Luther Believed in Mary's Perpetual Virginity?

A favorite tactic of Rome's apologists is to find quotes from Martin Luther in which he says things sounding blatantly Roman Catholic and confusingly un-Protestant at the same time. Luther's argumentation for Mary's perpetual virginity is a perfect example.  Below, a convert to Rome presents a typical version of Luther and perpetual virginity:

Not only do modern Protestants disagree with the early church...  they also disagree with their own forefathers, who affirmed Mary’s perpetual virginity. Take the following examples:

“When Matthew says that Joseph did not know Mary carnally until she had brought forth her son, it does not follow that he knew her subsequently; on the contrary, it means that he never did know her… This babble… is without justification… he has neither noticed nor paid attention to either Scripture or to the common idiom” Martin Luther

“Christ, our Saviour, was the real and natural fruit of Mary’s virginal womb… This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that… Christ… was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him… I am inclined to agree with those who declare that ‘brothers’ really mean ‘cousins’ here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers.” Martin Luther

Yes, it's true Luther adhered to Mary's perpetual virginity,  but, it's important to realize this convert has assumed the overarching context of a Roman Catholic historical interpretive paradigm. Many of Rome's defenders use a basic historical narrative: the early church testifies to to their beliefs only, those who don't are exceptions or heretics, if particulars of the early church don't quite fit their narrative, "development of doctrine" is brought in to smooth the rough edges over. If Luther testifies to a distinctively Roman Catholic belief, his testimony is put forth to demonstrate modern Protestants have deviated from their founder and the universal testimony of the ancient church. While a Roman Catholic historical paradigm smooths church history over for their own benefit, that same method is never offered to smooth over any of the differences with the early Reformers and modern Protestantism. Typically, they say modern Protestants have drifted far away from the ideals of their founders, implying not only separation with the "true" Church, but their very founders as well. Only by bowing the knee to Rome will one escape this historical quandary.

Challenge this assumption: Rome's pop-level historical paradigm is not the sine qua non for viewing the past, even within Roman Catholicism! It is simply one method in the cacophonous endeavor of interpreting the maze of history. Protestants also have an historical worldview that takes into account the early church and the incongruous beliefs of the Reformers.  Like Roman Catholicism, they also have multiple interpreters ranging from conservative to liberal. While a full exploration of either historical worldviews is beyond the scope of this entry, we'll focus here on the full context of Luther's quotes and then offer a counter-response that places Luther within a historical stream that doesn't assume Rome's view of history. Simply because Luther accepted perpetual virginity does not necessarily mean contemporary Protestants have to accept a distinctively Roman Catholic Marian dogma.

Documentation, Quote #1 ("When Matthew says that Joseph did not know Mary...")
No reference is provided.  This is a typical Roman Catholic cut-and-paste quote sifted from another web-page. The first quote is from Luther's treatise, That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew (1523). What's presented as one quote is actually spread out over two pages (pp.212-213), so it appears one of Rome's defenders did some not-so-fancy editing.

Documentation, Quote #2 ("Christ, our Savior, was the real and natural fruit")
Again, no reference is given. The second quote is from Luther's Sermons on the Gospel of John (LW 22). What's presented as one quote is actually spread out, this time, over 190 pages! It appears one of Rome's defenders did some horrific editing (someone may have used Patrick Madrid as a source, or this source, changed the spelling of "savior" and morphed the quotes together). The first part of the quote is found on page 23 ("Christ, our Savior, was the real and natural fruit of Mary’s virginal womb… This was without the cooperation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that").  The rest of the quote is found on pages 214-215.

Context, Quote #1
In 1523, rumor had it that Luther denied Mary's perpetual virginity: "Jesus was conceived of the seed of Joseph, and that Mary was not a virgin, but had many sons after Christ" (LW 45:197; cf. Smith, 156). Luther thought it was a joke: "Ferdinand has openly made [a charge] against me at Nuremberg, viz., that I teach the new doctrine that Christ is of the seed of Abraham. At first I took this crazy charge as a jest, but they are so insistent on it that I have been compelled to believe it is true" (Smith, 165; cf LW 45:197). The rumor provoked Luther to write That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew (LW 45:195-229). He took this very seriously. LW 45 says, " In view of the current adoration of the Virgin Mary, these were serious charges." One interesting aspect is that Luther blamed Roman Catholics for the rumor:

How these lies tickle my good friends, the papists! Indeed, because they condemn the gospel it serves them right that they should have to satisfy and feed their heart’s delight and joy with lies. I would venture to wager my neck that none of those very liars who allege such great things in honor of the mother of God believes in his heart a single one of these articles. Yet with their lies they pretend that they are greatly concerned about the Christian faith (LW 45:199).

Luther goes on to put forth a very typical Roman Catholic exposition of Mary's perpetual virginity, particularly that the biblical authors do not record what happened after the birth of Christ.

Thus, the words of the evangelist do not refer to anything that occurred after the birth, but only to what took place before it. For the prophet and the evangelist, and St. Paul as well, do not treat of this virgin beyond the point where they have from her that fruit for whose sake she is a virgin and everything else. After the child is born they dismiss the mother and speak not about her, what became of her, but only about her offspring. Therefore, one cannot from these words [Matt. 1:18, 25] conclude that Mary, after the birth of Christ, became a wife in the usual sense; it is therefore neither to be asserted nor believed. All the words are merely indicative of the marvelous fact that she was with child and gave birth before she had lain with a man  (LW 45:212).

Luther continues, and here is where the first quote is found:

The form of expression used by Matthew is the common idiom, as if I were to say, “Pharaoh believed not Moses, until he was drowned in the Red Sea.” Here it does not follow that Pharaoh believed later, after he had drowned; on the contrary, it means that he never did believe. Similarly when Matthew [1:25] says that Joseph did not know Mary carnally until she had brought forth her son, it does not follow that he knew her subsequently; on the contrary, it means that he never did know her. Again, the Red Sea overwhelmed Pharaoh before he got across. Here too it does not follow that Pharaoh got across later, after the Red Sea had overwhelmed him, but rather that he did not get across at all. In like manner, when Matthew [1:18] says, “She was found to be with child before they came together,” it does not follow that Mary subsequently lay with Joseph, but rather that she did not lie with him.

Elsewhere in Scripture the same manner of speech is employed. Psalm 110[:1] reads, “God says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.’ ” Here it does not follow that Christ does not continue to sit there after his enemies are placed beneath his feet. Again, in Genesis 28[:15], “I will not leave you until I have done all that of which I have spoken to you.” Here God did not leave him after the fulfillment had taken place. Again, in Isaiah 42[:4], “He shall not be sad, nor troublesome, till he has established justice in the earth.” There are many more similar expressions, so that this babble of Helvidius is without justification; in addition, he has neither noticed nor paid any attention to either Scripture or the common idiom (LW 45:212-213).

Context, Quote #2a

However, we do not let ourselves be troubled by the blasphemies which the devil, through the mouths of his lying servants, speaks against Christ the Lord—now against His divinity, now against His humanity—and by the attacks which he then makes against Christ’s office and work. But we cling to the Scriptures of the prophets and apostles, who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). Their testimony about Christ is clear. He is our Brother; we are members of His body, flesh and bone of His flesh and bone. According to His humanity, He, Christ, our Savior, was the real and natural fruit of Mary’s virginal womb (of which Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to her in Luke 1:42: “Blessed is the fruit of your womb!”). This was without the co-operation of a man, and she remained a virgin after that. Everything else that a mother [V 22, p 24]  imparts to a child was imparted by Mary, the mother of God’s eternal Son. Even the milk He sucked had no other source than the breasts of this holy and pure mother (LW 22:23-24).

Context, Quote #2b

Now the question may occupy us how Christ could have brothers, since He was the only Son of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him. Some say that Joseph had been married before his marriage to Mary, and that the children of this first wife were later called Christ’s brothers. Others say that Joseph had another wife simultaneously with Mary, for it was permissible for the Jews to have two wives. In the Book of Ruth we hear that a poor daughter was often left on the shelf (Ruth 3:10 ff.). This displeased God; therefore He commanded that such daughters be provided for. Thus it became incumbent upon the nearest relative or friend to marry such a poor orphan girl. Mary, too, was a poor little orphan, whom Joseph was obligated to marry. She was so poor that no one else wanted her. Any children born to Joseph by other wives would have been half brothers of Christ. This is the explanation offered by some. But I am inclined to agree with those who declare that [V 22, p 215]  “brothers” really means “cousins” here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers. Be that as it may, it matters little. It neither adds to nor detracts from faith. It is immaterial whether these men were Christ’s cousins or His brothers begotten by Joseph [LW 22:214-215].

Conclusion
These are obviously only a few Luther quotes pertaining to perpetual virginity. There are more scattered throughout his written corpus. Of interest, in Vom Schem Hamphoras, he mentions briefly that Mary didn't have other children so people would not be confused as to which one was the real Christ (Falk, 217). He held Mary retained her virginity during the birth of Christ (in partu) (LW 58:433-434). How was this possible? Luther held that Christ has a "spiritual mode"  "to which he neither occupies nor yields space but passes through everything created as he wills," including his mother (LW 37:222). As I've surveyed his vast writings, it isn't often that he launches into a detailed exposition of what happened to Mary's virginity after the birth of Christ. His comments in That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew may in fact be one his most detailed explanations of it, perhaps his most detailed.

Let's go a bit deeper into Reformation history than many of Rome's defenders do when they use these quotes. There's are curious nuances typically left out of their cut-and-pasted versions sifted from That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew. Previous to the words of Luther they cite, he makes some damning remarks of the "papist" understanding of Mary and perpetual virginity:

Now just take a look at the perverse lauders of the mother of God. If you ask them why they hold so strongly to the virginity of Mary, they truly could not say. These stupid idolators do nothing more than to glorify only the mother of God; they extol her for her virginity and practically make a false deity of her. But Scripture does not praise this virginity at all for the sake of the mother; neither was she saved on account of her virginity. Indeed, cursed be this and every other virginity if it exists for its own sake, and accomplishes nothing better than its own profit and praise (LW 45:205).  

For this reason, too, Scripture does not quibble or speak about the virginity of Mary after the birth of Christ, a matter about which the hypocrites are greatly concerned, as if it were something of the utmost importance on which our whole salvation depended. Actually, we should be satisfied simply to hold that she remained a virgin after the birth of Christ because Scripture does not state or indicate that she later lost her virginity. We certainly need not be so terribly afraid that someone will demonstrate, out of his own head apart from Scripture, that she did not remain a virgin. But the Scripture stops with this, that she was a virgin before and at the birth of Christ; for up to this point God had need of her virginity in order to give us the promised blessed seed without sin (LW 45:205-206). 

Three observations. First, Luther uses perpetual virginity to criticize his papal adversaries. He was keenly aware that when he spoke of Mary's perpetual virginity, it had different emphasis than Rome's version.  He calls them "perverse lauders of the mother of God" and "stupid idolators" that use Mary's perpetual virginity to "practically make a false deity of her." This theme runs throughout Luther's Mariology, that the "papists" had turned Mary into an idol and a deity. Don't let Rome's defenders respond by parsing out contemporary Mariology, as if everything has always been perfect.  Luther faced radical Mariolatry, and he vehemently spoke against it, often.

Scripture, according to Luther, isn't concerned with perpetual virginity, but the papal "hypocrites are greatly concerned." Perpetual virginity is not "something of the utmost importance on which our whole salvation depended[s]."  Luther points out that Mary fades from the biblical account after the birth, because the emphasis of the Scriptures are on her child. However dedicated Rome's defenders may think Luther was to perpetual virginity in the context of That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew, he affirms it, but without much fanfare and also negatively juxtaposes it against popular sixteenth century Roman Catholic piety. Luther pulls the plug on honoring Mary because of perpetual virginity, indicting those concerned about it as idolaters. 

Second, in That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew, Luther says "Scripture stops with this, that she was a virgin before and at the birth of Christ." He later goes on to say similarly, "the words of the evangelist do not refer to anything that occurred after the birth, but only to what took place before it." His explanation of biblical passages function as a means to demonstrate the Bible doesn't say what happened to Mary after the birth of Christ. True, he does refer to the position of Helvidius as "babble," but it is interesting to note his caution in his explanation, even while affirming perpetual virginity. 

Third, Luther will not have perpetual virginity extolled.  He condemns those who venerate this attribute, and holds it exists only to bring forth the Messiah. He says, "cursed be this and every other virginity if it exists for its own sake, and accomplishes nothing better than its own profit and praise." Why would he say this?  What other "virginity" was prevalent in the sixteenth century?  The most popular was the virginity achieved by celibacy from monastic vows. To become a monk, one needed to take a vow of celibacy.  Some of Rome's defenders argue that Mary herself made a lifelong vow of virginity at the Annunciation:

At the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary, she asked, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" (Luke 1:34). From the earliest interpretations of the Bible we see that this was taken to mean that she had made a vow of lifelong virginity, even in marriage. If she had not taken a vow the question from the angel Gabriel would not have made sense.

In this view, Mary achieved the ascetic ideal.  From a Protestant perspective, Jaroslav Pelinkan posits, "The growth of the ascetic ideal in the church helped to give support to [the perpetual virginity] of Mary as the model of the ever virgin." Another historian notes that "with the sudden spread of the ascetic ideal and of the attempts to attain it either in solitude or in the monastic community, there is associated a novel and fervid praise of the perpetual virginity of Mary" (Giovanni Miegge, The Virgin Mary: The Roman Catholic Marian Doctrine (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1955), 40).

Contrarily, Luther's Mary did not want people to "exalt her virginity" (LW 21:321). In his view, "They, therefore do her an injustice who hold that she gloried, not indeed in her virginity, but in her humility. She gloried neither in the one or the other, but only in the gracious regard of God" (LW 21:314). Luther's Mary, described in his exposition of the Magnificat, is that of a lowly and humble maiden that did housework her entire life. She has done nothing. There was no free-will choice to become the mother of Jesus or give her virginity to God. She's serves as the example of what God can do. Roman Catholic historian Hilda Graef  aptly summarizes, "Luther's whole view of Mary as a rather pathetic young girl without intrinsic sanctity or merit is opposed to Catholic teaching." Graef is right: compare Luther's Mary with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Mary is celebrated as the "ever-virgin." It says that Mary gave her virginity as the "undivided gift of herself to God's will" and it is "the sign of her faith." "It is her faith that enables her to become the mother of the Savior." She is "more blessed because she embraces faith in Christ than because she conceives the flesh of Christ."

Despite these three considerations, none of them changes the fact that Luther believed in Mary's perpetual virginity. They do demonstrate though Luther's view of perpetual virginity is not exactly Rome's view. When Luther speaks on the subject, it has some different underpinnings. Here is where it's important to keep your eye on historical interpretive paradigms. Let Luther be Luther. There's no need to be embarrassed or confused when Rome's defenders bring up his comments on perpetual virginity.  I suspect the quotes would be most surprising to someone ignorant of church history, particularly those unaware of the ebb and flow of trends and traditions, both within Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.  It's true that the early Reformers, particularly Luther, made comments about Mary that current Protestants would not make. But similarly, there are comments made by Protestants today that would probably surprise Luther. This isn't, to use the cliché,  rocket science. The Marian climate of Luther's proto-Protestant world is not the Marian climate of the current theological landscape. When Luther broke with Rome, he was, in some regard, a transitional figure. To steal a concept from Alister McGrath: the Reformers demonstrated both continuity and discontinuity with the period which immediately preceded it. It shouldn't be at all surprising then to discover elements of Luther's Mariology that echoed the medieval theological worldview. Contrarily, it should also not be surprising to discover there were elements of Luther's understanding of Mary that broke with the medieval theological worldview. This excursus into an aspect of his Mariology demonstrates this with vigor: he retained perpetual virginity, but poured different nuances into it as he interacted with the theological culture around him.  

Related to this is that one needs to be aware of Rome's double standard on development of doctrine. Rome's view is that there is an "acorn" of doctrines found in the Biblical record that later turns into the full-blown oak tree. For instance, For Rome,  the Bible is said to make allusions to undeveloped Marian doctrines which then grew and expanded, infused by "Tradition" into full dogmas over the course of history. The guiding factor of how development occurs is the Roman magisterium. They ultimately determine if the acorn has developed into an oak tree.  For Rome's defenders, they have no problem creating elaborate development schemes when earlier historical testimonies don't match current doctrinal or dogmatic ideals. Yet, when it comes to Protestant history, all current forms of Protestantism that don't exactly match the earliest Reformers are put forth as not being true to the essence of Protestantism. Why? Why do they get to have development, and everyone else does not? Why could it not be that the correct stream of Mary's doctrinal "development" is that of a non-Roman pedigree? There's only one answer: because there is an underlying assumption that Rome is the determiner of development.   

This may be shocking to some Protestants: development of doctrine is not the sole property of Rome. For Protestants, doctrine also develops, but the guiding force that drives it is the Bible itself. It's not the outside influence of "Tradition" or an infallible outside source that solidifies it. The very Word of God has a rich depth that confronts each generation. Each generation produces keen minds that delve into the original languages of the Bible, analyzing the textual tradition, comparing scripture with scripture, challenge previous interpretations. If tradition plays a role, it's the role of being uncovered and rooted out if it's working as an interpretive blinder or force keeping the meaning of a biblical text shrouded. When Luther relies on an interpretive tradition to interpret the word "until" in his argumentation for perpetual virginity, or that "brothers" means "cousins," that interpretive tradition is to be called out, thrown on the table, and scrutinized closely, as the biblical discussions about the heos hou / ἕως οὗ construction demonstrate. 

This discussion only begins to scratch the surface. Wrangling with Rome's defenders over whose version of church history is correct and who determines the development of doctrine is opening a Pandora's box discussion in which one will eventually grow weary or at some point run, as fast as one can, for any door of escape. If you find yourself confronted by quotes from Luther sounding blatantly Roman Catholic and confusingly un-Protestant, there is a simple solution.  Say, yes the quotes from Luther are different from the way Protestants think today, however, Luther himself didn't want his readers to follow him. He directed people back to the Scriptures. Looking over his life’s work, Luther said:

I would have been quite content to see my books, one and all, remain in obscurity and go by the board. Among other reasons, I shudder to think of the example I am giving, for I am well aware how little the church has been profited since they have begun to collect many books and large libraries, in addition to and besides the Holy Scriptures, and especially since they have stored up, without discrimination, all sorts of writings by the church fathers, the councils, and teachers. Through this practice not only is precious time lost, which could be used for studying the Scriptures, but in the end the pure knowledge of the divine Word is also lost, so that the Bible lies forgotten in the dust under the bench (as happened to the book of Deuteronomy, in the time of the kings of Judah)…I cannot, however, prevent them from wanting to collect and publish my works through the press (small honor to me), although it is not my will. I have no choice but to let them risk the labor and the expense of this project. My consolation is that, in time, my books will lie forgotten in the dust anyhow, especially if I (by God’s grace) have written anything good. Non ere melior Patribus meis.  He who comes second should indeed be the first one forgotten. Inasmuch as they have been capable of leaving the Bible itself lying under the bench, and have also forgotten the fathers and the councils—the better ones all the faster—accordingly there is a good hope, once the overzealousness of this time has abeted, that my books also will not last long. There is especially good hope of this, since it has begun to rain and snow books and teachers, many of which already lie there forgotten and moldering. Even their names are not remembered any more, despite their confident hope that they would eternally be on sale in the market and rule churches. (LW 34:283-284).