There is a sharp divide between Roman Catholics and Protestants over how Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, should be treated. There are some who believe Mary is a very important person, almost comparable to her Son our Redeemer, while others worry that such an opinion makes too much of Mary, even to the point of Idolatry. It's difficult to have a productive discussion on the issue, as opinions are strong and sharp.
For my part, I want to be open-minded about customs of Christian groups outside my own, but being reasonable depends on having reason to consider a position the right one. That is, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence and few claims in Christian theology are as extraordinary as claiming special rank for a human, even Mary.
The first claim that needs addressing is whether Mary was 'sinless', as many Marians claim. If I understand the argument correctly, the idea is that for the Son of God to be born on this Earth, He could not be part of evil but immaculate, which is the reason why a virgin birth was needed. However, there are problems with that assumption, principally the
reason Christ came to be the Messiah in the first place.
Humanity needs Salvation because even if we were to lead a perfect life, the sin of Adam and Eve, known as the Original Sin, is in us, all of us, all down the generations. Exodus Chapter 29, for example, makes clear that
daily sacrifices must be made by the priests for seven days in row in order that God would speak to the nation of Israel (Ex 29:42-43). If it were possible for God to simply create a condition where someone was sinless, even if that purpose was to expedite the birth of Christ, it would prove that Christ's atonement was not needed. God could simply
choose to create sinless people. Instead, it was absolutely necessary that Christ be presented as a "sacrifice of atonement" (Romans 3:25) in order for us to receive the Lord in faith.
Consequently, it is clearly not the case that Mary was sinless, as no human except for Christ Himself was so. I think Scripture gives us better guidance on Mary's condition she was not
sinless but was
blameless.
"Blameless" shows up many times in Scripture. It's used to describe Noah (Gen 6:9), Abraham (Gen 17:1), David (1 Sam 22:24), and Job (Job 1:1), for example. This is important to the point, because
all of these men sinned at some time, yet God counted them blameless because they were reconciled to Him.
Mary is described in a manner consistent with being counted blameless. In Matthew, an angel explained to Joseph "
do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:20). In Luke, an angel tells Mary "
Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God" (Luke 1:30). You can see from both passages that Mary is someone who has pleased the Lord, but in no place is she referred to as sinless.
Now regarding Mary's station in things, consider that in the Gospel of Mark, she is not mentioned until the third chapter, and then because she sends people in to where Jesus is teaching to have him come out to her. This is where Christ says ""
Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. "Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." (Mark 3:33-35)
The Gospel of John does not even mention Mary the Mother of Jesus. That's not disrespecting her, but if she was a person so important that she should be ranked alongside the Messiah, well, we would surely have seen more in Gospels about her.
I understand that tradition in the Roman Catholic Church plays a prominent role, however that does not create authority in the absence of Scripture.
That which does not kill me, will try again and get nastier
