One of my favorite persons in the Bible is Mary the mother of Jesus.
I think it would have been sooooooo amazingly awesome to carry Jesus in your body. I already think that birth is an amazing thing, but to give birth to God! To feed the Son of God at your breast, to carry Him around with you, to make or buy Him clothes, to clean His scraped knees, or teach Him how to read would be an awesome responsibly. I do wonder if Mary did know that she raised the King of Kings. Did she really know?
She knew something: "But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19.
I think that Protestants sometimes don't give Mary the credit that they give other women in the Bible because they are scared of the way Catholics praise her. The Bible says: "And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." Luke 1:28. Highly favoured! Blessed among women! Wow! She was praised!
I just think we should give credit where credit is due. Repeating "Hail Mary"'s over and over? Maybe not, but a study on Mary would be in order. I wonder what kind of character this woman had that made her the object of Father God's favor? I wonder what she did differently than the thousands of other young women on the planet that made her stand out? Purity was one of the characteristics.
The other day, I was at a church where they changed the words to this Christmas Carol:
Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"
This is the correct, in my opinion, version. I can't remember, and haven't been able to Google, the word for word change I heard the other day, but they changed the line that sings, Offspring of a Virgin's womb, to something about Offspring of Father God. I think Charles Wesley wouldn't appreciate changing the words to his song.
Oh and fyi, the "immaculate conception" is Mary's being without original sin, like Jesus being without sin. Umm, this wasn't in the Bible, so I don't believe it. If it were true, God would have written it in the Bible. I know that this scripture is slightly out of context, but I think it works here: "if it were not so, I would have told you," John 14:2. So, if it were true, He would have told us.
"Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Isaiah 7:14
Immaculate conception I believe has to do with the fact she was a virgin and had not known a man. Why would they change the words... That's kinda stupid
ReplyDeleteShe who? Mary's mother?
ReplyDeleteI looked it up to make sure I was thinking correct before I blogged about it. Here is what Wiki says, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Conception
Ummm.. Mary was human. Human sin. Ergo Mary was not without sin. Immaculate conception was just the fact that she gave birth without having sex or "laying down with a man"
ReplyDeleteP.S. Dont cite wikipedia as your source. Nursing school should of taught you this. =)
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p122a3p2.htm
ReplyDeleteThe Immaculate Conception
490 To become the mother of the Savior, Mary "was enriched by God with gifts appropriate to such a role."132 The angel Gabriel at the moment of the annunciation salutes her as "full of grace".133 In fact, in order for Mary to be able to give the free assent of her faith to the announcement of her vocation, it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God's grace.
491 Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, "full of grace" through God,134 was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:
The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.135
492 The "splendor of an entirely unique holiness" by which Mary is "enriched from the first instant of her conception" comes wholly from Christ: she is "redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son".136 The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and chose her "in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before him in love".137
493 The Fathers of the Eastern tradition call the Mother of God "the All-Holy" (Panagia), and celebrate her as "free from any stain of sin, as though fashioned by the Holy Spirit and formed as a new creature".138 By the grace of God Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long.
Well we are arguing religious doctrine an therefore there is no "right" side. Codos on quoting a legit source.
ReplyDeleteI will take the protestant side and say no one is above sin. I believe that this is one of the fundamental flaws of the catholic church. Case in point the Dark Ages, and the Middle ages.
I'm not arguing doctrine, just stating that people use the term Immaculate Conception incorrectly. As I wrote in my blog, I don't believe it is truth.
ReplyDeleteAnd all churches have flaws.
Kudos on making this blog my most commented on, thanks!!
Immaculate conception is only defined that way in the Roman Catholic church. Protestants use it to refer to the fact that Mary was a virgin when she conceived.
ReplyDelete