Having read this article just couldn’t bare not to share it see what you guys think? America is great and some how 1% of women give birth being a virgin, no wonder America got Superman, Batman, Ironman, Hulk and fuck know what else man lolz…
Virgin births: not just for teen Jewish girls hanging out in Bethlehem barns anymore. According to research, almost 1% of American women claim that they, too were unpenetrated by the peen of a man when they became pregnant.
According to the findings of researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and published under the title “Like A Virgin (Mother),” among the 7,870 women followed over the course of the multi-year study, 0.8% of them claimed that they became pregnant without having sex. This doesn’t include women who became pregnant via in vitro fertilization or artificial insemination; these are women who gave birth the old fashioned way and were like *shrug! SERIOUSLY GUYS I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW THIS HAPPENED!”
But this research doesn’t mean the US is teeming with proto-Jesuses just waiting for their palm parade to Jerusalem; it shows that self-reported studies often feature mucho lying and self-delusion, sometimes in the name of self-preservation. Getting pregnant without sex is virtually scientifically impossible, yet dozens of women in the study (who were teens when the research began) swear up and down that their babies happened sans man. This is the biological equivalent of claiming that your glass of drinking water spontaneously began boiling itself without the presence of heat. I mean, maybe it’s Unsolved Mysteries-possible, but it’s highly doubtful that 0.8% of all glasses of water boil themselves. Come on.
Of course, big fibs like “I was a virgin when I gave birth” don’t just happen in a vacuum because girls lie (although an idiot might take that away from this study). Researchers found a depressing — albeit predictable— correlation between women who claimed they became pregnant without sex and women who had signed “chastity pledges.” There was also a correlation between those who claimed they were virgins when they gave birth and those whose parents never talked to them about sex or didn’t know how to use condoms.
The “virgin moms” with little or no knowledge of what sex is or what sex does were also likely to replicate the process with their own magical children. From the Globe & Mail,
The 45 self-described virgins who reported having become pregnant and the 36 who gave birth were also more likely than non-virgins to say their parents never or rarely talked to them about sex and birth control. About 28 per cent of the “virgin” mothers’ parents (who were also interviewed) indicated they didn’t have enough knowledge to discuss sex and contraception with their daughters, compared to 5 per cent of the parents of girls who became pregnant and said they had had intercourse.
And there’s a darker element that this study may have overlooked as well — sexual abuse. The average age that the women who claimed to be virgins gave birth was 19.3, as opposed to over 21 for non-self-proclaimed virgins; younger people — men or women — are less economically independent than older people and may rely on preserving the illusion of their “purity” to appease parents. There’s also a possibility that victims of sexual abuse don’t consider their abuse “sex,” and thus consider their virginity “intact.” Victims of abuse may be interested in protecting their abusers, especially if their abusers are older and more powerful.
No matter what the root cause for the surprisingly widespread phenomenon of claiming “virgin birth,” we can take away two important lessons: first, that universal, comprehensive sex education is, and always will be, incredibly necessary in the interest of both public health and private happiness, and second: we need to can it with the virginity fetishizing.
Let’s not forget; In 1492 catholic Spain expelled all Jews. The Ottoman Empire welcomed in the refugees, and sent the entire Navy to rescue persecuted Jews.
Malala been shoot for Education by doubtful Taliban.. enough that report to make the world humanity awake from Her and so many prizes for her. What a Humanity of us for a innocent girl. Ahaa our tears made this universe teary and her blood made all specially the setting sun bloodier. Some said it’s not a sun the blood of Malala..
Now this Question again to these Hypocrite Humanist whom shouted that time, where your voice now for the innocent children’s of Palestine??? You are going to gift a Nobel prize to her for been shoot than how many words you threw for the babies of Palestine for peace??
Netanyahu ‘America Won’t Get in Our Way.. It’s Easily Moved (Bibi thought the camera stopped recording) Zio-Nazi Israel Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations on Iran.
Internet hacktivist group Anonymous has declared cyberwar on Israel, posting personal data of five thousand Israeli officials online.
The group used their Anonpaste.me site to address a message to the Israeli government before linking to the page with names, ID numbers and personal emails of 5,000 officials.
The message said: “It has come to our attention that the Israeli government has ignored repeated warnings about the abuse of human rights, shutting down the internet in Israel and mistreating its own citizens and those of its neighboring countries.”
(Screenshot from anonpaste.me)
The group also said “Israeli Gov. this is/will turn into a cyberwar.”
Earlier, the group hacked over 700 hundred Israeli websites, including the Bank of Jerusalem, the Israeli Defence Ministry, the IDF blog, the President’s official website and many others.
Most of the sites remain down.
The country’s finance minister has acknowledged the recent wave of attacks, saying the government is now waging a war on a “second front.”
Over the past four days, Israel has “deflected 44 million cyber-attacks on government websites,” Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz told AP.
Call Angels is the perfect way to promote growth and healthy profits
“God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendent of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.”
–Luke 1:26-27, NIV
“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” –Hebrews 1:14, NIV
According to a March 2004 Gallup poll, belief in angels and demons is on the rise, at least in the United States. In 1994, 72% of Americans said they believed in angels; in 2004, 78% indicated belief in angels. Belief in the devil has risen even more dramatically, increasing from 55% in 1990 to 70% in 2004. 1
Other English-speaking countries are more skeptical, however. In November 2004, a Gallup poll showed that 56% of Canadians and 36% of Britons believe in angels and only 37% of Canadians and 29% of Britons believe in the devil. 2
Belief in angels is common to Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The concept of angelic beings is very similar in all three faiths: angels are spiritual beings who were created by God before the world was created. Their role is to glorify God, minister to God, and, especially, act as God’s messengers to humans in matters of great importance (such as the announcement to Mary in Christianity and the revelation of the Qur’an in Islam). They are also helpers and guardians of the faithful.
Angels in the New Testament
In the New Testament, angels appear frequently as the ministers of God and the agents of revelation (Matt 1:20 to Joseph, 4:11 to Jesus, Luke 1:26 to Mary, Acts 12:7 to Peter); and Jesus speaks of angels as fulfilling such functions (Mark 8:38, 13:27), implying in one saying that they neither marry nor are given in marriage (Mark 12:25). Angels are most prominent in Revelation.
The New Testament takes little interest in the idea of the angelic hierarchy that developed later, but there are traces of the doctrine. The distinction of good and bad angels is recognized; there are names: Gabriel (Luke 1:19), the evil angels Abaddon or Apollyon (Rev. 9:11), Beelzebub (Mark 3:22) and Satan (Mark 1:13); ranks are implied: archangels (Michael, Jude 9), principalities and powers (Rom. 8:38; Col. 2:10), thrones and dominions (Col 1:16). Angels occur in groups of four or seven (Rev 7:1).
In Rev 1-3 we meet with the “Angels” of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor. These are probably guardian angels, standing to the churches in the same relation that the “princes” in Daniel stand to the nations; practically the “angels” are personifications of the churches. A less likely view is that the “angels” are the human representatives of the churches, the bishops or chief presbyters.
The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary in the traditional role of messenger to inform her that her child would be the Messiah, and other angels were present to herald his birth. An angel appeared at Jesus’ tomb, frightened the Roman guards, rolled away the stone from the tomb, and later told the myrrh-bearing women of Jesus’ resurrection. Two angels witnessed Jesus’ ascent into Heaven and prophesied his return. When Peter was imprisoned, an angel put his guards to sleep, released him from his chains, and led him out of the prison. Angels fill a number of different roles in the book of Revelation. Among other things, they are seen gathered around the Throne of God singing the “Holy, holy, holy” hymn.
Artistic and Literary Depictions of Angels in Christianity
Angels are frequently depicted as human in appearance, though many theologians have argued that they have no physical existence. (Hence the frequently recounted tale of Scholastics arguing about how many angels could fit on a pinhead; if angels possess physical bodies, the answer is “a finite number”, if they do not, the answer is “an infinite number”.) Seraphim are often depicted as six wings radiating from a center — either concealing a body, or without a body.
Beginning in the end of the 4th century, angels were depicted with wings, presumably to give an easy explanation for them travelling to and from heaven or to depict them as spirits. Scholastic theologians teach that angels are able to reason instantly, and to move instantly. They also teach that angels are intermediaries to some forces that would otherwise be natural forces of the universe, such as the rotation of planets and the motion of stars. Angels possess the beatific vision, or the unencumbered understanding of God (the essence of the pleasure of heaven). Furthermore, there are more angels then there are anything else in the universe (although when first written this would have probably not included atoms since atomic structure was not known).
Religious thought about the angels during the middle ages was much influenced by the theory of the angelic hierarchy set forth in the The Celestial Hierarchy, written in the 5th century in the name of Dionysius the Areopagite. The creeds and confessions do not formulate any authoritative doctrine of angels; and modern rationalism has tended to deny the existence of such beings, or to regard the subject as one on which we can have no certain knowledge. The principle of continuity, however, seems to require the existence of beings intermediate between man and God.
Some Christian traditions hold that angels are organized into three major Hierarchies which are subdivided into orders or Choirs, and list as many as ten orders of angels. This is particularly clear in the above-mentioned The Celestial Hierarchy, which gives the names that have become part of tradition: Angels, Archangels, Principalities, Powers, Virtues, Dominions, Thrones, Cherubim, and Seraphim. In this hierarchy, the Cherubim and Seraphim are typically closest to God, while the Angels and Archangels are most active in human affairs. Many of these names come from verses in the Bible which would appear at first to be referencing a literal thing, although retroactively suggesting that they really mention angels can also make sense in the context. For example the verse in Paul “our struggle is not with earthly things but with principalities and powers” (meaning, according to most theologians, the fallen angels of those choirs, used as an example of all the fallen angels).
Some Christian traditions also hold that angels play a variety of specific roles in the lives of believers. For instance, each Christian may be assigned a guardian angel at their baptism (although never defined by the Catholic or Orthodox churches, this is personally held by many church members and theologians). Each consecrated altar has at least one angel always present offering up prayers, and a number of angels join the congregation when they meet to pray. In the story of the 40 martyrs of Sebaste, in which 40 Christian Roman soldiers were made to stand naked on a frozen lake in the snow until they renounced their faith, angels were seen descending from Heaven placing the crowns of martyrs on their heads.
Certain Christian traditions, especially the Protestant Reformed tradition, hold that references to the “Angel of the Lord” are references to pre-Incarnation appearances of Jesus.
In many informal folk beliefs among Christians concerning the afterlife, the souls of the virtuous dead ascend into Heaven to be converted into angels. However, this belief is not supported by the Bible and theologians are quick to discount it.
References
“Eternal Destinations: Americans Believe in Heaven, Hell.” Gallup Poll News Service, May 25, 2004.
Mary (مريم Maryam in Arabic), the mother of Jesus (Isa), is considered one of the most righteous women in the Islamic tradition. She is mentioned more in the Quran than in the entire New Testament and is also the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran. According to the Quran, Jesus was born miraculously by the will of God without a father. His mother is regarded as a chaste and virtuous woman and is said to have been a virgin. The Quran states clearly that Jesus was the result of a virgin birth, but that neither Mary nor her son were divine. In the Quran, no other woman is given more attention than Mary and the Quran states that Mary was chosen above all women:
Behold! the angels said: “O Mary! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee- chosen thee above the women of all nations.
The nineteenth chapter of the Quran is named after her and is, to some extent, about her life. Of the Quran’s 114 suras, she is among only eight people who have a chapter named after them. Mary is specifically mentioned in the Quran, alongside Asiya, as an exemplar for all righteous women. Mary plays an important role in Islamic culture and religious tradition, and verses from the Quran relating to Mary are frequently inscribed on the mihrabof various mosques, including in the Hagia Sophia.
Family
Mary’s lineage, going back to her grandfather, as interpreted by Muslims.
Lineage of six prominent prophets according to Islamic tradition
The Quran refers to Mary as being from the “house of Amram“, which is a reference to Amram, the father ofMoses (Musa), Aaron (Harun) and Miriam, through whom Mary descended. Mary is further called the “daughter of Amram”, which has again been interpreted to refer to her ancestor rather than her actual father, who is unnamed in the Quran, but to whom Christian tradition applies the name Joachim. Muslim scholars and commentators have seen the Quran’s statement of Mary being a “daughter of Amram” as similar to the description of Elizabeth in the Gospel of Luke as being one of the “daughters of Aaron”; they interpret both of these phrases as referring to ancestral fathers, rather than literal fathers. Take note, however, that the Gospel of Luke only says Mary and Elizabeth are relatives. There is no phrase “the daughter of Aaron.” (Only Luke 1 mentions Elizabeth.)
Mary in the Quran
Mary is mentioned frequently in the Quran, and her narrative occurs consistently from the earliest chapters, revealed in Mecca, to the latest verses, revealed in Medina.
Birth
The birth of Mary is narrated in the Quran with references to her father as well as Saint Anne. Mary’s father is called Amram in tradition and is the equivalent of Joachim in Christian tradition. Muslim literature narrates that Amram (Imran in Arabic) and Anne (Hannah in Arabic) were old and childless and that, one day, the sight of a bird in a tree feeding her young aroused Anne’s desire for a child. She prayed to God to fulfill her desire and vowed, if her prayer was accepted, that her child would be dedicated to the service of God. She prayed for her child to remain protected from Satan (Shayṭān) and Muslim tradition records a hadith, which states that the only children born without the “touch of Satan,” were Mary and Jesus.
Early years
The Quran narrates that Mary grew up in the temple of the prayer, and had a special place in the temple of her own. She was placed under the care of the prophet Zechariah. The Muslim narrative makes it clear that lots were cast as to who should be the guardian of Mary and the outcome was that she should be placed under Zechariah’s care. As often as Zechariah entered Mary’s prayer chamber, he found her provided with food and he would ask her where she received it from, to which she would reply that God provides to whom He wills. Scholars have debated as to whether this refers to miraculous food that Mary received from God or whether it was normal food. Those in favor of the former view state that it had to be miraculous food, as Zechariah being aprophet, would have known that God is the provider of all sustenance and thus would not have questioned Mary, if it was normal food.
Annunciation to Mary
The virgin birth of Jesus is supremely important in Islam, as one of the most important miracles of God. The first explicit mention of an annunciation foreshadowing the birth of Jesus is in sura 19 (Maryam), ayah 20 where Mary asks Gabriel (Jibral) how she will be able to conceive, when no man has touched her. Gabriel’s reply assures Mary that for God all things are easy and that Jesus’s virgin birth will be a sign for mankind. The birth is later referred in sura 66 (At-Tahrim), ayah 12, where the Quran states that Mary remained “pure”, while God allowed a life to shape itself in Mary’s womb. A third mention of the annunciation is in sura 3 (Ali-Imran), ayat 37–38, where Mary is also given the glad tidings that she has been chosen above all the women of creation.
Commentators on the Quran remark on the last verse that Mary was as close to a perfect woman as there could be, and she was devoid of almost all failings. Although Islam honors numerous women, including Khadija and Fatimah, many commentators followed this verse in the absolute sense, and agreed that Mary was the greatest woman of all time. Other commentators, however, while maintaining that Mary was the “queen of the saints”, interpreted this verse to mean that Mary was the greatest woman of that time and that Fatimah and Khadija were equally great. According to exegesis and literature, Gabriel appeared to Mary, who was still young in age, in the form of a well-made man with a “shining face” and announced to her the birth of Jesus. After her immediate astonishment, she was reassured by the angel‘s answer that God has the power to do anything. The details of the Mary’s conception are not discussed during these angelic visits, but elsewhere the Quran states (sura 21, (Al-Anbiya), ayah 91 and 66:12) that God breathed “His Spirit” into Mary while she was chaste.
Virgin birth of Jesus
Virgin Mary nurtured by a palm tree, as described in the Quran.
The Quran narrates the virgin birth of Jesus numerous times. In sura 19 (Maryam), ayat 17-21, the annunciation is given, followed by the virgin birth, which exegesis relates took place soon after the annunciation. In Islam, Jesus is called the “spirit of God” because he was through the action of the spirit, but that belief does not include the doctrine of his pre-existence, as it does in Christianity. Sura:66:12 states that Jesus was born when the spirit of God breathed upon Mary, whose body was chaste.
The Quran’s narrative of the virgin birth is somewhat different from that in the New Testament. The Quran states that Mary was in the midst of the desert, when the pains of childbirth came upon her, as she was near a palm tree. Mary cried in pain and held onto the palm, at which point a voice came from “beneath the (palm-tree)” or “beneath her”, understood by some to refer to Jesus, who was yet in her womb, which said ” “Grieve not! for thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee; “And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree: It will let fall fresh ripe dates upon thee.” The Quran goes on to describe that Mary vowed not to speak to any man on that day, as God was to make Jesus, whom Muslims believe spoke in the cradle, perform his first miracle. The Quran goes on to narrate that Mary then brought Jesus to the temple, where immediately she began to be taunted by all the men, excluding Zechariah, who believed in the virgin birth. The Israelites accused Mary of having touched another man whilst unmarried. It was then that according to the Quran the infant Jesus began to speak in the cradle, and spoke of his prophecy for the first time.
Mary in Muslim tradition
Mary is one of the most honored figures in Muslim history. Muslim women look upon her as an example and are known to visit both Muslim and Christian shrines. Muslim tradition, like Christian, honors her memory at Matariyyah near Cairo, and in Jerusalem. Muslims also visit the Bath of Mary in Jerusalem, where Muslim tradition recounts Mary once bathed, and this location was visited at times by women, who were seeking a cure for barrenness. Some plants have also been named after Mary, such as Maryammiah, which, as tradition recounts, acquired its sweet scent when Mary wiped her forehead with its leaves. Another plant is Kaff Maryam (Anastatica), which was used by some Muslim women to help in pregnancy, and the water of this plant was given to women to drink while praying.
Islamic literature does not recount many instances from Mary’s later life, and the assumption is one of the Christian events not present in any Muslim records. Nevertheless, some contemporary Muslim scholars, an example being Martin Lings, accepted the assumption as being a historical event from Mary’s life.[27] One of the lesser-known events which is recorded in Muslim literature, is that of Mary visiting Rome with John and Thaddeus (Jude), the disciples (al-Hawāriyūn) of Jesus, during the reign of Nero.
Arabic titles
Qānitah: Mary is so called in sura 66:12.The Arabic term implies the meaning, not only of constant submission to God, but also absorption in prayer and invocation, meanings that coincides with the image of Mary spending her childhood in the temple of prayer. In this way, Mary personifies prayer and contemplation in Islam.
Siddiqah: She who confirms the truth or She who has faith. Mary is called Siddiqah twice in the Quran (sura 5 (Al-Ma’ida), ayat 73-75 and 66:12). The term has also been translated, She who believes sincerely completely.
Sājidah: She who prostrates to God in worship. The Quran states: “O Mary! Worship your Lord devoutly: prostrate yourself”. While in Sujud, a Muslim is to praise God and glorify Him. In this motion, which Muslims believe to be derived from Marian nature, hands, knees and the forehead touch the ground together.
Rāki’ah: She who bows down to God in worship. The Quran states: “O Mary! Bow down in prayer with those men, who bow down.” The command was repeated by angels only to Mary, according to the Muslim view. Ruku’ in Muslim prayer during prayer has been derived from Mary’s practice.
Tāhirah: She who was purified.
Mustafia: She who was chosen. The Quran states: “O Mary! God has chosen you and purified you and again he has chosen you above all women of all nations of the worlds” .
Sa’imah: She who fasts. Mary is reported to fast one-half of a year in some Muslim traditions.
Many other names of Mary can be found in various other books and religious collections. In Hadith, she has been referred to by names such as Batul, Adhraa (Ascetic Virgin), and Marhumah (Enveloped in God’s Mercy).
He said, “My Lord, indeed my bones have weakened, and my head has filled with white, and never have I been in my supplication to You, my Lord, unhappy.
He said, “Thus [it will be]; your Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign to the people and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter [already] decreed.’ “
So eat and drink and be contented. And if you see from among humanity anyone, say, ‘Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to [any] man.’ “
And warn them, [O Muhammad], of the Day of Regret, when the matter will be concluded; and [yet], they are in [a state of] heedlessness, and they do not believe.
Those were the ones upon whom Allah bestowed favor from among the prophets of the descendants of Adam and of those We carried [in the ship] with Noah, and of the descendants of Abraham and Israel, and of those whom We guided and chose. When the verses of the Most Merciful were recited to them, they fell in prostration and weeping.
[Therein are] gardens of perpetual residence which the Most Merciful has promised His servants in the unseen. Indeed, His promise has ever been coming.
[Gabriel said], “And we [angels] descend not except by the order of your Lord. To Him belongs that before us and that behind us and what is in between. And never is your Lord forgetful –
Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them – so worship Him and have patience for His worship. Do you know of any similarity to Him?”
And when Our verses are recited to them as clear evidences, those who disbelieve say to those who believe, “Which of [our] two parties is best in position and best in association?”
Say, “Whoever is in error – let the Most Merciful extend for him an extension [in wealth and time] until, when they see that which they were promised – either punishment [in this world] or the Hour [of resurrection] – they will come to know who is worst in position and weaker in soldiers.”
So, [O Muhammad], We have only made Qur’an easy in the Arabic language that you may give good tidings thereby to the righteous and warn thereby a hostile people.
^Quran19:20–22 Sura 19:20 She said: “How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?” 19:21 He said: “So (it will be): Thy Lord saith, ‘that is easy for Me: and (We wish) to appoint him as a Sign unto men and a Mercy from Us’:It is a matter (so) decreed.” 19:22 So she conceived him, and she retired with him to a remote place.
“Henceforth all generations will call me blessed.” –Mary, Luke 1:48
There are several Marys in the Bible, but by far the most important is Mary, the Mother of Jesus. She is known by many titles, including the Blessed Virgin Mary(sometimes abbreviated BVM), Queen of Heaven, Theotokos (Mother of God) andOur Lady (Notre-Dame in French; Madonna in Italian).
Because of her humility, piety and role as the mother of the Savior of humanity, Mary has been accorded great respect in all branches of Christianity and is a favorite subject in art, music and literature. In Catholic and Orthodox Churches, Mary is the pre-eminent saint and the focus of much popular devotion.
This article explores historical and modern Christian beliefs about Mary (known as “Mariology”), which includes such doctrines as the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Virgin Birth of Christ, the perpetual virginity of Mary, the Assumption of Mary, Mary as “Theotokos,” and Mary as Coredemptrix and Mediatrix.
Visions, shrines, feast days, the “Hail Mary” and other devotional practices related to Mary, which are important aspects of Mariology, will be treated in the Christian Practices section.
Mary in the New Testament
The Virgin Mary plays a prominent role in the Gospels, especially in the birth stories of Mark (1-2) and Luke (1-2). According to Luke, Mary was of the tribe of Judah and the lineage of David (1:32).
When Mary was a young woman engaged to Joseph, the Angel Gabriele announced to her that she would give birth to a son that would be born of the Holy Spirit. Mary humbly accepted her divinely-appointed role, saying, “May it be unto me as you have said.” She then conceived and gave birth to Jesus while remaining a virgin (Lk 1:31f; Mt 1:20, 23).
Mary appears periodically throughout Jesus’ ministry, death and resurrection. She was present at Jesus’ first miracle, which he performed reluctantly at her suggestion (John 2:1f).
At the crucifixion, Mary and a small group of women were present (Jn 19:25). Speaking from the cross, Jesus entrusted her care to his disciple John (Jn 19:26). One of Michaelangelo’s most famous sculptures (right) depicts Mary mourning her son’s death.
According to traditional interpretation, the Virgin Mary was not the “other Mary” who visited the tomb after Jesus’ death (Matthew 28:1) – it is said she did not visit the tomb because she already knew he would not be there.
In addition, there is no biblical record of the resurrected Jesus appearing to Mary. In 1997, the Pope speculates that it is highly likely Jesus did appear to his mother (Vatican Information Services, May 21, 1997). After the resurrection, Mary was present in the Upper Room at Jerusalem with the disciples (Acts 1:14), but this is the last biblical mention of her.
Mary in Apocryphal Texts
The Gospel of James contains biographical material about Mary considered plausible by some Orthodox and Catholic Christians. It states she was the daughter of Joachim and Anna, who were quite old when she was conceived. They took her to live in the Temple in Jerusalem when she was three years old, as Hannah took Samuel to the Tabernacle in the Old Testament. The Gospel of James also teaches Mary’s perpetual virginity.
Mary in Early Christian Theology
In the writings of the early church fathers, Mary is mentioned only occasionally and primarily in contrast to Eve. Justin Martyr (d. c.165) and Irenaeus (d. c.202) contrasted Mary’s obedience with Eve’s disobedience.
The apocryphal Gospel of James (as seen above), Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and especially Athanasius affirmed Mary’s perpetual virginity. This doctrine was accepted by both Western and Eastern Churches from the fifth century onwards.
The doctrine of Mary as Theotokos (God-bearer) arose in Alexandria and was probably first used by Origen. It became common in the fourth century, was opposed by Nestorius, and accepted at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Mary played a lesser role in the West than in the East at this time. Western theologians like St. Ambrose primarily spoke of Mary as a “type” or symbol of the Church.
The doctrine of the bodily Assumption of Mary was formally developed by St. Gregory of Tours (d. 594), although it had been present in apocryphal tests since the late fourth century. The Feast of the Assumption became widespread in the sixth century, and sermons on that occasion tended to emphasize Mary’s power in heaven.
Mary in the Reformation and Protestantism
Despite the Reformer’s rejection of the veneration of Mary and other saints, most Protestants have shown a great deal of honor and respect for Mary. Martin Luther said Mary is “the highest woman,” that “we can never honour her enough,” that “the veneration of Mary is inscribed in the very depths of the human heart” and that we should “wish that everyone know and respect her.” John Calvin said, “It cannot be denied that God in choosing and destining Mary to be the Mother of his Son, granted her the highest honor.” Zwingli said, “I esteem immensely the Mother of God,” and, “The more the honor and love of Christ increases among men, so much the esteem and honor given to Mary should grow.”
Most Reformers rejected the Immaculate Conception, and the Assumption of Mary, but some affirmed the perpetual virginity of Mary and all accepted the Virgin Birth.
Since the Reformation, Protestants have tended to pay little attention to Mary, primarily in reaction against the excessive level of adoration they believe is relegated to her in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity. But this may be beginning to change. In the summer of 2004, Christian History & Biography magazine (affiliated with the Protestant Christianity Today) dedicated an entire issue to Mary. Included were articles suggesting the value of making a larger place for her in Protestantism. {6} In December 2004, the Southern Baptist dean of an evangelical school in Alabama said:
I would like Protestants today, evangelicals today, to go back to the reformers. I don’t think we have to become Roman Catholics or Eastern Orthodox believers to recover a truly Protestant, reformational, scriptural understanding of Mary.
Professor Beverley Roberts Gaventa of Princeton Theological Seminary, whose writings have called for more Protestant emphasis of Mary agrees, pointing out:
What happens in the story is that Mary is chosen entirely by God’s own initiative. This is a primary example of what Protestants emphasize as God’s divine grace, God’s initiative.
The Immaculate Conception
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.– Pope Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854)
According to the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, Mary was born without the stain of original sin. Both Catholics and Orthodox accept this doctrine, but only the Roman Catholic Church has solemnly defined the teaching, and the title “Immaculate Conception” is generally used only by Catholics. Most Protestants reject the idea as having no foundation in Scripture.
In Eastern Orthodox Churches, the matter is seen somewhat differently. Orthodox Christians reject the western doctrine of original sin, preferring instead to speak of a tendency towards sin. Thus they believe Mary was born without sin, but so is everyone else. However, Orthodox still affirm Mary was “immaculate” (i.e., sinless) in that the grace of God preserved her from any actual sin during her lifetime.
Unlike the Virgin Birth and the Assumption of Mary, the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception has not gone uncontested within the Catholic Church. It was the source of great controversy among medieval theologians, primarily because it was believed original sin was passed on to one’s offspring through the sexual act and no one denied Mary was born in the natural way. Those opposing the doctrine included St. Anselm of Canterbury and the Dominicans; it was defended and explained by Anselm’s student Eadmer, Duns Scotus, the Franciscans and the Jesuits. The Assumption of Mary was formally affirmed and defined for Roman Catholics in 1854.
Mary as Virgin Mother
The notion that Mary gave birth to Jesus while remaining a virgin is taught explicitly in the birth narratives of Matthew (1:18 ff.) and Luke (1:34 ff.), but these seem to be the only references to the Virgin Birth in the New Testament. The Gospel of Mark begins with Jesus as an adult, and the Gospel of John, while beginning with Jesus’ pre-birth existence, does not mention any miraculous aspects of Jesus’ birth. Galatians 4:4, the earliest allusion to Mary in Christian literature, states only that Jesus was “born of woman.” Most scholars do not attach special significance to this phrase on the basis that “as parallels such as Job 14:1 and Matthew 11:11 suggest, the phrase is a Hebraic way of speaking about the essential humanity of a person.”
After the New Testament, the doctrine of the Virgin Birth became prominent. It appeared frequently in early Christian literature, it was formalized in the ecumenical creeds, and it was accepted by the Reformers, who rejected most other Catholic doctrines regarding Mary. Today, the Virgin Birth continues to be accepted by Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants alike.
Mary as Theotokos or the Mother of God
The doctrine of Mary to attract the most controversy within Christianity is her title of Theotokos (Greek for “God-bearer” or “Mother of God”). This term first arose in Alexandria, Egypt, around the fourth century and quickly gained popularity. Despite centering on a title for Mary, the issue actually has much more to do with Christology. The notion of Mary as God-bearer was intended to reflect the then-established belief that Jesus was fully divine. However, for some (most notably Nestorius), it did so at the expense of Jesus’ full humanity. In 431, the Council of Ephesus affirmed the use of Theotokos as acceptable and condemned Nestorius. Today, Theotokos is used often by Orthodox Christians as a synonym for Mary, and Catholics regularly refer to Mary as Mother of God.
Mary as Perpetual Virgin
Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy teach that Mary was not only a virgin before she gave birth to Jesus, but she remained a virgin her entire life. Some Protestants also hold this view, including Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin, but most modern Protestants believe she later had other children with Joseph since the Bible speaks of Jesus’ brothers and sisters. Catholics and Orthodox explain references to Jesus’ brothers as either cousins, or as step brothers who were Joseph’s children by a prior marriage.
The Assumption of Mary
According to Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox tradition, between three and fifteen years after Christ’s Ascension, in either Jerusalem or Ephesus, Mary died while surrounded by the apostles. Later when the apostles opened her tomb, they found it empty and concluded that she had been bodily assumed into Heaven.
This doctrine was present in apocryphal works since the end of the fourth century, and was formally taught by St. Gregory of Tours in the sixth century. The bodily Assumption of Mary seems to have been accepted in both Western and Eastern Churches from the sixth century onwards, and went virtually uncontested until the Reformation.
In 1950, speaking ex cathedra (infallibly) in his encyclical Munificentissimus Deus, Pope Pius XII proclaimed the Dogma of the Assumption, in which he stated that “at the end of her earthly course, Mary was assumed into heavenly glory, body and soul.”
Mary as Coredemptrix and Mediatrix of All Graces
An additional doctrine of Mary believed by many Catholics, but not yet formalized by the Pope, is that of Mary as Coredemptrix. This title indicates that Mary participated in some way in Christ’s redemption of mankind. At its simplest, this doctrine is based on Mary’s free acceptance of her opportunity to give birth to the Savior, as indicated by her reply, “May it be unto me as you have said” (Lk 1:38). This event is sometimes referred to as the “guarantee of the Incarnation.”
Over the years, however, the term Coredemptrix has come to denote a more active role for Mary than her assent. The Second Vatican Council declared, “in suffering with Him as He died on the cross, she cooperated in the work of the Savior, in an altogether singular way, by obedience, faith, hope, and burning love, to restore supernatural life to souls” (Lumen gentium 61-62). However, Catholic theologians differ as to the precise nature of Mary’s participation in the redemption, and, as aforementioned, the Pope has yet to speak ex cathedra on the subject.
Closely related to this doctrine is that of Mary as Mediatrix of All Graces, which affirms that all graces Christ obtains for humanity are dispensed by and through Mary. The Second Vatican Council also touched on this subject when it stated that “the Blessed Virgin’s salutary influence on men… flows from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on His mediation, depends entirely on it, and draws all its power from it” (Lumen gentium 60). This also has not been formally affirmed by the pope, but it is popular among many Catholics.
A lay Catholic organization, the Vox Populi Mariae Mediatrici (Voice of the People for Mary Mediatrix), has been founded with the goal of winning formal recognition of the “fifth doctrine of Mary,” which includes Mary as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix of All Graces, and Advocate for the People of God. The organization is currently collecting signatures that will be included with a letter to the Pope asking that he “define and proclaim the Blessed Virgin Mary as Coredemptrix, Mediatrix of all grace and Advocate for the People of God.”
Mary in Other Faiths
Islamic theology accepts that Jesus was the result of a virgin birth. The Quran tells the story of Maryam (Mary) in two places, 3:35-47 and 19:16-34, but provides much less detail than the New Testament. It says Maryam was dedicated to God’s service by her mother while still in the womb (Quran 3:35), that she was cared for by Zakariya (Zecharias) (3:36), and that in her childhood God provided for her to help her grow strong and pious (3:37). God then sent an angel to announce that she could shortly expect to bear a son, specifying that “O Mary! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee – chosen thee above the women of all nations.” (Qur’an 3:42). It specifies that she conceived Jesus despite being a virgin: “She said: “O my Lord! How shall I have a son when no man hath touched me?” He said: “Even so: Allah createth what He willeth: When He hath decreed a plan, He but saith to it, ‘Be,’ and it is!” (3:47).
He said, “My Lord, indeed my bones have weakened, and my head has filled with white, and never have I been in my supplication to You, my Lord, unhappy.
He said, “Thus [it will be]; your Lord says, ‘It is easy for Me, and We will make him a sign to the people and a mercy from Us. And it is a matter [already] decreed.’ ”
So eat and drink and be contented. And if you see from among humanity anyone, say, ‘Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to [any] man.’ ”
And warn them, [O Muhammad], of the Day of Regret, when the matter will be concluded; and [yet], they are in [a state of] heedlessness, and they do not believe.
Those were the ones upon whom Allah bestowed favor from among the prophets of the descendants of Adam and of those We carried [in the ship] with Noah, and of the descendants of Abraham and Israel, and of those whom We guided and chose. When the verses of the Most Merciful were recited to them, they fell in prostration and weeping.
[Therein are] gardens of perpetual residence which the Most Merciful has promised His servants in the unseen. Indeed, His promise has ever been coming.
[Gabriel said], “And we [angels] descend not except by the order of your Lord. To Him belongs that before us and that behind us and what is in between. And never is your Lord forgetful –
Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them – so worship Him and have patience for His worship. Do you know of any similarity to Him?”
And when Our verses are recited to them as clear evidences, those who disbelieve say to those who believe, “Which of [our] two parties is best in position and best in association?”
Say, “Whoever is in error – let the Most Merciful extend for him an extension [in wealth and time] until, when they see that which they were promised – either punishment [in this world] or the Hour [of resurrection] – they will come to know who is worst in position and weaker in soldiers.”
So, [O Muhammad], We have only made Qur’an easy in the Arabic language that you may give good tidings thereby to the righteous and warn thereby a hostile people.
And how many have We destroyed before them of generations? Do you perceive of them anyone or hear from them a sound?
Many followers of Wicca associate Mary with the Earth Mother of various Neo-pagan traditions. Some Buddhists have linked Mary to Kuan-Yin, a Bodhisattva of compassion venerated by various Chinese Buddhist faiths. Followers of the New Age movement or those interested in general spirituality have also found inspiration in Mary (see Books on the Doctrine of Mary, below).
References
F.L. Cross and E.A. Livingstone, eds., “Mary, the Blessed Virgin.” Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church(Oxford UP, 1997), pp. 1047-48.
“Mary, Mother of Jesus.” Wikipedia. January 4, 2005.
“Mary.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. January 4, 2005.
Munificentissimus Deus – Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII issued November 1, 1950.
Petition for the Papal definition of Mary, Coredemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate.
Mary in the Imagination of the Church – Christian History and Biography Magazine, Summer Issue 2004.
Protestant Mary – PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, December 17, 2004
External Links on Mary
Blessed Virgin Mary – Internet Encyclopedia of Religion
Blessed Virgin Mary – Catholic Pages. Various articles on Catholic doctrines and practices related to Mary.
Official Site of Vox Populi Mariae Mediatrici
The Mary Page – Catholic.net
The Mediatrix of All Graces – Catholic.net
Mary the Blessed Virgin – Catholic Online Saints
Immaculate Conception and Assumption – Catholic Answers
Mary: Ever Virgin – Catholic Answers
The Ever-Virginity of the Mother of God – AGAIN Magazine (Orthodox)
Mary Mother of God – Catholic Answers
The Blessed Evangelical Mary: Why we shouldn’t ignore her any longer – Christianity Today
Mariology.com
General Resources
Jaroslav Pelikan, Mary Through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of Culture (Yale UP, 1998).
Catholic Perspectives
Lesley Hazleton, Mary: A Flesh-and-Blood Biography of the Virgin Mother (2004).
Elizabeth A. Johnson, Truly Our Sister: A Theology of Mary in the Communion of Saints (2003).
Scott Hahn, Hail, Holy Queen (2001). “Melds autobiographical reflections, scriptural interpretation, and historical anecdotes in an accessible style to clarify some sophisticated points of Catholic theology.”
Peter M. J. Stravinskas, The Catholic Answer Book of Mary (Our Sunday Visitor, 1999).
Luigi Gambero, Thomas Buffer, Mary and the Fathers of the Church: The Blessed Virgin Mary in Patristic Thought (Ignatius Press, 1999).
Father Mateo, Refuting the Attack on Mary: A Defense of Marian Doctrines (Catholic Answers, 1999).
Stefano M Manelli, All generations shall call me Blessed: Biblical mariology (Academy of the Immaculate, 1995).
Judith A. Bauer, The Essential Mary Handbook: A Summary of Beliefs, Practices, and Prayers (Liguori Publications, 1999).
Philip Boyce, Mary: The Virgin Mary in the Life and Writings of John Henry Newman (Gracewing, 2002).
Peter M.J. Stravinskas, Mary and the Fundamentalist Challenge (Our Sunday Visitor, 1997).
Beth Hart, Catholic for a Reason II: Scripture and the Mystery of the Mother of God – not available at Amazon.
Margaret Bunson, ed., John Paul II’s Book of Mary (Our Sunday Visitor, 1996).
Maria Ruiz Scaperlanda, The Seeker’s Guide to Mary (Loyola Press, 2002).
John Martin, Roses, Fountains, and Gold: The Virgin Mary in History, Art, and Apparition (Ignatius Press, 1998).
Charlene Spretnak, Missing Mary: The Queen of Heaven and Her Re-Emergence in the Modern Church(Palgrave Macmillan, 1997).
Divine Feminine/General Spirituality Perspectives
G. Scott Sparrow, Blessed Among Women: Encounters with Mary and Her Message. “Recounts first-person, dramatic, true stories of people’s encounters with Mary and discusses their significance in ways that will inspire people of all spiritual backgrounds.” (Three Rivers Press, 1998).
Geoffrey Ashe, The Virgin: Mary’s Cult and the Re-Emergence of the Goddess (Arkana, 1991 (reprint)). Out of print.
Beverly Donofrio, Looking for Mary: Or, the Blessed Mother and Me. (Compass Books, reissue 2001). By the author of Riding in Cars with Boys. “Entering her fortieth year, Beverly Donofrio, a “lapsed Catholic,” inexplicably begins collecting Virgin Mary memorabilia at yard sales. Her search for kitsch, however, soon becomes a spiritual quest, leading her to make a pilgrimage to the holy city of Medjugorje. There, she learns that Mary comes into your life only when pride steps out and receives a bonus: hope.”
Stephen Benko, The Virgin Goddess: Studies in the Pagan and Christian Roots of Mariology (Studies in the History of Religions).” Stephen Benko approaches this study as both an historian and a Christian believer. Inquiring into extra-biblical sources of Marian piety, belief and doctrine, he proposes ‘that there is a direct line, unbroken and clearly discernible, from the goddess-cults of the ancients to the reverence paid and eventually the cult accorded to the Virgin Mary.'” (Brill Academic, 1997).
James F. Twyman, Secret of the Beloved Disciple (Findhorn Press, 2000). “James Twyman finally learns the mysterious identity of the Emissaries of Light, and meets an amazing woman named Maria during a peace demonstration on the streets of Belgrade. He later learns that Maria is a physical manifestation of Mary, the Blessed Mother, and she leads him on a journey that changes his life forever.”
One of the last remaining Auschwitz survivors has launched a blistering attack on Israel over its occupation of Palestine as he began a lecture tour of Scotland.
Dr Hajo Meyer, 86, who survived 10 months in the Nazi death camp, spoke out as his 10-day tour of the UK and Ireland – taking in three Scottish venues – got under way.
Dr Meyer also attended hearings at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday, where five pro-Palestine campaigners are accused of racially aggravated conduct after disrupting a concert by the Jerusalem Quartet at the city’s Queen’s Hall.
Speaking as his tour got under way, Dr Meyer said there were parallels between the treatment of Jews by Germans in the Second World War and the current treatment of Palestinians by Israelis.
He said: “The Israelis tried to dehumanise the Palestinians, just like the Nazis tried to dehumanise me. Nobody should dehumanise any other and those who try to dehumanise another are not human.
“It may be that Israel is not the most cruel country in the world … but one thing I know for sure is that Israel is the world champion in pretending to be civilised and cultured.”
Dr Meyer was born in 1924 in Bielefeld, Germany. He was not allowed to attend school there after November 1938. He then fled to the Netherlands, alone. In 1944, after a year in the underground, he was caught by the Gestapo and survived 10 months at Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.
He now lives in the Netherlands, and is the author of three books on Judaism, the Holocaust and Zionism.
Dr Meyer also insisted the definition of “anti-Semitic” had now changed, saying: “Formerly an anti-Semite was somebody who hated Jews because they were Jews and had a Jewish soul. But nowadays an anti-Semite is somebody who is hated by Jews.”
A spokesman for the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, of which Dr Meyer is a member, said criticising Israel was “not the same” as criticising Jews.
Mick Napier, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign chairman and one of the five demonstrators facing charges when the court case continues in March, said: “Palestinians are happy to have him as an ally in their cause.
“Hajo knows that Israel has a long history of abusing the tragic history of the Holocaust in order to suppress legitimate criticism of its own crimes.
“Especially since Gaza, people are no longer taken in by their claim that anyone that criticises Israel is anti-Semitic.”
A FORMER Catholic priest accused of molesting boys at a Victorian school told a colleague that “God made us this way and it’s his fault”, court documents allege.
David Edwin Rapson, 59, is accused of abusing boys between 1973 and 1990, including at the Salesian College Rupertswood in Sunbury where he was a teacher.
In a statement tendered today, one of the boys alleges he was molested by Rapson in the school infirmary when he was in year 10.
The boy said he was in the infirmary because he had been stung by a bee.
He alleges there were a number of children in the infirmary at the time and Rapson made each drink a cup of Milo.
The boy said the Milo tasted “a bit strong and quite acrid”.
He said he saw Rapson, whom he called Brother Rapson, going to each bed and lifting up the blankets and making derogatory comments about the boys’ penises.
He alleges another priest came into to the room and asked Rapson what he was doing.
Rapson replied: “You know what we do here.”
To which the other priest said: “You’ve really got to resist.”
Rapson replied: “God made us this way and it’s his fault.”
The boy’s statement said Rapson also told the other priest he was the same as him.
A short time later Rapson allegedly molested the boy.
“While he was assaulting me he was saying things like ‘You’re useless, you’re no good’ and things like that,” the boy said in his statement.
The boy, who is now in his 50s, gave his evidence in camera but his statement was released to the media.
Rapson is facing charges including one count of rape and four counts of indecently assaulting a child under 16.
The committal hearing before magistrate Greg McNamara is continuing.
Creation is the product of synchronizing our energy with the universe. Once we experience the whole and recognize it, we become aware that we are nothing but the Divine Creative Force.
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