Mary (mother of Jesus)

[[File:282 Monestir de Montserrat, marededéus a la botiga de records.JPG|thumb|right|165px|Black Mary statuettes for sale in Montserrat]]
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According to [[Christian]] belief, '''Mary''', wife of [[Joseph (husband of Mary)|Joseph]], was the mother of [[Jesus]]. According to some she has [[Marian apparition|a habit]] of appearing to random people in random places. 

==Life==
==="Like a virgin, touched for the very first time..."===
{{main|Virgin birth}}
Many Christians believe that Mary was a [[virgin]] [[virgin birth|when she bore Jesus]], thus fulfilling an [[Old Testament]] prophesy. In fact, the so-called prophesy might be a mistranslation. The original text said a young woman (''almah'' usually means "young woman" but can also mean "virgin") would give birth; the passage was translated using the Greek word ''parthenos'' (which can mean "young woman" but usually means "virgin").<ref>[http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/is/7.html#14 Skeptics Annotated Bible, Isiah]</ref><ref> [http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/richard_carrier/virginprophecy.html The Problem of the Virgin Birth Prophecy (2003)]</ref>

The concept of divine conception, rather than by natural means, held significant traction in the world Mary lived in. During that time there were many cults worshiping a god and his mother<ref>[http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/kersey_graves/16/chap5.html Kersey Graves 16 Chap 5] via Secular Web (infidels.org).</ref> and there were many other supposed cases of [[Virgin birth]]. This cultural backdrop made the notion of a divine pregnancy more credible and widespread among the people of that era.

====Perpetual virginity====
[[Image:Abstinence.jpg|thumb|250px]]
The doctrine of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary, a belief held by some [[Roman Catholic]], [[Eastern Orthodox]] and Oriental Orthodox Christians, affirms that Mary was a [[virgin]] for her whole life, including before, during, and after the birth of Jesus, as well as his siblings.
One or more of the following inferences can be drawn from the perpetual virginity of Mary:
*[[Joseph (husband of Mary)|Joseph]] was the first recorded case of [[asexuality]] (whether it was his personal choice, he is born with it, or he has been forced by God to be asexual).
*After every time that Joseph and Mary had [[sexual intercourse]], Mary's virginity was miraculously restored<ref group=note>Which may, or may not, have been painful every time, depend on the techniques used.</ref> — as it presumably was after the birth of Jesus.<ref group=note>Since the church dogma holds that [[Jesus]] was her only son, this may imply some sort of infertility or permanent contraception that [[God]] implemented for Joseph or Mary.</ref> (Something which is strangely reminiscent of what the [[Houri]] promised devout [[Muslim]]s). And this is also impossible, because virgins by definition have never have had sex before, and thus the only way for God to have restored Mary's virginity is to mess with the past, which would create a time paradox.
*Joseph was the first recorded case of impotence (other cases simply aren't recorded).
*[[God]]'s [[abstinence program]] probably went one step too far.



===Speculation===
Possible alternative explanations for the generation of Jesus include the hypothesis that Joseph did it or that Mary was [[rape]]d by a Roman soldier named [[Pantera]]. There were any number of men in Judea at the time who were biologically capable of fathering a child.<ref group=note>In case you were in any doubt about this.</ref>

===God as adulterer===
Even if [[God]] did the deed and Mary didn’t go with any man, she was still an [[adultery|adulteress]]; at least that’s one [[Judaism|Jewish]] interpretation of Deutronomy 22:23-24.<ref>[http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72:what-are-the-implications-of-the-new-testament-claim-that-jesus-was-qborn-under-lawq&catid=58:birth-of-jesus&Itemid=488 jews for Judaism, What are the implications of the New Testament claim that Jesus was "born under law"?]</ref><ref>[http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/dt/22.html#23 Skeptics Annotated Bible, Deuteronomy]</ref>

==="I was born an original sinner, I was born from original sin..."===
{{main|Immaculate conception}}
Over time, people started to ask why Mary, of all women throughout the world and history, got to be the one special enough to give birth to Jesus. The answer that theologians {{strikethrough|made up}} realized was that Mary was special because she was born without [[original sin]]. <ref>[https://www.newadvent.org/summa/4027.htm Question 27. The sanctification of the Blessed Virgin] ''New Advent''.</ref> When asked how Mary’s parents managed to conceive a child without original sin, theologians said it was due to God’s intervention. This raises a huge problem: why doesn’t God intervene so the rest of us aren’t born with original sin?

===Abducted by a UFO?===
Roman Catholics believe that Mary was assumed bodily into [[heaven]], meaning that her body is there as well as her [[soul]]. The rest of the blessed will have to wait till [[Judgement Day]] to be reunited with their bodies or given new bodies.

==In Islam==
{{main|Islam}}
It is likely surprising to many Christians that Mary holds an important place within Islam. The Muslim and Christian views of Mary (usually called Maryam in Islam) and Jesus differ in one important aspect in that Muslims view Jesus as a mortal [[prophet]] and not created directly by God, as Christians believe. An entire chapter of the [[Qur'an]] is devoted to Mary {{Qur'an|19}}, Mary's House in [[Turkey]] is a pilgrimage site for both Christians and Muslims, devotional painting of Mary can be found in the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul, and at least three mosques in the United States are named after Mary.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/24/muslim-catholic-mary-jesus-islam-christianity I grew up Muslim in a Catholic community – and Mary represented common ground] by Zeyneb Sayılgan (24 Dec 2024 07.00 EST) ''The Guardian''.</ref>

==Marian apparitions==
A [[Marian apparition]] is an event in which visions or images on objects of Mary allegedly appear in modern times. Marian apparitions are a popular way of encouraging pilgrims and tourists to visit a place. 

==Controversies==
===New Zealand billboards===
[[File:Hard act.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow.]]
Around Christmas 2009 a dispute erupted in New Zealand over a billboard which hinted that Joseph may have gotten lucky at some point after the birth of Jesus.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8417963.stm Unholy row over New Zealand Mary and Joseph billboard] (11:32 GMT, Thursday, 17 December 2009) ''[[BBC]]''.</ref> Two years later another billboard from the same church depicted Mary holding a positive pregnancy test, and was promptly vandalised by [[Catholics]].<ref>[http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/new-zealand-virgin-mary-pregnancy-test-poster-267628 New Zealand: Virgin Mary Pregnancy Test Poster Shocks] by Ewan Palmer (December 15, 2011 09:50 GMT) ''International Business Times''.</ref>
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===As a defense for pedophilia===
{{main|Pedophilia}}
In 2017, [[Alabama]] State auditor Jim Ziegler claimed that "Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter", and therefore Alabama Senate contender [[Roy Moore]] would have been justified in allegedly molesting a 14-year old girl.<ref>[http://time.com/5020043/roy-moore-jim-ziegler-bible-scholars/ Bible Scholars Disagree With the 'Jesus, Mary and Joseph' Defense of Roy Moore] by Calvin Woodward (November 10, 2017) ''Time''.</ref><ref name=wegmann>[http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/alabama-state-auditor-defends-roy-moore-against-sexual-allegations-invokes-mary-and-joseph/article/2640217 Alabama state auditor defends Roy Moore against sexual allegations, invokes Mary and Joseph] by Philip Wegmann (Nov 9, 2017, 3:30 PM) ''Washington Examiner''.</ref> Ziegler also invoked the Bible as a defense with Zachariah and Elizabeth:
{{cquote|Take the Bible. Zachariah and Elizabeth for instance. Zachariah was extremely old to marry Elizabeth and they became the parents of John the Baptist. Also take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus.

There's just nothing immoral or illegal here. Maybe just a little bit unusual.}}

There are three problems with this bizarre line of reasoning, just from a Christian perspective:
#Zachariah and Elizabeth were both elderly adults even though there was an age difference.
#The claim that Mary was a teenager is based on the [[Apocrypha]], which are regarded as unreliable (and non-[[canon]]ical) by all mainstream Christians.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08504a.htm St. Joseph] ''Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent)''</ref>
#Mary was a virgin, meaning Joseph did not have sex with her, at least until after Jesus' birth.

==Notes==
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==References==
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[[Category:Biblical figures]]
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Categories: Biblical figures, Christmas, Islam, Jesus, New Testament, Purity culture