Immaculate Conception: Bible & Patristics

The following are common Roman Catholic arguments for Mary as immaculately conceived (i. e. begotten without the taint of the original sin). Mary as Second Eve: Just as Eve is born without sin and so is Mary for he is the second Eve just as Jesus is the Second Adam. Response: If Mary was the second Eve then she must be 1) sinless 2) impeccable ( i. e. unable to sin). The Scriptures never records that Mary was the second Eve. According to the scriptural data, Mary is infected with the original sin and hence, she’s not sinless and that her ability to sin wasn’t from her being the Second Eve but from being the offspring of Eve per se (Luke 1:28, Romans 8:3). In fact, Mary cannot be the second Eve at all because Jesus wasn’t the second Adam. The Scriptures never records Jesus as the “second Adam” but as “the last Adam”: 1 Corinthians 15:45- “And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. ” Jesus as the Last Adam evinces that there’s no second, third and fourth Adam. It means that Jesus cannot fail (i. e. impeccable) because if he did fail then it means that he is not the Last Adam. Conclusion: For Mary to be a greater antitype of Eve, she must be 1) sinless 2) impeccable but these were not demonstrated in the Scriptures but on the contrary, the Scriptures present plain teaching about Mary: She’s both the New Testament Ark and the one who’s Full of Grace, both which are predicates that explains her need of a Savior just like the rest of humanity ( Luke 1:28, Romans 8:3). Mary as Ark of the New Covenant: Just as the Ark of the Old Covenant is sacred and so Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, is also sacred. Response: I agree that Mary is a type of the Ark (2 Samuel 6:1-12; Luke 1:39-56). She conceived within her the Word of God, the Bread of Life ( John 1:14; 6:35). Premise 1: Mary is the Ark of the New CovenantPremise 2: The Ark is of corruptible nature. Coclusion: Mary is of corruptible nature. In what sense was the "Ark" Holy? It can't mean in the sense of substance because the entire creation is cursed ( Genesis 3). Hence, those are Holy in subjective sense only. The term holiness should be qualified as " to set apart, sacred" to avoid nuances. keness of the flesh of sin" ( Romans 8:2-3, Philippians 2:7-8). The original sin is passed through the fertilization of a female human egg with a male human sperm which are both contaminated with the original sin. Jesus has his human nature not from Adam's infected nature but from the power of the Holy Spirit ( Luke 1:35). The Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament is made of cursed materials (Rom. 8:22) but still, it is considered " sacred or set apart" because it contains " divine stuffs" related to YHWH. Mary as the Mother of God the Son: the Holy Lord cannot be conceived by a sinner. She was exempted to inherit the original sin so that Jesus would not acquire it upon the Virgin birth. Response: 1)How could Mary contain within her the Holy God? For with God nothing shall be impossible ( Luke 1:37). It is through the hypostatic Union and virgin birth. Jesus "became in the likeness of men, was sent in the likeness of the flesh of sin" ( Romans 8:2-3, Philippians 2:7-8). The original sin is passed through the fertilization of a female human egg with a male human sperm which are both contaminated with the original sin. Jesus has his human nature not from Adam's infected nature but from the power of the Holy Spirit ( Luke 1:35).2)Job 14:4 Who can bring what is pure from the impure? No one! When related to the New Testament, it comes to our mind the question: How could Mary beget God (who is pure) from herself ( impure)? Naturally, no one! but supernaturally, it is possible! (Luke 1:37). The answer is pretty obvious. It's the Virgin birth (Matthew 1:23). Conclusion: Mary does not need to be immaculately conceive in order to conceive Jesus without sin but rather, only the Virgin birth suffice in order to conceive Jesus without sin. As to why the Virgin birth suffice, Romans 8:3 elucidates it:3)Romans 8:3Jesus experienced the consequences of the original sin. Why? It is because he was " sent in the likeness of sinful flesh" ( Romans 8:3). If Mary is not infected with O. S. then Jesus can't experience pain and death. According to church fathers (i. e. Augustine and Ambrose to name a few) original sin is passed on via male progenitor and female progenitor both who are infected with sin. Jesus did not inherit original sin because his flesh is not made of both male and female progenitors of sinful nature but only of Mary. Mary's original sin was not passed on her offspring because Mary's egg wasn't fertilised by a sperm cell of a Male progenitor with original sin. Philippians 2:6 said that the Son became in the likeness of men. Why likeness? It is because he is not infected with original sin. Romans 8:3 says that God sent his own Son in the likeness of the flesh of sin. Mary has " the flesh of sin" ( i. e. She's infected with original sin). Jesus is the "likeness" of the flesh of sin. Therefore, he could experience the effects of sin ( i. e human pain and human death) without having the original sin. Premise 1: Jesus is in the likeness of the flesh of sin. Premise 2: Mary is Jesus' motherConclusion: Mary has the flesh of sin and Jesus is her likeness. I only concurred with one definition of the word "likeness" which according to scriptural context is "similarity". The Son "became similar to men" (Philippians 2:6). In what way did he become similar to men? Context implies that he became similar to men regarding the "effects of original sin" which is human pain and human death ("death on a cross. Philippians 2:8)Romans 8:6 is explicit too. It says that the Son was sent by God "similar to the flesh of sin". If Mary is not infected with original sin then how could Jesus experience human pain and death? Premise 1: Only humans with original sin could experience pain and death (Genesis 3). Premise 2: Mary has original sin (Romans 8:3). Premise 3: Mary got pregnant without a sperm with original sin (Matthew 1:21). Conclusion: Mary"s offspring could experience pain and death without having original sin (1 Peter 3:18). Mary as Full of Grace: Mary is complete of grace. Hence, she does not have any sin. Response: I believe that Mary is perpetually full of grace. Full means she doesn't lack any grace. Grace means undeserved kindness. Hence, Mary " doesn't lack any undeserved kindness " from the Holy Trinity. But this led to the question of WHAT are those graces given to her? St. Luke didn't specify it. He just recorded Gabriel's greeting: kecharitomene. The autographa reads literally as:Greetings! You who have been graced! Vulgate is not literal translation of kecharitomene but a dynamic equivalence. Kecharitomene is not a title in Greek. Charito in kecharitomene is a VERB ( past participle). The Latin Vulgate translates it as NOUN whereas the english translation of latin vulgate is " full of grace" ( a noun also not a verb like what St. Luke originally wrote). Full of Grace in itself came from the Latin Vulgate not from the Greek MSS. kecharitomene is the Greek word found in Luke 1:26 and it is used by the church in Rome for proof about the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. To find out if this is plausible let's have a little grammar of the said word:ke- present perfect tense ( an action happened in the past that continues up to the present time). charito- grace, undeserve kindnessmene-passive participle( Mary Receiver not giver of grace)The Greek literally means " You have been graced". Mary has received grace from God both in the past and in the present. What she has received in the past is just continuing to be in her possession at Gabriel"s greeting. Hence, she is complete of grace at the time of the Annuniciation. In the Vulgate, Luke 1:28 says that Mary is "full of grace" and according to the Scriptures, only sinners are given grace. Grace means "undeserved kindness" . The Holy Angels can't be given grace because they are elected by God according to their works ( 1 Tim. 5:21). The Saints are given grace because they are elected by God not according to their works but according to God's grace ( Romans 11:5). Premise 1: Mary is given gracePremise 2: grace is given only to sinnersConclusion: Mary is a sinner Mary as the Woman in enmity with Satan: How could Mary be a sinner if he is an enemy of Satan? Ergo, Mary must be holy for he is in enmity with Satan. She crushes Satan's head. It cannot be evil versus evil (Matthew 12:25) but only evil ( Satan) versus good (Mary). Response:Eve in the Vulgate of Genesis 3:15 crushes Satans' head through her offspring ( Jesus) while Romans 16:20 God ( contextually, it's the second person of the Trinity) crushes Satan's head through his church. Why? because the church is the body of Christ, yes, the church is IN CHRIST as Paul reiterates in his epistles. All of these arguments presupposes that Mary was saved by anticipation. To better understand this sort of salvation, Roman Catholicism teaches these: * Mary ( a human of the post-Fall): saved from inheriting the oriaginal sin. * All humans of the post-Fall ( except Mary and Jesus): saved from the consequences of having the original sin. Mary's salvation is different from the salvation the rest of humanity receives. She is immaculately conceived by virtue of being the "theotokos" ( God-bearer), that is, of conceiving in her womb, the Holy God but as we have seen in the responses we have, this is unbiblical and not taught in the early church ( sub-apostolic).