{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Did Mary Really Remain a Virgin? The Evidence Nobody Wants to Discuss","description":"Did Mary remain a perpetual virgin after Jesus was born? Or does the cumulative evidence of the New Testament indicate that Mary and Joseph later had a normal marriage and additional children? In this episode of the Cold-Case Christianity Podcast, J. Warner Wallace examines this important\u2014but nonessential\u2014Christian debate using the same kind of cumulative reasoning jurors use in criminal trials. No single passage has to settle the issue by itself. But what happens when we gather the entire body of evidence? We investigate:  Jesus\u2019 named brothers: James, Joses, Simon, and Judas The Gospel references to Jesus\u2019 sisters Matthew 1:25 and Joseph\u2019s abstinence \u201cuntil\u201d Jesus\u2019 birth Luke\u2019s description of Jesus as Mary\u2019s \u201cfirstborn\u201d Paul\u2019s description of James as \u201cthe Lord\u2019s brother\u201d Paul\u2019s use of the Greek word for \u201ccousin\u201d elsewhere Jesus entrusting Mary to John at the cross The claim that Joseph was an elderly widower with children from a former marriage The noncanonical Protoevangelium of James and its influence on later tradition The competing explanations offered by Origen, Jerome, Helvidius, and later church tradition  This episode does not question the virgin conception or virgin birth of Jesus. Those are clear biblical teachings. Instead, it asks whether the further claim of Mary\u2019s lifelong virginity is the best explanation of the biblical and historical evidence.  \ud83d\udcd8 Get Cold-Case Christianity: A Homicide Detective Investigates the Claims of the Gospels: https:\/\/amzn.to\/42XtJhu  \ud83c\udf10 Visit Cold-Case Christianity for articles, videos, free resources, and more: https:\/\/coldcasechristianity.com  \ud83c\udfa7 Please subscribe to the Cold-Case Christianity Podcast and leave a rating and review:  Apple Podcasts:  https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/the-cold-case-christianity-podcast\/id259695657 Spotify: https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/7aSbO4B9TAnP4unGDhpKhL RSS Feed:  https:\/\/rss.libsyn.com\/shows\/18943\/destinations\/14454.xml YouTube: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@ColdCaseChristianity  Your subscriptions and reviews help more listeners discover the evidence for the Christian worldview. The show\u2019s Apple, Spotify, and RSS destinations are listed on the podcast\u2019s official distribution pages. ","author_name":"The Cold-Case Christianity Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/www.ColdCaseChristianity.com\/","html":"<iframe title=\"Libsyn Player\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/42448850\/height\/90\/theme\/custom\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/forward\/render-playlist\/no\/custom-color\/88AA3C\/\" height=\"90\" width=\"600\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe>","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/assets.libsyn.com\/secure\/content\/205126100"}