You wrote:
“That did come to mind; but I’m on a slightly different track. Why was Mary sinless?”
Ask her Son.
“If sin-nature is hereditary, and all Paul’s writing indicates that he thought so, then were Mary’s parents sinless?”
No, there’s no reason to believe they were sinless.
“If they were not sinless, why was she, who aside from being the woman God chose to bear His son, any different than any other woman born to sinful parents?”
Christ created her (John 1) and thus made her to His desire, and to her everlasting holiness, perfect in grace. What gift would you give your mother if you could create her? Tupperware?
“Point is, if Jesus could only be born via a sinless woman, who by nature must be human, then it stands to reason that there was a whole lineage (Mary’s) which was sinless.”
Actually no. You’re wrong on two points. 1) Jesus’ holiness was not dependent on mary’s so he could have been born of a woman who was sinful if He chose to. 2) Mary’s sinlessness was not dependent upon her lineage. It was dependent upon a singular gift of God’s grace.
“If there was a whole sinless lineage then that lineage would neither need a savior nor need to repent;”
Since no one is conjecturing that there was such a lineage except you it would seem the point is moot to begin with.
“however, we know that Mary’s lineage includes [king] David, who was an adulterer and therefore sinned.”
Again, since no one is conjecturing that there was such a lineage except you it would seem the point is moot to begin with.
“So, I can safely conclude that Mary was *not* of a sinless lineage;”
Again, since no one is conjecturing that there was such a lineage except you it would seem the point is moot to begin with. You’re wasting a lot of time refuting a theory no one actually believes in since no one says what you proposed about Mary’s lineage.
“this brings up the question of why she should be sinless when her fore-bearers were sinful.”
Actually it doesn’t. She was singular in her role and devotion. Therefore, she could be given a singular gift.
“With Jesus this is plainly evident, the sin-nature is inherited from the father and therefore a sinful mother need not be impactful on the Nature of the Son. {It’s pure speculation on my part;”
Boy, is it ever.
“but maybe since Jesus was tempted, and born of a woman, who like Eve was tempted the Devil’s temptation-ability on humanity is inherited through the mother.}”
Your conjectures are your own. You spend a lot of time attacking that which you apparent do not know. You even go to the great trouble of inventing straw men theories.
Boy, is it ever.
“but maybe since Jesus was tempted, and born of a woman, who like Eve was tempted the Devil’s temptation-ability on humanity is inherited through the mother.}”
Your conjectures are your own. You spend a lot of time attacking that which you apparent do not know. You even go to the great trouble of inventing straw men theories.
First off, I owned up to my own conjectures and stated them as such.
Second, your response is little more than an arrogant and bigoted pile of dung as far as either argument or instruction is concerned. (As per Dictionary.com, Bigoted: "Utterly intolerant of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own.").
James has something to say:
Two Kinds of Wisdom
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
Submit Yourselves to God
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.
Your responses show you to be neither peace-loving, nor considerate, nor submissive [to the authority of Scripture], nor full of mercy and good fruit, nor impartial.