What does the Bible say about virginity?Virtuous or unhealthy?

In earlier times, and in other cultures, female virginity is accorded great worth and is thought of as virtuous. But this too is not always healthy. It can derive from the view that sex is inherently sordid (as in early Christianity and into the Middle Ages), or that a woman is kept inviolate as the property of the family or clan.

Marriage

Traditionally Christians believed it was God's will that people should remain virgins until marriage. This is not because sex is bad in itself, but being profoundly good, it is also vulnerable to abuse. It should therefore be surrounded by the protective boundaries of committed marriage. Today this boundary seems to be fading rapidly, even among Christians, as more and more young people cohabit before marriage.

The Virgin Mary

The Blessed Virgin Mary is the prime example of virginity in the Bible. Her virginity, however, has less to do with any negative attitude toward sex and more to do with the way in which the Son of God must enter human flesh. Humanity cannot save itself. St. Ambrose's fourth-century hymn puts it well: "Not by human power or seed, / did the woman's womb conceive; /only by the Spirit's breath / was the Word of God made flesh."

Christians have also recognized that Mary's virginity has meaning for all of us. Thomas Merton writes of le point vierge, or the virgin place in our souls. It's a place at the center of our souls that belongs only to God and awakens only at his call. Kathleen Norris writes, "I treasure this story [of Mary] because it forces me to ask: When the mystery of God's love breaks into my consciousness, do I run from it? Or am I virgin enough to respond from my deepest, truest self, and say something new, a `yes' that will change me forever?" (Norris,Amazing Grace, Riverhead Books, 1999, p. 77)