens. This “raising” is often understood to mean through bodily ascension.

Some Islamic scholars have identified the prophet Idris to be the same person as Enoch from the Bible. This is because the Quran states that God “raised him to a lofty station,” & that has taken to be term for ascending, on which it’s concluded that Idris was Enoch.

Members of various Ascended Master Teachings, a group of New Age religions based on Theosophy. They believe that Francis Bacon underwent a physical ascension without experiencing death. He then became the deity St. Germain.

They believe that there were a lot of others that have undergone Ascension. They were called the Ascended Masters & act as spirit guides to human souls on their spiritual path. The leaders of these religions claim to be able to receive channeled messages from the Ascended Masters, which they then relay to their followers.

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