Was Mary a Teen When She Gave Birth?
Was Mary a Teen When She Gave Birth?
Very simply, we have no idea how old she was as there is not much evidence that could sway either direction. It is important to note the Bible never states her age; in fact, we do not even have a Greek word(such as girl or woman) we can use to gauge her age as the words used(that we could find) always merely meant female which is to broad. One argument is it was very common for Jews to be married and give birth around 12-15 during this time era; however, just because something was common does not mean she did it too. It was very common for people to wear scrunchies in the 80s; however, not all women wore scrunchies in the 80s. It is an argument from primary silence to claim Mary was a teen based on a tradition due to exceptions, this is not to say it is not more likely, but as Christians, we are told to not conform to the world. "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God," (Romans 12:2 KJV). Even if we have a tradition, we are not to always conform to it. It would make sense for God to not, then, wait even if there were certain traditions in place.