The Perpetual Problem of the Perpetual Virgin

I never enjoyed the issue of whether Mary had children or not. When I was Protestant, I hated asking it, and as a Catholic I hate answering it. The reason is a result of the fact that it requires someone to think. This is going to be a long and hard post. I suggest only reading it when you don't have other distractions and when you have the time to dedicate to reading it and thinking about it.
Let's start with the objections often raised by (most, because some believe in the Perpetual Virginity) Protestants, and then we'll work on the proof of the Ever-Virgin:

The Mother of All Problems: The Mother of God

This is going to be a very short post, because this should be an easy dogma:
The correct term is Theotokos (Greek), and more literally means "God-bearer" or "the one who gives birth to God". By no means was this a latter defined dogma, as it was defined in 431 by the Council of Ephesus (read the documents here), and it is the first "Marian Dogma". The fight began because of the teachings of Nestorius (the Patriarch of Constantinople). Nestorianism, the doctrine of Nestorius, emphasized the disunity between Christ's human and divine natures. These teachings had brought Nestorius into conflict with the Church and church leaders, such as Cyril (Patriarch of Alexandria). Interestinly, Nestorius requested the council, hoping to prove his orthodoxy; but in the end his teachings were condemned as heresy. The council met at the Church of Mary.

Is the Assumption an assumption?

Well, of course it's not an assumption, but based upon Scripture and common sense. First, of course, some historical background:
The Assumption, also known as the Dormition of the Theotokos in the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, was first defined as dogma on November 1, 1950 by Pope Pius XII in Munificentissimus Deus (however, it was a belief long before this infallible definition). It was a feast day, however, long before 1950 (about 1600 years earlier) and there are writings about it as late as the 4th century.

Immaculate "Misconception"

A friend of mine and I were talking about Christmas, and we (obviously) fell upon the Incarnation. My Protestant friend, however, called it the the Immaculate Conception. I decided to tackle the 'misconception' behind the Immaculata (The Immaculate One) in today's post. First a little housekeeping: The Immaculate Conception was defined as dogma by Pope Pius IX in his constitution Ineffabilis Deus on 8 December 1854 (the universal feast of the IC was first established in 1476 by Pope Sixtus IV). The statement of note here is

"We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."

Peter... Like a Rock

"And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matthew 16:18 Douay-Rheims).