Saturday, March 11, 2017

Refuting The Immaculate Conception Of Mary

  • The Immaculate Conception Of Mary:
          -According to the Roman Catholic Church, Mary was conceived without the stains of original sin and she therefore led a sinless life. It is claimed that God had to work things out in this fashion so that Jesus could be immaculately conceived.
          -As is usual with distinctively Roman Catholic dogmas, there is no unanimous consensus among the church fathers as to whether or not the immaculate conception is biblical. Dr. Ron Rhodes notes the following, "...it is a historical fact that a number of the early church fathers such as Origen, Basil, Hillary, John Chrysostom, and Cyril of Alexandria believed that Mary had engaged in sins (such as vanity and ambition) in her life." (Reasoning from the Scriptures with Catholics, p. 296) The Roman Catholic television network EWTN said, "During the middle ages, authors such as St. Bernard of Clairvaux and St. Thomas Aquinas denied the doctrine."
  • This Doctrine Raises A Number Of Questions:
          -If sinlessness is claimed for Mary so that she could be pure enough to bear Jesus Christ, then such should also be claimed for Mary's mother so that she could be pure enough to bear Mary. This process would have to continue until it reaches its starting point (Eve?).
          -Why not simply have Mary and Jesus born in a sinless environment?
  • Not Ritually Clean, According To The Old Testament Levitical Law Which Was In Effect When Jesus Christ Was Still A Baby:
          -If Mary was sinless, then why was she unclean and had to offer a sacrifice for sin (Luke 2:16; 21-24)? According to the Old Testament, the mother needed purifying after a birth because of the issue of blood (Leviticus 12:1-8). Mary was ritually unclean.
  • Mary Doubted God, Which Is A Sin:
          -If Mary was undefiled by sin, then how does one account for the fact that she once thought her Son Jesus Christ to be mentally deranged (Mark 3:20-21; 3:31-35)? She was not trusting in God at that point in time, which is a sin.
  • All Have Sinned And Fallen Short Of The Glory Of God:
          -All have fallen short of God's Law (Romans 3:10-12; 23; 5:12) and are therefore in need of an atonement sacrifice, which is Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:2; 1 John 3:5). "All" includes Mary. There has been only one Person tempted by the devil and successfully resisted sin throughout His entire life, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:14-16). For this reason, people such as Adam and Eve, babies, and the mentally handicapped are not true exceptions to the rule "all have sinned." While the Scriptures explicitly teach the sinless nature of Jesus Christ, they are silent when it comes to Mary being without sin. Only Jesus was conceived without sin and led a sinless life.

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