Expert: Marvin Howard - 12/26/2007

Question
did marry have any more children

Answer
Hi!

Terry, I am sorry I have taken so long to answer. This is a question that has divided religions and will cause many to be lost in the end. Either Jesus had natural (half) siblings or He did not. Both cannot be true. One statement is truth, and the other falsehood. One statement is accurate teaching and the other false doctrine spouted by an imposter to the throne of the kingdom. This deserves a Biblical answer, and I wanted to give you the best I could.

The catholics (at least Roman; I don't know about Greek) contend that Mary never had any children after Jesus. They maintain that Mary was a “perpetual virgin,” and the Mother of God. They call her the “Queen of Heaven” and worship herein prayer, song, and idols. Other groups agree with the church that Mary had at least six other children after Jesus; all by Joseph.

The catholics devised the doctrine of “perpetual virginity” to make their religion fit into what they thought was the ideal; that which matched all, other, known religions. In other words, they needed to install a plurality of gods; of both male and female sexes. This tradition traces all the way back to Genesis 11: much too early to be Christian. In Genesis 11, we read the account of Nimrod and the Tower of Babel. Nimrod was the great-grandson of Noah. There was not an over abundance of people just four generations after the flood. All were concentrated in the region of Mesopotamia; there had been no need to spread the population. The city of prime importance was Babel. After the scattering and confusion of languages, Babel became Babylon. Throughout the Bible, Babylon is demonstrated to be the seat of idolatry.

It was in Babylonian captivity where Jeremiah wrote concerning how Israel had followed the idolatry of her neighbors and had been taken captive. He lamented Israel's fall in both his books and became known as “The Weeping Prophet.”

Jeremiah 7:18, “The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.”

This statement is made in the midst of a diatribe describing how Israel had fallen into this idolatry. A promise was made that Ephraim (Israel) and Judah were both desolate, and they were looking for the bridegroom. In the New Testament, we see clearly that Christ is the bridegroom. Therefore, this is a prophecy of Christ and the church. Thus, the catholics twist the “Queen of Heaven” to be a part of the church; not the reason that the church must come due to her falsehood.

Jeremiah 44:17-25, “But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men? Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying, The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind? So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day. Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day. Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt: Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.”

Here we see the other four (for a total of five) verses where the phrase, “Queen of Heaven,” is used in all of Scripture. Again, it is used in the sense that she is worshipped, and that such worship makes God angry. Every form of her worship (incense, food and drink sacrifice, and prayer to her in the form of vows) were omitted from worship in the New Testament. Nevertheless, catholicism brought all these idolatrous practices back to religion and claimed that this idol worship was Christian. They think Mary is this goddess.

I know this was not mentioned in your question, but it was necessary background. You needed to see why catholicism is so adamant about the status of Mary: to the point of denying Scripture.

Matthew 13:55-56, “Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?”

In their desire to prove their point, they turn to the word for Greek word for “brethren,” “ἀδελφός,” and reach for one of the more obscure definitions to say they were not literal brothers. Understand, the Greek word for “sisters” is nothing more than the feminine form of the same word with the same definitions. Here are the Thayer definitions:

1) a brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother
2) having the same national ancestor, belonging to the same people, or countryman
3) any fellow or man
4) a fellow believer, united to another by the bond of affection
5) an associate in employment or office
6) brethren in Christ
6a) his brothers by blood
6b) all men
6c) apostles
6d) Christians, as those who are exalted to the same heavenly place
Part of Speech: noun masculine
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: from G1 (as a connective particle) and delphus (the womb)

Please notice the origin of the compound words (brethren and sisters). The use of these words indicates that all under discussion are connected by the womb. As I said, the catholics will jump right over the primary definition in favor of others. The problem is, to do this, context must so dictate, and it does not. The context is that Jesus is wise, though by his perceived lineage He should be unlearned. The people could see the family of Jesus. It was common knowledge among all present. None of them had the education to allow Jesus to speak with wisdom and do mighty works. Jesus was supposed to be unlearned because Joseph, James, Josas, Simon, and Judas were all unlearned. His sisters (an unknown quantity except that there were more than one), likewise, had no learning. They Jews could not understand how Jesus had such wisdom as it was lacking in the “other” sons and daughters of Joseph and Mary.

According to the Bible, and therefore according to God, Mary had at least six children after Jesus; and those by natural processes by Joseph. To say she did not, or if she did that Joseph was not the father (all miraculous conceptions), is to call God a liar. I pity the souls that must stand before the Father in judgment and have to answer to that charge.

Terry, the catholics have fully abandoned Christ (though they deny it with words it cannot be denied by actions) and embraced idolatry. This is true in their prayers, music, communion, building orientation, and every facet of their worship. Joseph was the father of at least six children and Mary was the mother of at least seven. I applaud you in your desire to seek the truth of God's Word above the traditions of a heathenistic people. I pray that you will continue your search and come to rest on the truth that is the revealed Word of God. If there is anything else with which I can help you in this quest, please let me know.

In His Service,
Marvin Howard
http://www.geocities.com/preacherman_1962