Carson Weber
<img src="http://www.boerne.com/temp/bb_pic2.jpg">
Hi Neal,
You wrote, "You fail to recognize a differnce between Mary and Jesus. Jesus is God, Mary is not."
I fully recognize the difference between Jesus and Mary.
Another problem, are you willing to say that there were many Jews who were sinless, because there were many who adhered to the law.
No. I am saying that observing the Mosaic ceremonial law does not indicate that the observer has committed sin. If this were true, then Jesus is a sinner. That is the crux of my argument, and it still stands in relation to why Mary submitted to the childbirth purification ritual.
In Genesis 3:15, we find the promise of redemption. Biblical scholars call this passage the protoevangelium or protoGospel (in English, "the first Gospel") because it promises the redeemer directly after Adam and Eve commit the mystery of iniquity:
"I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel."
John presents Mary as the woman of the protoevangelium in his Gospel. This is why John refers to Mary in his Gospel as "woman" and never as "Mary".
Now, enmity means "complete separation" or "completely at odds with". This is the Scriptural foundation for the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. As Cardinal Ratzinger has said, Dogma is nothing more than the Church's authoritative interpretation of Sacred Scripture.
God bless,
Carson
[ January 20, 2003, 11:58 PM: Message edited by: Carson Weber ]
You wrote, "You fail to recognize a differnce between Mary and Jesus. Jesus is God, Mary is not."
I fully recognize the difference between Jesus and Mary.
Another problem, are you willing to say that there were many Jews who were sinless, because there were many who adhered to the law.
No. I am saying that observing the Mosaic ceremonial law does not indicate that the observer has committed sin. If this were true, then Jesus is a sinner. That is the crux of my argument, and it still stands in relation to why Mary submitted to the childbirth purification ritual.
In Genesis 3:15, we find the promise of redemption. Biblical scholars call this passage the protoevangelium or protoGospel (in English, "the first Gospel") because it promises the redeemer directly after Adam and Eve commit the mystery of iniquity:
"I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel."
John presents Mary as the woman of the protoevangelium in his Gospel. This is why John refers to Mary in his Gospel as "woman" and never as "Mary".
Now, enmity means "complete separation" or "completely at odds with". This is the Scriptural foundation for the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. As Cardinal Ratzinger has said, Dogma is nothing more than the Church's authoritative interpretation of Sacred Scripture.
God bless,
Carson
[ January 20, 2003, 11:58 PM: Message edited by: Carson Weber ]