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Book Plunge: The Real Mary

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  • Book Plunge: The Real Mary

    All generation will call her blessed, and indeed we should.

    Link.

    ----

    What do I think of Scot McKnight's book published by Paraclete Press? Let's plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

    In looking at Orthodoxy and Catholicism, I have thought the attention given to Mary is overdone. I can't agree with praying to Mary or treating her like she's the Queen of Heaven or asking her to intercede for us and such. While I freely say I think Catholics and Orthodox make more of Mary than should be done, I think Protestants have seen that error and done the exact opposite.

    So we read the Christmas story in Matthew and Luke and see the parts about Mary and kind of rush through those. Mary in essence just becomes an incubator for the Son of God and then we rush her off the scene. After all, we don't want to be mistaken for Catholics or Orthodox!

    This is just as much of an error.

    In this book, McKnight seeks to take a look at Mary from a historical perspective starting with just the Bible first. Mary is no simple ordinary peasant girl. She is a girl who accepts one of the most dangerous positions in history and while a peasant, has the temerity to challenge both Herod and Caesar.

    From the moment Mary agreed to the request of the angel, she knew her life wouldn't be the same. What about her future husband? What about her family? What about her reputation? In response to all of this, Mary still sings. She rejoices that she has been given the honor of bearing the Messiah and realizing that her son will be king. Could Mary and Joseph have gone to synagogue services later on in life hearing them pray for the coming of the Messiah and given each other a knowing wink and looked over at Jesus knowing He was the one?

    At the same time, Mary still has her own growth to do. Imagine her going to the temple one day for purification and there is Simeon who is waiting for the Lord's Messiah. He takes Jesus in his arms and prophecies about him. Here Mary is probably anticipating all the glory that will come. Instead, Simeon gives a dark message. Jesus will be responsible for the rise and fall of many. Jesus will Himself be rejected. Not only that, a sword will pierce Mary's heart as well.

    But this is the Messiah....

    He's supposed to be the king....

    He's not supposed to be rejected....

    Then Jesus grows up to be a man and what is He doing? Is He out gathering an army to attack Rome? No. He's preaching and doing miracles. Something isn't right! Mary and her sons and daughters race down to see Jesus to find out what they can do. Jesus is out of His mind!

    Jesus lays out the parameters of the relationship. The Kingdom of God must come first. Mary has accepted Jesus as the Messiah, but will she accept Jesus as her Lord? Will she accept that this is what the Messiah really does? Will she realize the ideas of the Jewish people of what the Messiah does are false?

    McKnight spends some time looking at later developments in Mariology. He does think we should accept Theotokos, which I have no problem with. Of course, it must be properly understood which is one reason I would not bring it up in, say, a debate with an atheist. If Son of God is hard to understand, how much more is Mother of God?

    He also thinks that we should have at least one day a year in the church calendar to honor Mary? And why not? We celebrate David and Moses and Paul and Peter and so many others. Why not Mary? This is the woman who was entrusted with raising the Son of God on Earth. Shouldn't we celebrate her?

    This book left me with a new appreciation of Mary and thinking as a Protestant I need to do more. It is an error to go extreme in one direction as I have said. It is just as much to go the other way. Let's not do that.

    In Christ,
    Nick Peters

  • #2
    Originally posted by Apologiaphoenix View Post
    He also thinks that we should have at least one day a year in the church calendar to honor Mary? And why not? We celebrate David and Moses and Paul and Peter and so many others. Why not Mary? This is the woman who was entrusted with raising the Son of God on Earth. Shouldn't we celebrate her?
    Interesting point. (Low church) Protestants generally only have about 3 days of celebration on their calendar - Christmas, Palm Sunday, and Easter. You could perhaps add the Annunciation to honor Mary - that's safely biblical. There just isn't much material in Scripture about Mary, so there's not a whole lot for Protestants to pick from. It would be tough, as well, to convince all the disparate groups of Protestants it should be done (I'd perforce count all those independent churches as separate groups, because they'd all have to make the decision independently).
    Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

    Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
    sigpic
    I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

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    • #3
      Did Mary know that the baby she was holding was the incarnate Son of God? She definitely knew after the Resurrection, but She and Joseph seem confused that twelve year old Jesus would be talking with the scribes at the Temple.
      If it weren't for the Resurrection of Jesus, we'd all be in DEEP TROUBLE!

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      • #4
        Originally posted by Christianbookworm View Post
        Did Mary know that the baby she was holding was the incarnate Son of God? She definitely knew after the Resurrection, but She and Joseph seem confused that twelve year old Jesus would be talking with the scribes at the Temple.
        Mary knew. But like any mother, she was worried about her child. She was probably in that mother-mode and forgot that He was God.


        Sorry, Nicky. I don't agree that Protestants should give any more attention to Mary than is already given. That is my belief and I am not going to debate it, because I love you all too much.


        Securely anchored to the Rock amid every storm of trial, testing or tribulation.

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        • #5
          Love you too Mossy.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by mossrose View Post
            . . . Sorry, Nicky. I don't agree that Protestants should give any more attention to Mary than is already given. That is my belief and I am not going to debate it, because I love you all too much.
            It may depend on your individual church, but I have never been a part of a church that celebrated a special day for David, Moses, Paul, Peter or any of the " . . . so many others". Baptists, at least, do honor Mary but not with a special day. I am with moss on this one, honor her but no special day.
            Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

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            • #7
              Happened to have this book on my shelf, waiting to be read. Now that I have, it should more accurately be titlet, "The Mary of Scot McKnight's Imagination". He does a whole lot of imagining what Mary must have thought, and at least at the beginning imports a whole host of 20th century thought (it was much to my surprise that he interacted later with some social science perspective, because the book is initially quite lacking in that department).

              He does at least touch somewhat on the views of the early church on Mary, but I was suprised at the lack of interaction with the most important post-biblical source on Mary, the Protevangelion of James. He also asserts several times that James and John were cousins of Jesus, but didn't back that up; though he does interact with some scholarly sources, explanatory/supporting footnotes are sorely lacking.

              I appreciate what he's trying to do, but I couldn't recommend this book to others.
              Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

              Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
              sigpic
              I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

              Comment

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