Mary has been in the news lately. Mary who? The Blessed Virgin, Madonna (not the singer), Mother of God, that Mary. I posted the story here.
That story started me thinking. Here is the question I have been pondering... Does Protestantism have a place for the Blessed Virgin Mary?
The objection I often hear, is lifting up Mary results in bringing down Jesus. Without compromising the principles of sola gratia, sola fide, and sola scriptura, is it possible for an evangelical to understand and honor Mary in ways that are scripturally based? All Christians are included among those of every generation who call Jesus' mother blessed, but how is that to be done?
All too often, the only time I heat the subject of Mary addressed, is in reaction to a Catholic belief. The fact is, evangelicals often say less about Mary than the New Testament does. When is the last time you heard mention of her in a sermon or worship service with the possible exception of Christmas?
Is fear of association with Catholics the root cause of this dismissal of Mary and her worth? I can't answer that. I would not expect any evangelical to fully adopt the Marian devotion of Catholics. However, it seems most evangelicals have abandoned a fully biblical appreciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her role in the history of salvation.
4 comments:
Dale Price has posted a really terrific essay on this question.
As a non-Catholic, here is my perspective:
I view Mary much in the same way as I view John the Baptist, a sinner who was chosen and blessed, playing a role in preparing the way for Christ's ministry on earth. That is pretty much where it ends for me.
Whether she was a virgin her whole life, I really don't have an opinion on it. The Infancy Gospel of James, while apocryphal and not scripture, does give a good explaination as to how Jesus had brothers and sisters while Mary remained a virgin. Basically, it says that Joseph was older, a widower, and already had a bunch of kids. He was asked to take care of Mary as her guardian (they took a dove landing on his head as a sign it was to be him), and he took her into his home. Basically, he was old enough to be her father, and when she ended up being pregnant, it was set to be a big scandal and he married her. Whether or not this is how it happened, I have no idea. Like I said, the Infancy Gospel of James is part of the apocrypha.
Here's a funny joke I heard that seems to be relevant. I mean no harm by it either. Enjoy!
A Protestant Pastor went to visit an orphanage to check on the boys spiritual health. After chatting with a few Lutheran boys the Pastor came to a little Catholic Boy named Johnny.
"Johnny let me hear you recite the Lord's prayer." the pastor said.
Johnny instantly started reciting the prayer and upon finishing it, he started into a Hail Mary.
The Pastor cut the boy short saying, "Oh that's ok, I don't need to hear about her. Go on to recite the Creed."
So little Johnny started to recite the creed and paused when he got to the part that proclaims "he was born of the virgin Mary".
The pastor, noticing Johnny had stopped, looked down to the boy, and Johnny said. "Here she comes again sir, what should I do now?"
On another issue you brought up, no, it has nothing to do with fear of association with Catholics. It is based on scripture. We don't define our faith and beliefs based on who we do and don't want to be associated with. Usually, to non-Catholics, Roman Catholicism is just another big denomination and we don't think about it much, at least not any more than we think about other denominations. Unless something big happens like a Pope dies or gets elected, or we get into theological discussions with Catholics.
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