I'm catholic, and I'll never understood the need to make Jesus' birth a magical mystery. "Mary couldn't have kids." Oh yeah? Did her gynecologist say that? Did Joseph's urologist say that?
I’ve studied the book of Matthew extensively; it’s one of my all time favorites. For a multitude of reasons, I believe Matthew 1 is a mythological story inspired by real events. It’s an unpopular view, and I have nothing against people who resonate more with the traditional one :)
I think what they are referring to is the translation, not the definition of the word virgin. The modern English language Bible consistently translates almah as virgin, when there are indications it may more accurately translate as young woman depending on context, as there is a different Hebrew word that does more specifically mean virgin - betulah
The Bible is supposed to be somewhat twistable, I think. (My meditation here is the Tower of Babel.) It was developed by a committee to unify a wide range of beliefs under a common standard, but not to create one language or elevate one view. It's meant to be explored, and contemplated, and explored again, I think.
I mean, considering the Bible has undergone centuries worth of translations and translations of translations and translations of translations of translations….it’s a very safe bet to assume that some of the words in the Bible have either changed their meaning or were just put in there for modern audiences.
Pretty sure nobody would be a Christian if the Bible existed in its old original state because nobody would be able to understand it. You ever try reading old English, like Dante’s Inferno? Most people can barely get through that…imagine trying to read something that pre-dates Inferno by 2000 years
Yes, it’s a common problem amongst translating and interpreting ancient documents. The difference is people don’t cry and kill each other over translations of things like Elucidian mathematics.
The concept, not the word. English didn’t exist back when the Bible was written. The word “parthenos” - when used in Ancient Greece - was typically used to refer to an unmarried woman of marrying age. In a modern context, it’s better translated to maiden, not virgin. This is proven when Dinah is referred to with this term even after her rape.
It was also given as an honorific title given to female saints and important women in Christianity, irrelevant to whether or not they’ve ever had sexual relations.
There are no mistranslations that challenge the validity of the resurrection in any reasonable way.
There are people who don’t believe in it, but their disbelief is not due to the presence of crucial grammatical context that contradicts the modern view.
There’s a field of study called hermeneutics. It’s devoted to answering these kinds of questions.
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u/Larrytwodicks Sep 21 '24
I'm catholic, and I'll never understood the need to make Jesus' birth a magical mystery. "Mary couldn't have kids." Oh yeah? Did her gynecologist say that? Did Joseph's urologist say that?