THE TRUTH BEHIND
- The Immaculate Conception -
Where does it come from?
No.
WHERE DOES IT COME FROM ?
Gospel of James
The apocryphal Gospel of James, dating to the 2nd century, is one of the earliest texts to emphasize Mary’s purity. It describes the miraculous nature of Mary’s own conception by her mother, Anne, and underscores her sacred purity. However, it does not explicitly state the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Church Father
Early Christian writers like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Ephraim the Syrian, among others, drew parallels between Eve and Mary, often contrasting Eve’s disobedience with Mary’s obedience and purity.
Development in the Middle Ages
The doctrine began to take a more defined shape in the Middle Ages. The feast of Mary’s conception was being celebrated, and theologians like Duns Scotus argued in favor of the concept that Mary was preserved from original sin. This period saw a significant theological debate on the subject, with various scholars contributing to the development of the doctrine.
Official Dogma
It was not until 1854 that Pope Pius IX formally defined the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception in the papal bull “Ineffabilis Deus.” He declared that Mary was preserved from all stain of original sin from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of Almighty God, in view of the foreseen merits of Jesus Christ.
Is it biblical ?
Evidence I
Luke 1:28: The angel Gabriel greets Mary as “full of grace” (in Latin, “gratia plena”). This phrase has been interpreted to mean that Mary was in a state of grace from the first moment of her existence, which would be consistent with being free from original sin.
Evidence II
Genesis 3:15: Known as the Protoevangelium, this passage is interpreted by some as foretelling the coming of Christ and Mary’s unique role in salvation history. The enmity between the serpent and the woman, and between their respective offspring, is sometimes seen as an implication of Mary’s opposition to sin and, by extension, her freedom from original sin.
Evidence III
Revelation 12: This passage describes a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head, enduring a struggle against a dragon. Some interpretations see this woman as a symbol of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and interpret the imagery as indicative of her exalted and sinless nature.
Are these explicit?
No.
Direct biblical counter evidence
Luke 2:48-50
When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.” And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand the statement which He had made to them. – NASB 1995
Mary worried, doubted and blamed Jesus. Since Jesus is God, and doubting/blaming God is a sin we can safely say that she sinned at that moment.
other biblical evidence
Romans 3:23
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Romans 5:12
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.”
Mary died because she sinned, Jesus died because he took up our sins.
Luke 1:46-47
“And Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.’”
Mary needs a savior because she is a sinner, otherwise she wouldn’t need one.
is the immaculate conception heretical?
Yes, if Mary was sinless, this would make her comparable to Jesus in nature.
Why would we need Jesus sacrifice then?
