Today, December 8th, is a major holiday here in Spain: it's the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. But contrary to much popular belief, this is not a celebration of Mary's virgin conception of Jesus; rather, it's a celebration of the supposed immaculate conception of Mary within the womb of her mother, by which God intervened so that she would be born without sin. From the perspective of a follower of Jesus who trusts in the reliability of the Bible, I see this Catholic doctrine as having no solid Biblical backing (probably even anti-Biblical considering that both Paul and Peter declare that all have sinned except for Jesus) and being a dangerous distraction from the centrality of the Incarnation of Christ, the God-man, in God's mission to save the world. Honestly, I was quite tempted to entitle this post 'The Immaculate Deception,' but I didn't want to be too offensive from the outset. If you're really interested or just suffering from insomnia, you can read more on this doctrine at this link: The Immaculate Conception.The reality here in Spain in 2009 is that although the historical footprint of Catholicism can still be seen clearly today (for example, today is a holiday due to Spain's Catholic roots, and the above painting by Murillo, which also celebrates Mary's supposed immaculate conception, is displayed proudly in the Prado Museum in Madrid), most Spaniards don't give a rip about what it commemorates: they're just glad to have a four day weekend away from work. As Spaniards drift (or run) away from their traditional Catholic roots (which, honestly, focus more on devotion to Mary than to Jesus), could it be that they will become more open to Jesus and the reality of His grace and truth? Or will they reject anything that still smacks of Christianity and calls them to repentance and commitment? Let's pray for the former.
2 comments:
Hey y'all! You know I have opinions about the immaculate conception of Mary. And I just want to specify that the Eastern Orthodox church most definitely does not teach this doctrine. This is a completely Roman Catholic thing. They also believe that babies who aren't baptized will go to hell if they die. God forbid!
I do pray with you that the aversion to this doctirne will somehow send the Spaniards running back into the arms of Jesus.
However, I think all too often the Protestant church throws the baby out with the bath water. Why shouldn't Mary be honored as the mother of our God and Savior Jesus Christ? We love Jesus, but yet, I hear so many Protestants trashing Mary as though her obedience to God was worthless. Yes, she was born just like everyone else. No immaculate conception. But this young girl said yes to God when she was asked to bear God's son. What a sacrifice she made! She didn't just offer her body as a vessel for Christ's birth. She raised him from infancy, her beloved son. She was the closest human to Him, she followed him all the way to the cross, witnessed His ressurection and stood amazed at His ascension. She is worthy of praise. Not worship, no no no, But yes, she is worthy of honor and praise. We should all model her obedience to God, and willingness to sacrifice her will to God's plan!
Hey there, Greg & Ashleigh! Thanks for commenting...I was wondering if anyone would say anything about it. And let me say, as I think you know, we are completely with you on this one. Certainly what we react against is the outright worship of 'the Virgin' that happens here at times and not the example of profound faith in and obedience to God we see in Mary. But I think it is worth another blog entry to respond a bit more fully, if that's all right with you. Love you guys!
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