Hello George,
> -----Original Message-----
> From: george murphy [mailto:gmurphy@raex.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2002 4:30 AM
> To: Jonathan Clarke
> Cc: asa@calvin.edu
> Subject: Re: Virgin Birth
> First, to be precise, one ought to speak of what is
> proclaimed in
> Mt.1 & Lk.1 as virginal _conception_. One can then speak of
> virgin _birth_
> in the sense that Mary had not had intercourse when she gave
> birth to Jesus,
> but the term has often been taken to include the idea that
> Mary "retained
> her virginity" in giving birth in the sense that the hymen
> was not broken
> &c. In spite of the fact that the latter is a very
> traditional idea, there
> is no biblical justification for it.
I would not exactly say that there is no biblical justification for it.
Consider why, if Mary had other children, did Jesus entrust the care fo Mary
to John, instead of one of his brothers, which would have been expected in
that culture? While you may find some way to explain that away, it is an
issue of interpretation or differing attempts at justification, not the lack
of biblical justification.
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