If the salvation is to be
completed Jesus has to be
God and Man. If he is only
God, he cannot pay the price
for mankind. Only a man
could pay the penalty of sin
of mankind. But no man could
survive the fallen nature of
man. The wages of sin is
death. No man could escape
death, because he is born in
the species of Adam. Hence
Jesus was Man being taken
flesh from Mary - of the
Adamic Origin. He has taken
the fallen nature of man
through her. Jesus bore on
his flesh the original sin -
the sinful nature of man
like every other man in
Adamic race. Though he was
sinless, he was still a
mortal being of Adamic race
bearing the original sin in
his body. Otherwise he is
not a fit sacrfice. Thus
Issaih proclaims:
Is.53:5-6 But he was pierced
for our transgressions, he
was crushed for our
iniquities; the punishment
that brought us peace was
upon him, and by his wounds
we are healed. We all, like
sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his
own way; and the LORD has
laid on him the iniquity of
us all.
Rom 5:12 Therefore, just as
sin entered the world
through one man, and death
through sin, and in this way
death came to all men,
because all sinned--
Rom 6:23 For the wages of
sin is death,
But if he has to overcome
death and redeem he will
have to be God.
|
Declaration of
Immaculate
conception of
Mary
"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
Inefabilis Deus
1854 DS 2803 |
The declaration of
Immaculate conception of
Mary to make her free from
all original sin of mankind
would make Jesus unfit as a
sacrifice for man. Sure
enough if God wanted to make
someone free from original
sin he could by virtue of
his sovereignity. It is not
the sovereignity of God that
comes in question but the
validity and necessity of
such an act. Is it necessary
for salvation. Quite the
contrary it makes the whole
incarnation invalid. The
sacrifice on the cross an
unacceptable sacrifice as an
atonement for the sin of
mankind. An immaculate Mary
is theologically
unacceptable.
The whole series of ancestry
of Jesus traced by Mathew
and Luke shows clearly that
the lineage was never
intented to be a holy
series. Quite the opposite.
People are often surprised
that the lineage is through
Judah and not through
Joseph. Judah's character is
clear in his behaviour with
his daughter-in-law. He was
least hesitant to lie with a
prostitute. During the
intimate intercourse he did
not even recognise his
daughter-in-law Tamar. Four
women are mentioned in
Mathew's genealogy - where
the legal genealogy is
mentioned. Breaking the
tradition Mathew mentions
four women. . All the four
are women of poor repute.
First is Tamar - who enticed
her father - in - law into
lying with her. The second
is Rahab, the harlot. The
third is the Moabitess
Rehab, whom the tradition
considers as once the
priestess of Baal. The
Fourth is Betsheba - Uriah's
wife who was in adulterous
relation with David. Why
were they mentioned
specifically even though
mention of women's names
were a taboo in the Jewish
culture? This was clearly to
show that Jesus came in a
fallen human race carrying
the original sin. The
Immaculate conception tries
to break this chain of
theological necessity. The
scripture requires and
emphasizes that he came as a
member of this fallen race,
carrying with him the fallen
nature. He broke this
viscious cycle. It is
therefore a necessary and
sufficient condition that
Mary is not immacualte and
she represented the fallen
mankind.
"Original sin is only a sin
in an analogical nature. It
is a sin "contracted" and
not "committed" - a state
and not an act." (Catechism
404) " By baptism all sins
are forgiven, original sin
and all personal sins as
well as all punishment for
sin" (Council of Florence
(1439) DS 1316
In fact asssuming the
affirmation of infallible
Roman Catholic Church every
infant that is baptised in
the Roman Catholic Church is
immortal and they should not
die as long as they do not
commit personal sin. As all
know infants commit personal
acts of sin. Yet we know
that they die. Baptism do
not either impart immunity
to original sin or original
sin has nothing to do with
sickness, decay and death.
This thread is necessary as
we look at the assumption of
Mary.
The effect of removal of
original sin from any person
is to make them sinless and
perfect. Since sin has no
authority over them they do
not decay nor can they die.
That was what God meant when
he created Adam. God wanted
to have eternal fellowship
with man. In the fall his
character became evil - he
missed the mark and decay
and death entered into this
world as a consequence. This
decay and death was not only
for mankind and on all
living, but also on all
matter. The whole universe
us now under bondage of
decay and will be released
from this bondage when the
sons of men come into the
Kingdom.
Rom 8:19 The creation waits
in eager expectation for the
sons of God to be revealed.
20 For the creation was
subjected to frustration,
not by its own choice, but
by the will of the one who
subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself
will be liberated from its
bondage to decay and brought
into the glorious freedom of
the children of God.
22 We know that the whole
creation has been groaning
as in the pains of
childbirth right up to the
present time.
23 Not only so, but we
ourselves, who have the
firstfruits of the Spirit,
groan inwardly as we wait
eagerly for our adoption as
sons, the redemption of our
bodies.
If Mary was immaculate she
was immortal. Sin cannot
have any dominion over her.
However history cleary
states that Mary died and
she was burried. Even the
Roman Catholic tradition do
state that she was indeed
buried. Her death implies
and declares her to be a
daughter of Eve with
original sin in her and
consequently paid the price
in death.
Let us assume for the moment
that the sacrficial lamb
need not be with original
sin in Him. Then who is the
best sacrificial lamb? Mary
or Jesus. Mary because she
is of Adamic Oriign, She is
free from original sin. She
is sinless in her life ("By
the grace of God Mary
remained free from every
personal sin her life long"
Catechism 492). There was no
need of God to incarnate.
Death could not have held
her in bondage because she
was sinless. Mary had simply
usurped Jesus. If on the
other hand it was only a
question of removal of
original sin for the perfect
lamb, God could have easily
done that in Jesus even if
he was born from any woman.
A mother with no original
sin is simply superfluous.
|
Thus we see that
the doctrine of
immaculate
conception of
Mary - that Mary
was given the
grace to be
without original
sin - undermine
the purpose of
incarnation and
of Jesus and his
mission. Clearly
this is not the
case is seen by
the fact Mary
was not martyred
- i..e. her body
was not
forcefully
destroyed by
external forces
of the fallen
world as Jesus'
was. She died a
normal death of
old age due to
decay of the
body - a
consequence of
original sin. In
clear
theological
terms the
declaration of
immaculate
conception of
Mary was a
declaration that
the death of
Jesus was not a
sufficient
sacrifice for
the redemption
of mankind.
|
This was known very very
clearly to all early
Catholic Theologians.
Catholic scholar Sir Thomas
Aquinas wrote, "Certainly
(Mary) was conceived with
original sin, as is natural.
. . . If she would not have
been born with original sin,
she would not have needed to
be redeemed by Christ, and,
this being so, Christ would
not be the universal
Redeemer of men, which would
abolish the dignity of
Christ." Chapter
CCXXXII bis. Thomas Aquinas,
Compendio do Teologia,
Barcelona, 1985.
St. Augustine knew the
importance of Adamic origin
and its requirement for
redemption and commented
that if Mary had been free
from the power of sin, it
was not because of her
birth, but because of her
rebirth by God's grace. Yet,
in A.D. 1439, a council
meeting in Basel,
Switzerland, declared the
immaculate conception of
Mary as a dogma. At the
Council of Trent, in 1546,
when the new dogma was
affirmed it was by
subterfuge, "We do not wish
to enclose in the decree in
which original sin is dealt
with, the blessed and
immaculate Virgin Mary,
Mother of God." Cesar Vidal,
The Myth of Mary,
138.
The corruption came in slow
steps and in December 8,
1854, the dogma of the
immaculate conception was
stated with a little more
boldness: "The doctrine that
sustains that the most
blessed virgin Mary was
preserved immune from any
stain of original sin in the
first moment of her
conception, by the singular
grace and privilege of
Almighty God, in foresight
of the merits of Jesus
Christ, Saviour of the human
race, this doctrine revealed
by God should be, therefore,
firmly and constantly
believed by all the
faithful." . Finally, at the
Vatican II Council decreed
that Mary was "preserved
immune from every stain of
original sin."
Neither the scriptures nor
the Apostolic tradition ever
hinted of this. My search
could not locate even any
gnostic or apocryphal
writings to the effect. It
is purely a myth developed
much later. It was an
outgrowth of the Papal
Church of Rome. I have
quoted in full the article
which explains this dogma. A
careful reading will tell
that the dogma was not
taught until after a
millenium and even then not
without stringent opposition
with most scholars objecting
to it. It simply grew as a
conjecture without solid
scriptural or historical
basis. The only assurance of
this I can find in the
Marian literature is that
Mary herself made this
claim." Mary herself is said
to have confirmed the
doctrine in a 14th century
visitation to St. Bridget of
Sweden."
1 John 4:1 Dear friends, do
not believe every spirit,
but test the spirits to see
whether they are from God,
because many false prophets
have gone out into the
world.
Here are the extracts from
the text from Catholic
Encyclopaedia (It is copy
righted and so we could give
only portions) the subject.
You may read it from source
for full article.
"Immaculate Conception
The Doctrine
In the Constitution
Ineffabilis Deus of 8
December, 1854, Pius IX
pronounced and defined that
the Blessed Virgin Mary "in
the first instance of her
conception, by a singular
privilege and grace granted
by God, in view of the
merits of Jesus Christ, the
Saviour of the human race,
was preserved exempt from
all stain of original sin."
The subject of this immunity
from original sin is the
person of Mary at the moment
of the creation of her soul
and its infusion into her
body. .....
The Holy Scripture
Genesis 3:15
No direct or
categorical and stringent
proof of the dogma can be
brought forward from
Scripture. (Proto-evangelium),
........"and I will put
enmity between thee and the
woman and her seed; she (he)
shall crush thy head and
thou shalt lie in wait for
her (his) heel" (Genesis
3:15). The
translation "she" of the
Vulgate is interpretative;
it originated after the
fourth century, and cannot
be defended critically.
...............
Luke 1:28
The salutation of the angel
Gabriel -- chaire
kecharitomene, Hail,
full of grace (Luke 1:28)
indicates a unique abundance
of grace, a supernatural,
godlike state of soul, which
finds its explanation only
in the Immaculate Conception
of Mary. But the term
kecharitomene
(full of grace) serves only
as an illustration, not as a
proof of the dogma.
Other texts
From the texts Proverbs 8
and Ecclesiasticus 24 (which
exalt the Wisdom of God and
which in the liturgy are
applied to Mary, the most
beautiful work of God's
Wisdom), or from the
Canticle of Canticles (4:7,
"Thou art all fair, O my
love, and there is not a
spot in thee"), no
theological conclusion can
be drawn.
..........
Tradition
In regard to the
sinlessness of Mary the
older Fathers are very
cautious: some of them even
seem to have been in error
on this matter.
-
Origen, although he
ascribed to Mary high
spiritual prerogatives,
thought that, at the
time of Christ's
passion, the sword of
disbelief pierced Mary's
soul; that she was
struck by the poniard of
doubt; and that for her
sins also Christ died
(Origen, "In Luc. hom.
xvii").
-
In the same manner St.
Basil writes in the
fourth century: he sees
in the sword, of which
Simeon speaks, the doubt
which pierced Mary's
soul (Epistle 259).
-
St. Chrysostom accuses
her of ambition, and of
putting herself forward
unduly when she sought
to speak to Jesus at
Capharnaum (Matt., xi ,
46; Chrysostom, Hom.
xliv; cf. also "In
Matt.", hom. iv).
....................
Mary as the second Eve
This celebrated comparison
between Eve, ......and the
Blessed Virgin is developed
by:
The absolute purity of
Mary
Patristic writings on Mary's
purity abound.
...............
St. John Damascene
(Or. i Nativ. Deip., n. 2)
esteems the supernatural
influence of God at the
generation of Mary to be so
comprehensive that he
extends it also to her
parents. He says of
them that, during the
generation, they were filled
and purified by the Holy
Ghost, and freed from sexual
concupiscence. Consequently
according to the Damascene,
even the human element of
her origin, the material of
which she was formed, was
pure and holy. This opinion
of an immaculate active
generation and the sanctity
of the "conceptio carnis"
was taken up by some Western
authors; it was put forward
by Petrus Comestor in his
treatise against St. Bernard
and by others. Some writers
even taught that Mary was
born of a virgin and that
she was conceived in a
miraculous manner when
Joachim and Anne met at the
golden gate of the temple
(Trombelli, "Mari SS. Vita",
Sect. V, ii, 8; Summa aurea,
II, 948. Cf. also the
"Revelations" of Catherine
Emmerich which contain the
entire apocryphal legend of
the miraculous conception of
Mary.
From this summary it appears
that the belief in Mary's
immunity from sin in her
conception was prevalent
amongst the Fathers,
especially those of the
Greek Church. The
rhetorical character,
however, of many of these
and similar passages
prevents us from laying too
much stress on them, and
interpreting them in a
strictly literal sense. The
Greek Fathers never formally
or explicitly discussed the
question of the Immaculate
Conception.
The Feast
The older feast of the
Conception of Mary (Conc. of
St. Anne), which originated
in the monasteries of
Palestine at least as early
as the seventh
century, and the
modern feast of the
Immaculate Conception are
not identical in their
object. .....
.......Gradually the
solemnity emerged from the
cloister, entered into the
cathedrals, was glorified by
preachers and poets, and
eventually became a fixed
feast of the calendar,
approved by Church and
State. ........
The Controversy
........Greek and Syrian
Churches regarding the
sinlessness of Mary, he
asserted that the feast was
foreign to the old tradition
of the Church. .......... (A
long list controversy is now
listed)
By a Decree of 28 February,
1476, Sixtus IV ...........
published in 1483
a constitution in which
he punished with
excommunication all those of
either opinion who charged
the opposite opinion with
heresy (Grave nimis,
4 Sept., 1483; Denzinger,
735). In 1546 the Council of
Trent, ........Baius that
"no one but Christ
was without original sin,
and that therefore the
Blessed Virgin had died
because of the sin
contracted in Adam, and had
endured afilictions in this
life, like the rest of the
just, as punishment of
actual and original sin"
(Denzinger, 1073)
...... also issued a
constitution in which he
forbade all public
discussion of the subject.
......... "
From the
Catholic Encyclopedia,
copyright © 1913 by the
Encyclopedia Press, Inc.
Electronic version copyright
© 1996 by
New Advent, Inc.
