IN DEFENSE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY:    (C)    (version 1)     (marydefn.txt)
  YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL, SO HUMBLE, AND              written by Bob Stanley...
     YOU ARE THE MOTHER OF GOD...                                916-273-6415
                                                   Email...bstanley@telis.org
Why is there so much controversy about Mary?

  1. People will admit that she is the mother of Jesus Christ in His humanity,
     but could not be the mother of GOD.
  2. They will say she could not have been immaculately conceived.
  3. They will say she was not perpetually virgin and had other children.
  4. They will say she could not have been assumed into Heaven body and soul.

Let us examine each one of these statements...

I. Is Mary the Mother of GOD?
   A. The definition of 'PERSON' is, 'The center of attribution in a rational
      nature'. For a person the question is 'WHO'. Who is that person?
      1. Each person has a body. Messages come to the body through the five
         senses.
      2. Each person has a soul, the principal of life.
      3. Each person has a spirit. It has the intellect and free will.
   B. The definition of 'NATURE' is, 'That which makes a thing be what it is'.
      A dog has a dog nature, a fish has a fish nature. A dog cannot 'meow'
      because it doesn't have a cat nature. Everything has its own nature.
      A person possesses a nature. Nature does not possess a person. I cannot
      move your arm because my person does not possess your nature. For a nature
      the question is 'WHAT'. What kind of nature, human, fish, cat, dog?
   C. Jesus Christ was (is) a person, as you are a person, and I am a person.
   D. Jesus Christ had two natures, a divine nature and a human nature. He
      was unique in being the only person ever born with two distinct natures.
   E. He could do everything that GOD could do, and at the same time do
      everything that a man could do.
   F. As GOD, He knew everything. As man, He had to learn everything, as you
      and I have to do. Lk 2:52
   G. His foster father, St Joseph, taught the creator of the universe how
      to be a carpenter. Mk 6:3
   H. It is a mystery as to how these two natures co-existed in His one person.
      It is known as the 'Hypostatic Union'.
   I. Jesus Christ was but one person, with two natures.
   J. He was not two persons, each with His own nature.
   K. A son receives his nature from his father, male, human etc.
   L. Jesus Christ received His nature from His father, a divine nature.
   M. Since Jesus Christ is His Fathers Son, He is a divine person. He cannot be
      a human person also, as that would make two persons each with a nature.
   N. A woman gives birth to a 'PERSON' and that person possesses a nature,
      male, female etc. She does not give birth to a nature.
   O. Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, a 'DIVINE PERSON'.
   P. Since Mary gave birth to a divine person, that makes her the Mother
      of GOD.
II. Was Mary immaculately conceived?
   A. This means she had no stain of sin at her conception, no 'Original Sin'.
   B. GOD and sin are mutually excludable. God cannot co-exist with sin.
   C. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were thrown out of Eden (Gen 3:24), the
      gates of Heaven were closed. There was no salvation of mankind until
      Jesus Christ died on the cross, and the gates were opened.
   D. When GOD gave the plans of the 'Ark of the Covenant', to the people, he
      was very meticulous as to just how the 'container' of His 'WORD', the
      stone tablets of the 'Ten Commandments', was to be constructed. It had to
      be perfect and without blemish. Ex 25:8-40
   E. The 'New Ark of the Covenant', the vessel that was to 'contain' the
      'WORD', Jesus Christ incarnate, had to be 'made' without blemish also.
   F. The 'New Ark of the Covenant' was Mary. She was to give birth to the
      'WORD', Jesus Christ. Jn 1:1
   G. She had to be 'Immaculately Conceived' to satisfy the fact that GOD
      cannot coexist with sin.
III. Was Mary always a virgin? Did she have other children?
   A. Mt 13:55-56 and MK 6:3 say, "Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary,
      the 'brother' of James, and Joseph, and of Jude and Simon? And are not
      His 'sisters' here with us?"
   B. At first it looks like Jesus had brothers and sisters. These are the main
      two verses that some say 'prove' He did. Lets look at the definitions.
   C. From four different dictionaries, the word 'brother' means, sons of the
      same parents, OR, friend, ally, kinsman, fellow man, member of the same
      clan, fellow member of a Church etc. Which definition fits the verses?
   D. Compare Mt 10:2-4, Mk 15:40, Jn 19:25, and Acts 1:13 and you will find
      that James, Joseph, and Jude were sons of Cleophas (Alphaeus) and 'the
      other Mary', not Mary the Mother of GOD. Simon was the 'Canaanite' of
      Mk 3:18, and the 'Zealot'.
   E. NONE of the four 'brothers' were sons of Mary, the Mother of GOD. They
      were 'fellow men'. This makes the word 'brother' a non-argument. Mt 12:50
IV. Was Mary Assumed into Heaven, body and soul?
   A. Nay sayers point to 1Cor 15:50, "...flesh and blood cannot inherit the
      kingdom of GOD", therefore she could not possibly have been assumed body
      and soul. The verse means, 'the gulf between creatures and GOD is too
      wide to be bridged unless GOD Himself transforms us'.
   B. Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven body and soul. Jn 20:17
   C. The Bible clearly points out that no less than two persons from the Old
      Testament WERE assumed into Heaven body (glorified) and soul.
   D. Gen 5:24, "And Enoch walked with GOD; and he was not; for GOD took him."
      Heb 11:5, "...Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was
      not found because GOD had translated him."
      2Kings 2:11, "And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into Heaven."
   E. As for Mary, read Psa 16:10, "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell;
      neither wilt thou suffer thine 'Holy One' to see corruption." This verse
      could apply to Mary as well as to the 'Messiah'. See also, 1Cor 15:52.
   F. Mary certainly is a 'Holy One', for in Lk 1:28, an angel said to her,
      "Hail, thou that art HIGHLY FAVORED, THE LORD IS WITH THEE: BLESSED ART
      THOU AMONG WOMEN." In Lk 1:30, the angel said, "...THOU HAST FOUND FAVOR
      WITH GOD." In Lk 1:42 Elizabeth says, "...BLESSED ART THOU AMONG WOMEN
      AND BLESSED IS THE FRUIT OF THY WOMB." In Lk 1:48 Mary herself says,
      "...ALL GENERATIONS SHALL CALL ME BLESSED." She is the only human person
      to be called 'Blessed', in all of Holy Scripture.
   F. Since Mary, as the Mother of GOD, and Queen of Saints, is higher than
      Enoch or Elijah, why would anyone believe she was not assumed, as they
      were? See Mt 24:22, Mk 13:20
   G. The early Churches scrambled for 'relics' of the early Saints as they
      died. There is no record of any Church obtaining 'relics' of the Blessed
      Virgin. Her 'relics' would be the most prized of all. There are no
      first class 'relics' of an assumed person, because there is no body left
      on earth from which to obtain them.
   H. Just because the Bible says nothing about the Assumption of Mary, it does
      not mean she was not assumed. It does not say she was not assumed either.