Was Mary a perpetual virgin? Well, that depends on the facts. If, after having given birth to Jesus, Mary had no sexual relations with her husband, Joseph, whatsoever, then, yes, she was a perpetual virgin. You see, if you are a virgin before having a miraculous conception, delivering the baby does not suddenly remove your virginity. After giving birth to Jesus, Mary was still a virgin. But, if she had intercourse with Joseph at any time, she is not a virgin.
The idea of her being a perpetual virgin is possible, but highly unlikely. According to Scripture, Mary clearly had other children, which strongly implies that she and Joseph had normal marital relations after Jesus. In Mark, a crowd asks of Jesus, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother (adelphos, ἀδελφὸς) of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” (6:3). In Luke, when Jesus is told by a crowd gathered to hear him speak, “Your mother and Your brothers (adelphos, ἀδελφὸς) are standing outside, wishing to see You,” Jesus famously answers them: “My mother and My brothers (adelphos, ἀδελφὸς) are those who hear the word of God and do it” (8:19-21). John writes that after Jesus had performed His first miracle in Cana, “He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers (adelphos, ἀδελφὸς) and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days” (2:12).
The Catholic churches attempt to argue that adelphos
(ἀδελφὸς) does not merely mean "brothers," but that it can also mean
"step-brothers" or "cousins." This is false. Regarding Peter and Andrew, they were adelphos (ἀδελφὸς)—brothers. Regarding John and James, they were adelphos (ἀδελφὸς)—brothers. Mary and Martha were adelphe (ἀδελφή)—sisters. The word adelphos
(ἀδελφὸς) means "brothers," whether literally or figuratively. The
figurative sense is used repeatedly throughout the New Testament in
regard to our "brothers" (adelphos, ἀδελφὸς) in the church; our "brothers" (adelphos, ἀδελφὸς) in Christ. The word for "cousin" (relative, kin) is suggenes (συγγενής), which is what Elizabeth was to Mary.
Even if you argue that the brothers and sisters of Jesus were merely half-brothers and half-sisters, not born of Mary, Scripture says that "[Joseph] did not have sexual relations with [Mary] until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus" (Matt. 1:25).
If you attempt to argue for the word "to" to be translated instead
of "until," the word is still pointing toward a specific point—the "birth of a Son." Heōs
(ἕως) is a conjunction, preposition, and adverb of continuance. The
word signifies something that "continues up to a certain time." She
remained a virgin "until the time when" she gave birth. After the birth
of Christ, she and Joseph engaged in
normal marital relations, which means she was no longer a virgin. To argue that they did not is to create a huge
problem, which Paul addressed in 1 Corinthians 7:3-5. If Joseph never
touched Mary, he would have burned with desire and taken that desire
elsewhere, which would have made him an adulterer. The doctrine of the
perpetual virginity of Mary has many holes and creates many problems
within the rest of Scripture.
