Psychological deconstruction is a universal acid; if you try to use it against belief in the Virgin Mother, you undermine your entire theology.
-A8
"Read "The Cult of the Virgin Mary: Psychological Origins" by Michael P. Carroll."
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Thanks for the listing I will put it on my reading list.:-)
Reviewer: A reader
This book attempts to analyze Catholic Marian devotion using Freudian psychology, and many of its strange conclusions arise from this approach. For instance, the author argues that Mary appeals to Catholic men because they have an "oedipal" need for a mother, while she appears to Catholic women because she fulfills their (alleged) "subconscious desire" to have a child by their fathers (since Catholics believe that Mary bore the Son of God the Father). While his conclusion about men may have some validity (we all need a spiritual Mother) his conclusion about women is absurd (Freud was never right about women anyway). I am a Catholic mother, and I have spoken to many Catholic mothers like myself, and the reason why we love Mary - besides the fact that she is our Mother in heaven - is because we can relate to her as a mother and feel that she knows what we are going through, since she too had a family. This guy just doesn't have a clue!
His analysis of Marian apparitions is similarly awful; the author simply ignores any historical details of the apparitions which do not fit his pat theories. The treatment of Guadalupe is perhaps the worst; he claims that the apparitions to Juan Diego are a myth, and that they were never recorded until long after the event! The fact is, there *are* contemporaneous documents which mention the apparition; a little research would have confirmed that. And Juan Diego *is* a historical personage; in fact he was recently beatified by the Catholic Church. The pope does not beatify mythological characters!
*Is this the sort of recomendation you wih to be associated with?
Did YOU read the book?
I wonder what John, Peter, Paul or even Mary would have thought if someone had said, "Say, Virgin Mary. I heard how Jesus just popped out of you without destroying your virginity like light passing through glass. Must have been a big surprise on your hubby." They'd be laughed out of the Jerusalem Council.
Honestly, people come up with the wackiest idea based upon nothing more than some medieval superstition nonsense that was probably though up by some little monk who had too much time on his hands. Everyone just sat around saying, "Ooooohhhh, Friar Bob. We think you're on to something." The trouble is you would think we'd be clever enough by now to understand.