Re: Yes, but . . .

Um, the whole thing about Mary's miraculous virgin birth is based on the Gospel story that she was pregnant (by God) before she got married.

The only question, then, is how old she was when she got married, and gimwinkle's link shows that the age of 12 or 13 was common - as it still is in parts of the world with a similar culture. Perhaps she was a little older, perhaps a little younger. No one knows for certain.

Of course, there may not have been an actual Mary at all. The point remains that "God's people" routinely had older men marrying girls of about twelve.

Actually, all the link really shows is that at age 12 1/2 girls could be given in marriage. It doesn't say that doing so was common. It may have been, I don't know. There are a lot of conflicting sources on this issue. The Talmud (which appeared several centuries after the Old Testament) says that girls could have sex at 3 years and 1 day. This says they could be offered for marriage at 12 1/2. It seems unlikely to me that these two sets of laws were in accordance and that girls could be expected to have sex at 3 but couldn't get married until after 12. My point is that too many people here are quick to assume something that there is no real evidence for. I remain highly skeptical on the matter.