In some of the oldest theology concerning Mary, we have her represented as the Burning Bush. Moses heard God speaking through her. The Sinai collection of icons of St Catherine’s Monastery Sinai. The theologians of the middle ages debated the nature of Mary the mother of Jesus. How could this man/god be born of someone as common as one of us? Since Christ is all man and all God, His mother would have to be ALL divine. The church institution fashioned the idea of the Immaculate Conception. To elucidate how Mary was miraculously conceived by parents of a very advanced age, theologians declared doctrine in 1854. It was a theological creation which became dogma This new doctrine raises Mary to the level of Christ. Early Christians emulated the life of Christ, living to the best of their ability in His likeness.
Questions about Mary
I would ask, what is the benefit to the church for humanity to not think of ourselves as Mary, miraculously conceived like Christ? The question is profound, the church elevated them to almost god and promises us to elevate us after we are dead. The theology seems to point to the conclusion that we are only a reflection of the divine. Questions; Does this kind of Dogma helped humanity? Has the almost likeness and reflection given us an excuse to NOT embrace the full revelation we see in Christ? What has caused us to not see divinity in each other, only our fallen neighbor?
We are all Miraculously Conceived
I do not raise the questions or point the finger to undermine anything, I raise the questions to bring us closer to defining the God within each of us. We need to continue to have open hearts and recognize our potential for God and spiritual life. The doctrine we hold as truth DO need to change with time. Original sin, evil, heaven and hell, etc. are all concepts. We might need to rethink, even redefine them in the next century to liberate ourselves from a more primitive time in our human evolution. Science, art, medicine and the four seasons all change, why not the doctrines about the divinity of humanity.
In 1950, one hundred years later, Mary, Miraculously Conceived was again challenged theologically. Her divinity and death needed clarification. There is a theological problem that arose from asking where does divine flesh goes when it dies? Christ disappeared out of the tomb. He was divine and immaculately conceived. Mary’s Immaculate body had to go somewhere at her death. Mary did not die but rather “slept”, and afterwards her holy body was taken up to heaven with Christ. Roman Catholic Article of Faith made 1950. The Church institution needed an example of undefiled sexuality, divine meekness, perfected womanhood; they found it in the Virgin Mary.
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