[Uncle Chip]

The mere fact that the demise of Mary was even being discussed, which was not that case of any other New Testament person, shows that, among the Fathers, something was different about Mary.

or different about them???

All these people you cite are father-come-latelies. What would they know about anything that happened 400 years earlier without documentation??? How is it this great assumption escaped the pens of all the apostles, first-second-third-fourth century writers??? Not one word from anyone until someone makes it up out of whole cloth in the 5th century adn then provides no evidence for it at all. It's a tall tale like all the others without even one witness or one shred of evidence???

How do people fall for this nonsense??? Oh ... I forgot ... Rome' imagination has spoken ... end of discussion.

[Quix]

Rome’ imagination has spoken ... end of discussion.

= = =

INDEED.

Perhaps a bit more accurately:

ROME’S

—power mongering;
—authoritarianism;
—political might;

—arrogance;
—vain imaginings;
—doctrines of demons;

—private interpretations;
—!!!!TRADITIONS!!!!;
—delusional imaginings;

—averice, greed;
—Machiavellian manipulativeness;
—Obsessive CONTROL FREAKISHNESS;

— . . .

has spoken, bow and submit or off with your head!

[DallasMike]

All these people you cite are father-come-latelies.

That's true. However, we cannot forget that there were severe heresies in Paul's time. Some (read the book of Galatians) persist today in both RC and Protestant settings. Heaven knows that the Baptist churches of my childhood were chock full of legalism. That's changing, but not fast enough.

My point is that even if some of these doctrines could be dated to the first century, they would still be heresy. Old heresy is still heresy, just as old dog poop is still dog poop.