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Was Mary Sinless?
The Aristophrenium ^ | 12/05/2010 | " Fisher"

Posted on 12/05/2010 6:14:57 PM PST by RnMomof7

............The Historical Evidence

The Roman Catholic Church claims that this doctrine, like all of their other distinctive doctrines, has the “unanimous consent of the Fathers” (contra unanimen consensum Patrum).[10] They argue that what they teach concerning the Immaculate Conception has been the historic belief of the Christian Church since the very beginning. As Ineffabilis Deus puts it,

The Catholic Church, directed by the Holy Spirit of God… has ever held as divinely revealed and as contained in the deposit of heavenly revelation this doctrine concerning the original innocence of the august Virgin… and thus has never ceased to explain, to teach and to foster this doctrine age after age in many ways and by solemn acts.[11]

However, the student of church history will quickly discover that this is not the case. The earliest traces of this doctrine appear in the middle ages when Marian piety was at its bloom. Even at this time, however, the acceptance of the doctrine was far from universal. Both Thomas Aquinas and Bernard of Clairvaux rejected the immaculate conception. The Franciscans (who affirmed the doctrine) and the Dominicans (who denied it, and of whom Aquinas was one) argued bitterly over whether this doctrine should be accepted, with the result that the pope at the time had to rule that both options were acceptable and neither side could accuse the other of heresy (ironic that several centuries later, denying this doctrine now results in an anathema from Rome).

When we go further back to the days of the early church, however, the evidence becomes even more glaring. For example, the third century church father Origen of Alexandria taught in his treatise Against Celsus (3:62 and 4:40) that that the words of Genesis 3:16 applies to every woman without exception. He did not exempt Mary from this. As church historian and patristic scholar J.N.D. Kelly points out,

Origen insisted that, like all human beings, she [Mary] needed redemption from her sins; in particular, he interpreted Simeon’s prophecy (Luke 2.35) that a sword would pierce her soul as confirming that she had been invaded with doubts when she saw her Son crucified.”[12]

Also, it must be noted that it has been often pointed out that Jesus’ rebuke of Mary in the wedding of Cana (John 2:1-12) demonstrates that she is in no wise perfect or sinless. Mark Shea scoffs at this idea that Mary is “sinfully pushing him [Jesus] to do theatrical wonders in John 2,” arguing that “there is no reason to think [this] is true.”[13] However, if we turn to the writings of the early church fathers, we see that this is precisely how they interpreted Mary’s actions and Jesus’ subsequent rebuke of her. In John Chrysostom’s twenty-first homily on the gospel of John (where he exegetes the wedding of Cana), he writes,

For where parents cause no impediment or hindrance in things belonging to God, it is our bounden duty to give way to them, and there is great danger in not doing so; but when they require anything unseasonably, and cause hindrance in any spiritual matter, it is unsafe to obey. And therefore He answered thus in this place, and again elsewhere “Who is My mother, and who are My brethren?” (Matt. xii.48), because they did not yet think rightly of Him; and she, because she had borne Him, claimed, according to the custom of other mothers, to direct Him in all things, when she ought to have reverenced and worshiped Him. This then was the reason why He answered as He did on that occasion… He rebuked her on that occasion, saying, “Woman, what have I to do with thee?” instructing her for the future not to do the like; because, though He was careful to honor His mother, yet He cared much more for the salvation of her soul, and for the doing good to the many, for which He took upon Him the flesh.[14]

Now why on earth would Jesus care for the salvation of Mary’s soul at this point in time if she was already “preventatively” saved through having been immaculately conceived, as was claimed earlier? That does not make any sense, whatsoever. Likewise, Theodoret of Cyrus agrees with John Chrysostom in saying that the Lord Jesus rebuked Mary during the wedding at Cana. In chapter two of his Dialogues, he writes,

If then He was made flesh, not by mutation, but by taking flesh, and both the former and the latter qualities are appropriate to Him as to God made flesh, as you said a moment ago, then the natures were not confounded, but remained unimpaired. And as long as we hold thus we shall perceive too the harmony of the Evangelists, for while the one proclaims the divine attributes of the one only begotten—the Lord Christ—the other sets forth His human qualities. So too Christ our Lord Himself teaches us, at one time calling Himself Son of God and at another Son of man: at one time He gives honour to His Mother as to her that gave Him birth [Luke 2:52]; at another He rebukes her as her Lord [John 2:4].[15] And then there is Augustine of Hippo, whom many Roman Catholic apologists attempt to appeal to for their belief in the immaculate conception. They like to quote a portion of chapter 42 of his treatise, On Nature and Grace, where Augustine states,

We must except the holy Virgin Mary, concerning whom I wish to raise no question when it touches the subject of sins, out of honour to the Lord; for from Him we know what abundance of grace for overcoming sin in every particular was conferred upon her who had the merit to conceive and bear Him who undoubtedly had no sin.[16]

However, those who quote this passage miss the point of what Augustine is trying to communicate. He was trying to refute the Pelagian heretics (who were the ones who were claiming that Mary—among other biblical characters—were sinless, since they denied the depravity of man). The article explaining Augustine’s view of Mary on Allan Fitzgerald’s Augustine Through the Ages helps clear up misconceptions regarding this passage:

His [Augustine's] position must be understood in the context of the Pelagian controversy. Pelagius himself had already admitted that Mary, like the other just women of the Old testament, was spared from any sin. Augustine never concedes that Mary was sinless but prefers to dismiss the question… Since medieval times this passage [from Nature and Grace] has sometimes been invoked to ground Augustine’s presumed acceptance of the doctrine of the immaculate conception. It is clear nonetheless that, given the various theories regarding the transmission of original sin current in his time, Augustine in that passage would not have meant to imply Mary’s immunity from it.[17]

This same article then goes on to demonstrate that Augustine did in fact believe that Mary received the stain of original sin from her parents:

His understanding of concupiscence as an integral part of all marital relations made it difficult, if not impossible, to accept that she herself was conceived immaculately. He… specifies in [Contra Julianum opus imperfectum 5.15.52]… that the body of Mary “although it came from this [concupiscence], nevertheless did not transmit it for she did not conceive in this way.” Lastly, De Genesi ad litteram 10.18.32 asserts: “And what more undefiled than the womb of the Virgin, whose flesh, although it came from procreation tainted by sin, nevertheless did not conceive from that source.”[18]

As can be seen here, these and many other early church fathers[19] did not regard Mary as being sinless or immaculately conceived. It is quite clear that the annals of church history testify that Rome cannot claim that this belief is based upon the “unanimous consent of the fathers,” since the belief that Mary was sinless started out among Pelagian heretics during the fifth century and did not become an acceptable belief until at least the beginning of the middle ages.

Conclusion

As has been demonstrated here, neither scripture nor church history support the contention of the Roman Catholic Church that Mary was sinless by virtue of having been immaculately conceived. In fact, Rome did not even regard this as an essential part of the faith until the middle of the nineteenth century. This should cause readers to pause and question why on earth Rome would anathematize Christians for disbelieving in a doctrine that was absent from the early church (unless one wants to side with the fifth century Pelagians) and was considered even by Rome to be essential for salvation until a century and a half ago. Because Rome said so? But their reasons for accepting this doctrine in the first place are so demonstrably wrong. After all, they claim that this was held as divinely revealed from the very beginning, even though four and a half centuries’ worth of patristic literature proves otherwise. This ought to be enough to cast doubt not only on Rome’s claims regarding Mariology, but their claims to authority on matters of faith and morals in general.


TOPICS: Apologetics; Ecumenism; Theology; Worship
KEYWORDS: catholic; catholicbashing; idolatry; marianobsession; mary; worship
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To: Running On Empty
There is no need for you antagonism about this.

What I see is antagonism against God's Word. Do you think he can do a better job than Jesus already did? He must.

Heb 4:12 "For the Word of God is LIVING and ACTIVE. SHARPER than any double-edged sword, it PENETRATES even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart".
861 posted on 12/06/2010 10:19:59 PM PST by presently no screen name ("Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.." Mark 7:13)
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To: smvoice
Luke 24:44

At the Transfiguration, Moses represented the Law and Elijah represented the Prophets.

Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, He was the Messiah

862 posted on 12/06/2010 10:40:11 PM PST by 1000 silverlings (everything that deceives, also enchants: Plato)
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To: Religion Moderator

Even a “thick skinned” poster can be disgusted by some of the behavior on the open threads.


863 posted on 12/06/2010 10:40:37 PM PST by Judith Anne (Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)
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To: Kirkwood; metmom

Your post reads like George Orwell’s 1984.

That’s not a compliment.


864 posted on 12/06/2010 10:44:07 PM PST by Grizzled Bear ("Does not play well with others.")
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To: mitch5501
Maybe Enoch was describing not so much a vision but was actually there

That would make someone (me) not want to come back. God, can I change my mind. ;)
865 posted on 12/06/2010 10:48:47 PM PST by presently no screen name ("Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.." Mark 7:13)
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To: presently no screen name

You know, this is just ridiculous. You don’t even accept that Pope Benedict’s book is a Biblical Commentary.

How you can construe that as him “thinking he can
do a better job than Jesus already did”-—well, I just can’t comprehend what your gripe is. It seems very unreasonable.

I won’t be responding to any further comments from you.


866 posted on 12/06/2010 10:57:08 PM PST by Running On Empty ((The three sorriest words: "It's too late"))
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To: Dr. Eckleburg

You really should not post a small portion of an entire encyclical as a means of supporting your lies. I understand the whole encyclical is too difficult for you to understand as it covers the subject of human development in great detail. It lacks the simplicity of thought which you are fond of and does not allow for a pop up version of its content.

You claim it shows the Pope is communistic, anti free market and anti capitalism. I won’t explain Catholic teaching on economics except to say that it teaches that man must be the central concern of any economic system. Neither communism or unbridled free market capitalism can claim to do so. A capitalist economy with regulations to protect the dignity of personhood and to protect the fruits of one’s labor from exploitation is the best way to accomplish economic and social justice. We as Christians are not allowed to run roughshod over others in the name of making a profit. Profit is a laudable and necessary goal but it does not have to be a bloodthirsty one.

Your claim that Benedict’s writing is communistic shows you did not bother to understand the whole of his writing. You fail to even grasp that central to the encyclical is the Church teaching on charity in truth. It also implies that Benedict’s writing denies the centrality of faith for true economic development. Communism is linked to Atheism and you do not find one without the other. Your error is clear when we read:

“34. Charity in truth places man before the astonishing experience of gift. Gratuitousness is present in our lives in many different forms, which often go unrecognized because of a purely consumerist and utilitarian view of life. The human being is made for gift, which expresses and makes present his transcendent dimension. Sometimes modern man is wrongly convinced that he is the sole author of himself, his life and society. This is a presumption that follows from being selfishly closed in upon himself, and it is a consequence — to express it in faith terms — of original sin. The Church’s wisdom has always pointed to the presence of original sin in social conditions and in the structure of society: “Ignorance of the fact that man has a wounded nature inclined to evil gives rise to serious errors in the areas of education, politics, social action and morals”[85]. In the list of areas where the pernicious effects of sin are evident, the economy has been included for some time now. We have a clear proof of this at the present time. The conviction that man is self-sufficient and can successfully eliminate the evil present in history by his own action alone has led him to confuse happiness and salvation with immanent forms of material prosperity and social action. Then, the conviction that the economy must be autonomous, that it must be shielded from “influences” of a moral character, has led man to abuse the economic process in a thoroughly destructive way. In the long term, these convictions have led to economic, social and political systems that trample upon personal and social freedom, and are therefore unable to deliver the justice that they promise.”

His conclusion refutes your attempts to spin the document to suit your prejudices.
“Development needs Christians with their arms raised towards God in prayer, Christians moved by the knowledge that truth-filled love, caritas in veritate, from which authentic development proceeds, is not produced by us, but given to us. For this reason, even in the most difficult and complex times, besides recognizing what is happening, we must above all else turn to God’s love. Development requires attention to the spiritual life, a serious consideration of the experiences of trust in God, spiritual fellowship in Christ, reliance upon God’s providence and mercy, love and forgiveness, self-denial, acceptance of others, justice and peace. All this is essential if “hearts of stone” are to be transformed into “hearts of flesh” (Ezek 36:26), rendering life on earth “divine” and thus more worthy of humanity. All this is of man, because man is the subject of his own existence; and at the same time it is of God, because God is at the beginning and end of all that is good, all that leads to salvation: “the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours; and you are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (1 Cor 3:22-23). Christians long for the entire human family to call upon God as “Our Father!” In union with the only-begotten Son, may all people learn to pray to the Father and to ask him, in the words that Jesus himself taught us, for the grace to glorify him by living according to his will, to receive the daily bread that we need, to be understanding and generous towards our debtors, not to be tempted beyond our limits, and to be delivered from evil (cf. Mt 6:9-13).”


867 posted on 12/06/2010 10:58:16 PM PST by lastchance (Hug your babies.)
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To: Kirkwood
Psst! Psst! Hey Laz, can you hear me? Listen Mary and Martha are a bit shook up. Sorry I was late. I can help you, if you want. Blink once for yes.

Is that more appropriate? LOL!!

Of course it was a command! Jesus took control over the situation.

868 posted on 12/06/2010 11:02:22 PM PST by presently no screen name ("Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.." Mark 7:13)
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To: lastchance

I am very indebted to you for this post.

Thank you, thank you. I have been hoping that someone would come along to respond to the erroneous charge being made.

Also, the quote from Ezek 36:26 is especially a propos, for the essence of our Christian lives and witness is not solely that we have been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, but that in that salvific grace we are also to be transformed by Him. It’s that transformation in Christ that completes our adoption as children of the Father.


869 posted on 12/06/2010 11:07:41 PM PST by Running On Empty ((The three sorriest words: "It's too late"))
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To: Running On Empty
I just can’t comprehend what your gripe is

And it's been confirmed.
870 posted on 12/06/2010 11:12:01 PM PST by presently no screen name ("Thus you nullify the Word of God by your tradition that you have handed down.." Mark 7:13)
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To: Dr. Eckleburg; 1000 silverlings; Cronos; RnMomof7; metmom; Quix

Why exactly does your cult, the OPC believe that Jesus was just a man possessed by God and then abandoned on the Cross? That is a completely unChristian belief


871 posted on 12/06/2010 11:13:51 PM PST by Cronos (Et Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis (And the word was made flesh, and dwelt amonst us))
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To: Pyro7480; metmom; RnMomof7; Religion Moderator; Ann Archy; Cronos
Actually, I posted the same name of the book, James, in multiple languages -- it's called Jakuba in Polish for example (and in quite a few other Germanic languages while it is Jacques or variants in Romance languages). We all err if we think that English is the only defining term. Another case raised is calling priests Fr. when for example in Poland they are called Ksiądz as a title, so we take what we read in English to mean the entire world (and I made the same mistake years earlier before I learnt a few other languages)
872 posted on 12/06/2010 11:27:51 PM PST by Cronos (Et Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis (And the word was made flesh, and dwelt amonst us))
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To: 1000 silverlings
" The Ark was the manifestation of God's physical presence on earth " -- sensible discussion, so let me respond. Why would you say it was the manifestation of God's presence rather than a manifestation of His Covenant? If it was a manifestation of God, then this would have been rejected as idol worship, correct? Since it was something fashioned by human hands.

The Ark was venerated for what it held, namely the Covenant with Moses. This was filled with the power and the glory of God. It did not represent God. Yes, it did indicate that God was amongst them, but it did not indicate the manifestation (i.e. the direct physical presence) of God amongst the Israelites.

This is quite in contrast to Jesus who WAS God amongst them -- Jesus was not a representation of God or even a manifestation of God.

Now on to the comparisons of MAry and the Ark of the first covenant -- the Ark did not hold God, you are correct, however it held what was the Covenant, what was within it was an indicator of the power of God. Mary contained much more, yes, she was the container, created by God, to temporarily contain Christ.

Christ was God, Christ was also the second Covenant. Mary was the container, the ark of the second covenant.

To say that Jesus was the Ark is to somehow say that Jesus was a container -- containing the second Covenant or containing God, both concepts of which are wrong and lead down to the path of denying His divinity
873 posted on 12/06/2010 11:31:23 PM PST by Cronos (Et Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis (And the word was made flesh, and dwelt amonst us))
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To: RnMomof7

Well, does her virginity affect our salvation? Some progressive Christians think not. To them Matthew and Luke are just fables.


874 posted on 12/06/2010 11:34:08 PM PST by RobbyS (Pray with the suffering souls.)
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To: RnMomof7

The Law being the Holy Covenant between the Father and Israel. Our Lord was not much on keeping the details of the Law. We honor Mary for being the perfect keeper of the New Covenant.


875 posted on 12/06/2010 11:37:46 PM PST by RobbyS (Pray with the suffering souls.)
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To: 1000 silverlings

The entire starting point or definition of Mary is not of herself, but of how God created this creature and how it can give us the tiniest glimpse of the entire majesty that is God. For instance — the term God-bearer, Theotokos, reinforces the knowledge that Jesus was God. Yet, we need to emphasise at the same time that He was Man and at the same time that He was both at the same time! The only way to do this is to emphasise that He was actually born of a woman, a woman, a creature, was His mother, yet not in any way His creator.


876 posted on 12/06/2010 11:39:03 PM PST by Cronos (Et Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis (And the word was made flesh, and dwelt amonst us))
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To: redgolum; Kolokotronis
Well, to be a Catholic, you must accept the entire kaboodle -- anything else makes you a cafetaria Catholic at best, a Nancy Pelosi/Teddy Kennedy at worst. I believe in the IC, but yes, I have my doubts. The thing about being Catholic is that we can question and ask, but we don't leave to form our own sub-division (EPC, OPC, BPC, CPC, ARPC etc) -- that's not meant to attack you, apologies

The Orthodox don't have the doctrines of Original Sin or the IC, because they tend to not be as legalistic as we in the Western Church are (and they have a strong point!). But, on the IC, Orthodox Christians say that Mary was without sin for her entire life. Most Orthodox reject the dogma of the Immaculate Conception as unnecessary. Because Orthodoxy does not see ancestral sin as an inheritance of guilt or a stain, there is no reason for the miraculous removal of either. Nonetheless, Orthodox tradition does hold that the Theotokos remained free of personal sin (Kolokotronis, please correct me if this is wrong).

The thing about Orthodox concepts of this confuses me as they say
" But Orthodoxy does not admit in the all-pure Virgin any individual sin, for that would be unworthy of the dignity of the Mother of God." Sergius Bulgakov, The Orthodox Church
yet they also reject the idea of Original Sin, so the net effect, to my understanding is "Mary did not have any individual sin and there is no Original Sin so she must have been sinless"

On their rejection of the Augustinian concept of Original Sin, I must say I like their approach, which as I understand it is that the act of Adam is not the responsibility of all humanity, but the consequences of that act changed the reality. The Greek Fathers emphasized the metaphysical dimension of the Fall of Man, whereby Adam's descendants are born into a fallen world, but at the same time held fast to belief that, in spite of that, man remains free
877 posted on 12/06/2010 11:42:17 PM PST by Cronos (Et Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis (And the word was made flesh, and dwelt amonst us))
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To: Quix

Well, it does not explicitly say that, you are correct — it says clearly “which are the prayers of saints”


878 posted on 12/06/2010 11:50:06 PM PST by Cronos (Et Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis (And the word was made flesh, and dwelt amonst us))
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To: UriÂ’el-2012; metmom; Cronos; Pyro7480; Ann Archy; RnMomof7; 1000 silverlings; Alex Murphy; ...
Actually, followers of British-Israelism who seem to believe that the Anglo-Saxons are the lost tribes and mix this with hyper-Calvinism do not know God and his loving kindness.

So they repeat their mantra Sham bash'em, trash'em and hash'em
879 posted on 12/06/2010 11:52:03 PM PST by Cronos (Et Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis (And the word was made flesh, and dwelt amonst us))
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To: UriÂ’el-2012; metmom; freedumb2003

Please cite scripture which says everything should be in (as opposed to “should not contradict”) scripture.


880 posted on 12/06/2010 11:52:50 PM PST by Cronos (Et Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis (And the word was made flesh, and dwelt amonst us))
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