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Title - $10.99Soteriology / Mariology

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For a "Glossary" of the terms in this course click here Glossary

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Mariology

It has been said that if you take away from the role of Mary in salvation that you hurt the doctrines of Christ. It has been the tendancy of many "modern" Protestant movements to diminish the role of Mary in its theology. Many times this is done in ignorance of what the original "Protestant" leaders believed.

The Church up through the Reformation held to the following Marian dogmas; 1. Mother of God 2. Perpetual Virginity 3. Immaculate Conception of Mary. Luther, Calvin and John Wesley held to these beliefs. It is important to know what the early church taught concerning Mary. Many of the symbols of Mary are what would be considered to be "Typology."

Many times we want to relegate Mary as just some vessel God used and then discarded. All of the cults that have arisen out of the 1800’s dismiss the role of Mary in salvation.

Session 6
Mariology (The Study of Mary)

References to Mary throughout Church History

1. The Mother of God - Theotokos / "God Bearer" was the first Marian dogma to be defined in 431AD at the Council of Ephesus. Since Jesus was God and Man upon His incarnation, Mary being the mother of Jesus is referred to as the Mother of God. In (Luke 1:43) Elizabeth refers to Mary as the “mother of my Lord.” The term Lord there means God. See "Hail Mary" and the "Annunciation."

2. Perpetual Virginity was the 2nd Marian Dogma defined at the Lateran Council of 649 presided over by Pope Martin 1st, states that Mary was a virgin before, during and after the birth of Jesus. All of the protestant reformers believed this. Modern objections to this accepted teaching point to the term “brothers and sisters of Jesus” as referring to additional children that Mary and Joseph had after the birth of Jesus. Simply put, this is a first century grammatical point. The term “brothers and sisters” in the original language of the NT also means cousins or relatives.

Other objections are based on the word “until” in (Mat.1:25). This too is a grammatical issue. The word “until” in the Bible doesn’t always imply that afterward things changed. Another objection is (Lk.2:7) when it states that Mary gave birth to her “firstborn son.” Some say that this implies that she had other children, when in fact it is a term used in the OT to signify a legal terminology of inheritance (Ex.13:2). One point to consider is that at the cross in (John 19:26, 27) Jesus entrusts John to the care of his mother. If Jesus had other brothers or sisters they would have automatically been in charge of the care of Mary upon Jesus’ death.

One final objection is raised that if Mary and Joseph were married they would have not been considered married until they had sexual relations and that it would have been abnormal for them not to have normal sexual relations. Culturally and religiously speaking, there were those who married who dedicated themselves to virginity even though they were married (Lk.2:36, 37).

Mary was also called the "Spouse of the Holy Spirit" since she conceived through Him.

3. Immaculately Conceived Tim Staples-audio The 3rd Marian Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary was defined 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.

This term many times is confused to be referring to the birth of Jesus, which is the Incarnation, when it actually refers theologically to the birth of Mary. Simply stated, Mary was kept from the “stain of original sin” upon her conception because of the future birth of Jesus.

Just as Eve was created without the stain of sin, so too, Mary as the New Eve, was born without the stain of Original Sin. This didn’t mean that she was not in need of salvation like the rest of humanity, but that she being a special holy vessel of God was kept from the stain of sin.

Also, the term “full of grace” (Luke 1:28) does not just mean just favored, but full of God’s sacramental graces. This is a greeting found nowhere else in Scripture. Kecharitomene, the word translated "favored one," or "full of grace" is extremely rare, used only in the annunciation text and in Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. In each case, the verb is used to indicate an action that causes some effect in the object of the verb. Paul speaks of how God "granted" or bestowed His grace upon us in Jesus (see Ephesians 1:6-7). In this instance, Paul uses the word to describe how God's grace causes a transformation in us - forgiving our sins, making us His adopted sons and daughters. In the same way, the use of kecharitomene in the angel's address implies that Mary has been favored by the bestowal of God's grace.

4. Assumption of Mary into Heaven this was declared as the 4th Dogma of Mary at the First Vatican Council in 1870. There is no earthly record of where Mary was buried. Her death is recorded but not her place of burial. It is taught not that she ascended as Jesus did, but that she was assumed into heaven after her death, a foreshadowing of what will occur to all believers. This is not just based upon history, but theological and biblical. We see in (Rev.11:19-12:1-) that the woman referred to as the “ark of the Covenant” and in (Rev.12:5) as the mother of the messiah, is in heaven. She is also called the "Queen of Heaven."

5. The 5th Marian doctrine presently under consideration to be dogma is Mary as Mediatrix / Co-advocate / Co-redemptrix. Simply stated, since Christ is our Mediator, Advocate and Redeemer, Mary as His mother participates in this aspect as well. Mary is told this by Simeon in (Luke 2:35) that “a sword shall pierce your soul.” Mary participates in the suffering of Christ as her Son. She provided the Redeemer, so then she is a participant as a co-redeemer.

In Jewish history, the mother of the King (I Kings 2:18, 19, Jer. 13:18) was called the "Queen Mother" and sat at the right hand of the King as mediator to the king. All through the history of the kingdom, the Queen Mother occupied that place, second only to the king in the kingdom. There was a special word for the Queen Mother in Hebrew: she was called Gebirah, or "Great Lady."

We must also remember that we too are called to participate in the “sufferings of Christ” (Phil.3:10, Col.1:24). We too are called to “intercede as advocates and mediators” for all people.

Other Terms Referring to Mary

1. The Holy Tabernacle Mary is presented as a type of the “Ark of the Covenant.” Since the OT Ark of the Covenant contained the very presence of God within it, so too Mary contained the very presence of God (incarnation) with Jesus within her. In (Luke 1:43) Elizabeth upon seeing Mary with child quotes (II Sam. 6:9) which refers to the “Ark of the Covenant coming to David.” Mary stayed with Elizabeth for 3 months which was the same number of months the Ark stayed with Obed Edom. "The Ark of the Covenant "remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months" on its way to Jerusalem" (II Sam. 6:11). This shouldn't be too hard to understand since Christians are called the "temple of the Holy Spirit."

In (Rev.11:19) we also see that the woman is referred to as the “ark of the Covenant.” The Ark of the Covenant was the sign of God's real presence among His people. In Jesus Christ, born of Mary, God was really present among his people in an even more direct way.

The Ark held the Word of God written in stone. Mary bore the Word of God in flesh.

The Ark held the bread from heaven, a foreshadowing of the Eucharist (see 1 Corinthians 10:1-4). Mary bore the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ (see John 6:48-50).

The Ark contained the rod of Aaron, symbol of his priesthood. Mary bore Jesus Christ, our High Priest (see Hebrews 3:1).

If the Ark of the Covenant was holy, then by the same standards Mary is even holier. As Mother of God, she is the Ark of the New Covenant, bearing Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the Bread of Life, our great High Priest. That is not a re-interpretation of the Gospel: it is a truth made clear by the New Testament writers themselves.

2. The “Woman” or “New Eve” After the fall of man, it is prophesied in (Gen.3:15) that the “seed of the woman” or the new Eve that would crush the head of the serpent. Jesus is referred to as the new Adam (I Cor.15:45, 47). Christianity has always interpreted this to be referring to the birth of Jesus. But in the NT the term “woman” is used to refer to Mary by Jesus himself (John 2:4, 19:26). In our culture this would be improper, but Jesus is speaking prophetically when using this term. We also see the term “woman” used in (Rev.12:1) which clearly speaks of Mary.

3. “Mother of the Church.” Mary is the mother of Jesus, who is the bridegroom of the Church.

Protestant Objections

One of the objections from Protestants is that it seems as if Mary is worshiped and prayed to "instead" of Jesus. The fact is, is that the Catholic Church teaches only veneration of Mary or devotion. The worship of latria (latreia), or strict adoration, is given to God alone; the worship of dulia (douleia), or honour and humble reverence, is paid the saints; the worship of hyperdulia (hyperdouleia), a higher form of dulia, belongs, on account of her greater excellence, to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary is revered, not worshiped. For more on worship click on the following Worship

Other objections: C.R.I.-Pt-1 C.R.I. Pt-2 C.R.I. Pt-3 C.R.I. Pt-4 C.R.I. Pt-5 C.R.I. Pt-6 C.R.I. Pt-7

For more information on Marian doctrines search the following sites:

For an On-line course on Mary click here Mary

What the Catholic Catechism teaches on Mary click here Catechism Mary

5 Dogmas of Mary

Mary

Immaculate Conception-audio

Dogma-audio

Miravalle-audio