UNOFFICIAL DU "Virgin" Mary Poll

[DistressedAmerican]

Do you believe that Mary had herself a "virgin birth" as claimed or do you think she was cheating on Joseph and needed an explanation for that baby FAST?

I know where I stand. I am wondering about the rest of you.

On edit: Adding a third option I had not considered.

[soothsayer]

1. Virgin birth, but it might be a different definition of virgin than we're

thinking of

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. Yeah.

purity, especially spiritual purity, has nothing to do with the physical.

[uppityperson]

16. Meaning during time when it was translated meant on her own

Not belonging to father or any other man=virgin.
It had nothing to do with sexual history, purity, etc. Simply it meant she was her own woman. On that account, I'd say yes, she was. Was the spirit of god in her? Depending on definition, again, I'd say yes since god is in us all and all of us are god ("god" meaning that spirit bit that is in us all and we are all part of).

Did she not have sex but spontaneously got pregnant? While it is possible, it is extremely unlikely. It's possible I will spontaneously combust, but I don't have fire insurance or an extinguisher on hand at all times.

[BrotherBuzz]

2. Jesus had an older brother so there is something odd going on

:shrug:

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

5. Are you speaking of James?

I knew he was Jesus' brother, but I thought he was younger. Or is it someone else?

[BrotherBuzz]

21. Ahh, now I read it as ' the oldest of Jesus' half brothers'

Indeed, James was younger. I should stay away from Theological discussions...:)

[ProdigalJunkMail]

8. older brother???

be wary of the term brother...it may not be a biological relation...

subjectProdigal

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

3. Doesn't matter

the earliest manuscripts we have that tell the Jesus story were written 60 years or so after Jesus' death. And the tradition of scribes was that it was ok to change and add/delete text as they wished.

What is important is the message of Jesus. I do believe that the reason the Qu'ran was sent was because Christians forgot the message in their adoration of the messenger.

[DistressedAmerican]

On The Contrary.

It goes to the very heart of the claim that Jesus was the son of God. If that does not matter to Christians, I don't know what would.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

14. But that isn't the case with all Christians

maybe the ones who worship Jesus as God, but not every denomination does that. I have relatives and friends who go to Christian churches who say that it doesn't make any difference. (The denominations are: Methodist-yes, a very liberal church within the denomination-Unity-and Unitarian).

[pauldp]

4. Joseph shacked up with her

because she would have been killed for having an illegitimate child.

[DistressedAmerican]

10. Good Point. I'll Add That As An Option.

[ananda]

6. Never existed isn't a choice.

Why not?

[nini]

9. This is so offensive to Catholics

Not funny. Whether you think it's crazy or not, the fact you insult anyone else's beliefs the way you did here is disgusting.


:thumbsdown:

[DistressedAmerican]

15. Serious Question. Not Meant To Be Funny.

You are welcome to vote your belief. No one is stopping you.

Should the rest of us not be allowed an opinion on Jesus' divinity?

Dogma apparently makes you rigid and unaccepting of the differing beliefs of others. Of Course that is a core Catholic value as I understand it.

[trotsky]

17. Some Christians might argue...

that it insults THEIR beliefs to think that Jesus' birth was a virgin birth. Yes, there are groups of Christians who think Jesus was not necessarily divine but just a visionary moral leader.

[TalkingDog]

11. my choice: ARCHETYPAL MYTHOLOGY

Virgin Births are found around the world. The Aztecs even had one if I remember my comparative mythology classes correctly.

So I didn't vote.

[waiting for hope]

12. There is a lot of speculation

on the translation of the word virgin from greek to english and what the meaning of that word was 2000 years ago.....virgin didn't exactly mean "untouched and pure" - more like just simple, young women and unmarried. It's possible that it could have been Joseph's - they went on to have many other children - or there is the theory she was raped by a roman soldier..

Once again, the church turning a human event into something divine and mysterious..

[seshers]

13. I LOVE THIS THREAD

But you forgot an option...None of them ever existed, they're all fictional.

[DistressedAmerican]

18. I'll Add

[seshers]

19. Please add "Never Existed"...

and I'll vote.

[mopinko]

20. you need an other

it was something that was said in that time about other "big men". plus, i do not know how much they even really even knew about all that plumbing at the time. maybe a lot, i do not know.
i don't think it matters.

[Hyernel]

22. Raped by a Roman soldier?

Of course...the entire story is made up, a couple hundred years after the "fact"

[itcfish]

23. This is Very Offensive To Catholics

Do you think this is really necessary? With all the problems in the world, ridiculing someone's faith should be the last thing we do.

[Avalux]

24. Locking.

Intentional flamebait.