MARY'S VIRGINITY IN PARTU AND TERTULLIAN'S ANTI-DOCETISM IN DE CARNE CHRISTI RECONSIDERED.

The article re-examines the statements by Tertullian about Mary's virginity in the act of giving birth (in partu). It was found that Tertullian's vehement anti-docetism explains his rejections of the notion that Mary's virginity did not relate only to the question of the conception of Jesus. According to him, the insistence of Mary's virginity in the act in partu and after (post partum), weakens the argument that Jesus was possessed of true humanity in his flesh. In this regard, the author argues that it would be Tertullian's handling of Scripture that allows him to use reference to Mary's virginity as part of his anti-docetic position, which is illustrated in a close examination of the rhetoric of his "De Carne Christi."