The Marian doctrines are, for Fundamentalists, among the most
bothersome of the Catholic Churchs teachings. In this tract well
examine briefly two Marian doctrines that Fundamentalist writers
frequently object tothe Immaculate Conception and the
Assumption.
The Immaculate Conception
Its important to understand what the doctrine of the Immaculate
Conception is and what it is not. Some people think the term refers
to Christs conception in Marys womb without the intervention of a
human father; but that is the Virgin Birth. Others think the
Immaculate Conception means Mary was conceived "by the power of the
Holy Spirit," in the way Jesus was, but that, too, is incorrect.
The Immaculate Conception means that Mary, whose conception was
brought about the normal way, was conceived without original sin or
its stainthats what "immaculate" means: without stain. The
essence of original sin consists in the deprivation of sanctifying
grace, and its stain is a corrupt nature. Mary was preserved from
these defects by Gods grace; from the first instant of her
existence she was in the state of sanctifying grace and was free
from the corrupt nature original sin brings.
When discussing the Immaculate Conception, an implicit reference
may be found in the angels greeting to Mary. The angel Gabriel
said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28 ). The
phrase "full of grace" is a translation of the Greek word
kecharitomene. It therefore expresses a characteristic quality of
Mary.
The traditional translation, "full of grace," is better than the
one found in many recent versions of the New Testament, which give
something along the lines of "highly favored daughter." Mary was
indeed a highly favored daughter of God, but the Greek implies more
than that (and it never mentions the word for "daughter" ). The
grace given to Mary is at once permanent and of a unique kind.
Kecharitomene is a perfect passive participle of charitoo, meaning
"to fill or endow with grace." Since this term is in the perfect
tense, it indicates that Mary was graced in the past but with
continuing effects in the present. So, the grace Mary enjoyed was
not a result of the angels visit. In fact, Catholics hold, it
extended over the whole of her life, from conception onward. She
was in a state of sanctifying grace from the first moment of her
existence.
Fundamentalists Objections
Fundamentalists chief reason for objecting to the Immaculate
Conception and Marys consequent sinlessness is that we are told
that "all have sinned" (Rom. 3:23). Besides, they say, Mary said
her "spirit rejoices in God my Savior" (Luke 1:47), and only a
sinner needs a Savior.
Lets take the second citation first. Mary, too, required a Savior.
Like all other descendants of Adam, she was subject to the
necessity of contracting original sin. But by a special
intervention of God, undertaken at the instant she was conceived,
she was preserved from the stain of original sin and its
consequences. She was therefore redeemed by the grace of Christ,
but in a special wayby anticipation.
Consider an analogy: Suppose a man falls into a deep pit, and
someone reaches down to pull him out. The man has been "saved" from
the pit. Now imagine a woman walking along, and she too is about to
topple into the pit, but at the very moment that she is to fall in,
someone holds her back and prevents her. She too has been saved
from the pit, but in an even better way: She was not simply taken
out of the pit, she was prevented from getting stained by the mud
in the first place. This is the illustration Christians have used
for a thousand years to explain how Mary was saved by Christ. By
receiving Christs grace at her conception, she had his grace
applied to her before she was able to become mired in original sin
and its stain.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that she was "redeemed
in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son" (CCC
492). She has more reason to call God her Savior than we do,
because he saved her in an even more glorious manner!
But what about Romans 3:23, "all have sinned"? Have all people
committed actual sins? Consider a child below the age of reason. By
definition he cant sin, since sinning requires the ability to
reason and the ability to intend to sin. This is indicated by Paul
later in the letter to the Romans when he speaks of the time when
Jacob and Esau were unborn babies as a time when they "had done
nothing either good or bad" (Rom. 9:11).
We also know of another very prominent exception to the rule: Jesus
(Heb. 4:15). So if Pauls statement in Romans 3 includes an
exception for the New Adam (Jesus), one may argue that an exception
for the New Eve (Mary) can also be made.
Pauls comment seems to have one of two meanings. It might be that
it refers not to absolutely everyone, but just to the mass of
mankind (which means young children and other special cases, like
Jesus and Mary, would be excluded without having to be singled
out). If not that, then it would mean that everyone, without
exception, is subject to original sin, which is true for a young
child, for the unborn, even for Marybut she, though due to be
subject to it, was preserved by God from it and its stain.
The objection is also raised that if Mary were without sin, she
would be equal to God. In the beginning, God created Adam, Eve, and
the angels without sin, but none were equal to God. Most of the
angels never sinned, and all souls in heaven are without sin. This
does not detract from the glory of God, but manifests it by the
work he has done in sanctifying his creation. Sinning does not make
one human. On the contrary, it is when man is without sin that he
is most fully what God intends him to be.
The doctrine of the Immaculate Conception was officially defined by
Pope Pius IX in 1854. When Fundamentalists claim that the doctrine
was "invented" at this time, they misunderstand both the history of
dogmas and what prompts the Church to issue, from time to time,
definitive pronouncements regarding faith or morals. They are under
the impression that no doctrine is believed until the pope or an
ecumenical council issues a formal statement about it.
Actually, doctrines are defined formally only when there is a
controversy that needs to be cleared up or when the magisterium
(the Church in its office as teacher; cf. Matt. 28:1820; 1 Tim.
3:15, 4:11) thinks the faithful can be helped by particular
emphasis being drawn to some already-existing belief. The
definition of the Immaculate Conception was prompted by the latter
motive; it did not come about because there were widespread doubts
about the doctrine. In fact, the Vatican was deluged with requests
from people desiring the doctrine to be officially proclaimed. Pope
Pius IX, who was highly devoted to the Blessed Virgin, hoped the
definition would inspire others in their devotion to her.
