Posted on 03/13/2005 7:16:00 PM PST by churchillbuff
....In a shift whose ideological breadth is unusual in the fragmented Protestant world, a long-standing wall around Mary appears to be eroding. It is not that Protestants are converting to Catholicism's dramatic exaltation: the singing of Salve Regina, the Rosary's Marian Mysteries, the entreaty to her in the Hail Mary to "pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death." Rather, a growing number of Christian thinkers who are neither Catholic nor Eastern Orthodox (another branch of faith to which Mary is central) have concluded that their various traditions have shortchanged her in the very arena in which Protestantism most prides itself: the careful and full reading of Scripture.
Arguments on the Virgin's behalf have appeared in a flurry of scholarly essays and popular articles, on the covers of the usually conservative Christianity Today (headline: The Blessed Evangelical Mary) and the usually liberal Christian Century (St. Mary for protestants). They are being preached, if not yet in many churches then in a denominational cross section—and not just at modest addresses like Maguire's in Xenia but also from mighty pulpits like that at Chicago's Fourth Presbyterian Church, where longtime senior pastor John Buchanan recently delivered a major message on the Virgin ending with the words "Hail Mary ... Blessed are you among us all."
This could probably not have happened at some other time. Robert Jenson, author of the respected text Systematic Theology, chuckles when asked whether the pastor of his Lutheran youth would have approved of his (fairly extreme) position that Protestants, like Catholics, should pray for Mary's intercession. "My pastor would have been horrified," he says, adding, "The pastor was my father." Yet today Catholics and Protestants feel freer to explore each other's beliefs and practices. Feminism has encouraged popular speculations on the lives of female biblical figures and the role of the divine feminine (think The Red Tent and The Da Vinci Code). A growing interest, on both the Protestant right and left, in practices and texts from Christianity's first 1,500 years has led to immersion in the habitual Marianism of the early and medieval church. And the influx of millions of Hispanic immigrants from Catholic cultures into American Protestantism may eventually accelerate progress toward a pro-Marian tipping point—on whose other side may lie changes not just in sermon topic but in liturgy, personal piety and a re-evaluation of the actual messages of the Reformation.
The movement is not yet prevalent in the pews. And it has its critics. While granting that Mary shows up more in the New Testament than some churches recognize, Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Southern Seminary, charges that those who use her full record to justify new "theological constructions" around her are guilty of "overreaching," "wishful thinking" and effectively "flirting with Catholic devotion." Yet Lutheran theologian Carl Braaten, co-editor of an essay collection on what might be called Marian upgrade, claims, "We don't have to go back to Catholicism. We can go back to our own roots and sources. It could be done without shocking the congregation. I can't predict how exactly it will happen. Some of it will be good, and some of it may be bad.
But I think it's going to happen." .....
I guess God really isn't as omnipotent as you think He is. If sin cannot come near to Him, then I would think that He would have prepared a way for the Virgin Mary to be free of sin ahead of her physical conception, seeing that she was to carry Him in her womb for 9 months. That's a lot closer to our Lord than any of the High Priests got to be (near to God) in the Old Testament, and before Jesus' death and resurrection. Why must you persist in thinking that God could not do what He clearly could and did?
"they just hadn't been collated yet"
Where did the table of contents of the Bible come from? How do you know which, if any, books belong in the Bible? Because Martin Luther says so?
Me three. Home is where the heart is, the Sacred Heart that is. :)
I'd never heard of this either.
Much to do about a fabrication.
No one is perfect...not one...not ever. Only Christ.
Hey, what did the early Christians do before they had a Bible? That was extra-Biblical, too!
The only post on this thread worth reading. If Time says it....the opposite is true.
Does the bible say exactly that Mary Magdelene was a whore who was forgiven? I haven't read the bible, but since you both seem well versed, does it?
It is not clear at all that God made Mary sinless. This is preposterous.
"Being Jesus' mother is, however, if you think about it, something pretty unusual in human history."
Yes, thank you. Although I was raised a Catholic (I'm still a Catholic, actually) I never really "got" Mary until I became a mother. Without chiming in on the debate here, let me just say that she is a fine model, and refuge, for all mothers.
Ths refers to the prophesy in Isaiah 7:14 - "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've always thought this particular prophesy the most interesting one since it tells you about the Virgin and the Son, but it does not tell you wish one is the Messiah.
John Buchanan
Big liberal
I meant that He clearly could do it.
I haven't seen this trend. Yeah, we saw The Passion.
So what?
"This has to do with the communion of saints, part of the Apostles Creed."
To me it has more to do with "there is but one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Mary didn't die for our sins. Only Jesus, who did, entered the Holy of Holies so we could become children of God.
Mary always deserves respect of course.
The invisible church is the entire body of Christ, including those who are living in heaven.
The visible church is only those here on Earth presently living here.
It is not clear at all that God made Mary sinless.
It is clear to ALL of the Catholic and Orthodox scholars. It was also clear to Martin Luther (see his words above.) What is NOT clear to you is to most who have studied the matter. May I suggest a course of prayer and study?
This is preposterous.
Why is the belief of the oldest Christian communities "preposterous"? Why is Martin Luther's belief "preposterous"?
That's not her name.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.