The Virgin Mary - Essay Example

The Virgin Mary has a great many aspects in the world of Christianity because of her humility, piety and role as the mother of the Savior of humanity. Yet, in Protestantism, she would be quite different in her portrayal than she would be in Catholicism. Yes, she is still seen as the Virgin Mary, but in quite a different light. In the Roman Catholic Churches, Mary is the pre-eminent saint and the focus of much popular devotion. "This article explores historical and modern Christian beliefs about Mary (known as "Mariology"), which includes such doctrines as the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Virgin Birth of Christ, the perpetual virginity of Mary, the Assumption of Mary, Mary as "Theotokos," and Mary as Coredemptrix and Mediatrix". (1. Religion Facts) The Virgin Mary plays a prominent role in some of the Gospels; these would include the birth stories of Jesus found in the books of Mark in chapters one and two, as well as the book of Luke in chapters one and two.

Within the text of the Gospel of Luke, The Virgin Mary would have been part of the tribe of Judah within the lineage of David. In her first appearance in the Gospel of Luke, when an angel appears to her, Gabriel, where she is told that she, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will give birth to the Son of God. The Gospel of Luke in actuality goes no further in describing Mary at all, withholding credentials and more of her worthiness to be the Mother of God. Gaventa, in Religion Facts: Just the Facts in the World's Religions, points this out in many locations throughout the piece.

"Really, Luke tells us nothing about her," Gaventa said. Gaventa goes further in saying that no credentials are given to make us think Mary would actually be worthy of being chosen by God. Or that what happens in the story is that Mary is chosen entirely by God's own initiative. This would be an excellent example of what Protestants would emphasize as being part of God's divine grace or God's initiative. "Mary, regardless of this unfathomable news, was engaged to Joseph and Mary, according to all accounts, humbly accepts the fact that she will give birth to the Son of God." (2. Religion Facts) The reason it is considered Immaculate Conception and delivery was the fact that the hymen would have remained intact during labor and delivery, an unheard of capacity.

This information was first divulged within the treatises of Gnostic Ascension of Isaiah in the late 1st Century and would also have been found in the late 2nd century Protoevangelium of James. When Mary was a young woman engaged to Joseph, the Angel Gabriel announced to her that she would give birth to a son that would be born of the Holy Spirit. Mary humbly accepted her divinely-appointed role, saying, "May it be unto me as you have said." She then conceived and gave birth to Jesus while remaining a virgin (Lk 1:31f; Mt 1:20, 23).

Mary gave birth in a way as to avoid labor pains and leave her hymen intact. This was first found in the Gnostic Ascension of Isaiah (late 1st century), 1 and also found in the late 2nd century Protoevangelium of James. Christian writers in the earliest writings including Clement of Alexandria of the 3rd Century would have