Nora Lozano
Posted on 08/01/2009 1:51:11 PM PDT by NYer
EDE, Netherlands (ABP) -- A Latina theologian says overreaction to Catholic veneration of the Virgin Mary has caused Baptists to miss important biblical teaching associated with the mother of Jesus.
Nora Lozano
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Lozano, a participant in theological conversations between the Baptist World Alliance and the Vatican, made the remarks in a presentation to the BWA Commission on Doctrine and Interchurch Cooperation at a meeting of global Baptists in the Netherlands.
She noted the Mexican story of the Virgin of Guadalupe -- a purported apparition of Mary to an indigenous peasant in Mexico City in the 16th century -- and how closely it ties the identity of the nation's Catholicism with Mary, who serves as a sort of "demi-goddess."
There are analogous Virgin Mary cults of devotion in other Latin American countries.
Lozano said Mexican Baptists and other Protestants, meanwhile, actively ignore Mary, to the extent of giving the biblical character short shrift.
"It seems that there is a consensus among these Baptists to disregard, neglect or reject the Virgin Mary," Lozano said, speaking of an informal survey she had done of some of her global Baptist colleagues.
And, in countries where Catholics are a majority, she added, "Baptists tend to move back and forth between actively rejecting and simply ignoring Mary."
In those countries, Lozano noted, "This becomes one of the major barriers to relations between Catholics and Baptists."
Because Mary is so perfect in popular Catholic theology in Latin America -- perpetually a virgin, although a mother; blameless, even sinless -- Lozano said she becomes an impossible standard of womanhood. Nonetheless, many men look for this standard in the mother of their children.
On the other hand, Lozano noted, Mary's opposite -- the wanton harlot -- is what many men tend to look for in sex partners. Being forced to choose between the two stereotypes can be deadly for women.
"When these [images of Mary and her opposite] are misused, they become oppressive and a source of suffering for women," she said. "Neither one of these models is a good one for women, because they do not present women as complete human beings."
Lozano said that embracing the "life-giving" aspects of Marian veneration can be both healthy for all women and a bridge between Latin American Protestants and Catholics, she contended.
Lozano pointed to two passages dealing with Mary in the Christmas story as recorded in Luke's Gospel: The angel's announcement to Mary that she would bear Christ (Luke 1:26-38), and Mary's song of praise to God, often called the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).
Mary is not a passive presence in those stories, Lozano pointed out, but an active and willing participant in God's work who was "well aware of social injustices," she said.
"She is subject with a strong will and a social consciousness," Lozano noted.
Lozano delivered her remarks on the second day of the BWA's Annual Gathering in Ede, Netherlands. Hundreds of Baptists from around the world came to conduct BWA General Council business as well as observe the 400th anniversary of the Baptist movement, which began in the summer of 1609 in nearby Amsterdam.
We had a great VBS last week. It’s such a wonderful thing for kids. No, you won’t usually have any discussion of Mary, esp. as Catholics do. They have different curricula every year. This year we did Crocodile Dock and the emphasis was on Moses and the Pharoah. Kids just loved it. I hope yours will as well.
Nah, don’t worry your little head about us protestants. We most certainly believe in the Trinity and Mary isn’t in it.
But is it taught IN THE BIBLE? I know Catholics don’t believe it, but the Bible IS the authority of the Word of God. If it isn’t in there, it’s impossible to prove any of what you say.
Baptists believe what the Bible has to say, not the Magesterium or some church ‘father’s’ writings.
Good point. He apparently came down on Hill Cumorah in NY state, too. Darn, I missed that.
Your salvation does NOT lie in the balance at the time of your death. If you have asked the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your life while you are alive, and you obey His commands, satan cannot snatch you out of his hands. You can have the assurance of your salvation before you die. You can have it NOW. Your church has kept you in bondage over this issue. Mary can’t help you then if you haven’t received her son into your life.
But what is the guarantor of the authority of the Bible if not his Church?
Didn’t he just show you the scripture that indicated that she knew Joseph and had children?
YEESSSSSSSSSSS!! Great scripture. And great explanation. I’ll see ya here, there or IN THE AIR!
Very true!
That’s a big “if.” Catholics call this a conversion, when we pass from a formal relationship with the Lord, to a more personal one. Be careful that the assurance you feel is not merely complacency.
True, true. You never have to teach a child to rebel or steal or curse or be stubborn. It comes right along with them at birth—the propensity to sin.
Common knowledge how? It’s not in the Bible so it had to have been thought up by man.
She may well have been washed in the blood of the Lamb as we believers all are, but that doesn’t mean she or her mother were BORN sinless. There’s a difference.
The indwelling Holy Spirit.
Trust me, Robby. I know the difference.
The Scripture does not SAY Mary knew Joseph and that the “brothers and sisters” were hers. If you don’t buy the “cousins” explanation, there is also the alternative tradition that these were children of Joseph by another woman. But there is also this to consider: a Semitic family was wider than a nuclear family. In American families we are often —even usually-strangers to our First Cousins. But in Middle East, close relatives are real “family.” Witness the mention of Lot as the “brother” of Abraham.
Are you replying to the wrong person? I said we were not taught the “theory” of the immaculate conception of Mary. Only of Jesus.
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
I also believe Mary was favored by God for this purpose. She was also of the lineage of David and that made Jesus true heir to the throne. She was pure and faithful. I do not believe, nor does Scripture teach, that she was sinless nor that she herself was immaculately conceived.
This does not demean her or Jesus Christ. It is stating what we know from the Word of God and what he has revealed to us. You MUST believe what your magesterium teaches even if it is man's conjecture or the arrived at agreement to arguments among religious scholars. You are not allowed to question or believe anything contrary to their teachings under fear of excommunication.
What does belief in Mary's perpetual virginity, her own sinless conception by her mother and her “direct line” to her son Jesus as a “Jewish mother” have to do with your salvation? Is it germane to the doctrine that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ? Does non-belief in those certain doctrines effect in any way the accepting of the free gift of eternal life? They are not. They are not major issues except to those that read more into the plan of salvation.
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