[RobbyS]

If you think that Mary was introduced as a substitute for “ the goddess,” or others in the 4th Century, then I suspect you are not familiar with the history of the period from 325 to 450 when the Church was wrestling with the doctrine of the Trinity. Harnack had it that Trinitarians both elevated Jesus to equality with the Father and Mary to the position occupied by the Arian Christ. I don’t agree with this, but the notion of Theotokos certainly came out of the theological controversies of the period. The term is translated by Jerome as Mater Dei, but it does not mean exactly that. It means that Mary was—as the Bible says—the Mother of the Lord Jesus, and the bearer of the Incarnate Word. As a Jewish woman, she is also the means by which Israel has accomplished its mission, which is to bring light to the nations.

[pjr12345]

The term is translated by Jerome as Mater Dei, but it does not mean exactly that.

So are you saying that a linguist as impressive as Jerome mistranslated the term?

It seems more realistic that he translated the phrase to mean EXACTLY what it does mean. It's the inconvenience of easily accessible Scriptures, and an astoundingly more literate populace that provide a more probable explanation for the RCC's need to "adapt" the meaning of this term.