Comments on: Acts of God (Acts 1 Mary the Theotokos): #3 http://chrisaltrock.com/2009/10/acts-of-god-acts-1-mary-the-theotokos-3/ Chris Altrock Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:51:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Chris http://chrisaltrock.com/2009/10/acts-of-god-acts-1-mary-the-theotokos-3/comment-page-1/#comment-4127 Chris Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:38:14 +0000 http://chrisaltrock.com/?p=1182#comment-4127 You bring out one of those thorny issues of hermeneutics--the lenses we use to read Scripture. That certainly comes into play when we reach a character like Mary. If Pelikan is right, Mary was quite important to Luke both as a source of information about Jesus and as a model for the right response to Jesus. In that sense, the focus remains on Jesus--but Mary becomes a model for us to consider (one of many) in terms of how we respond to Jesus. You bring out one of those thorny issues of hermeneutics–the lenses we use to read Scripture. That certainly comes into play when we reach a character like Mary. If Pelikan is right, Mary was quite important to Luke both as a source of information about Jesus and as a model for the right response to Jesus. In that sense, the focus remains on Jesus–but Mary becomes a model for us to consider (one of many) in terms of how we respond to Jesus.

]]> By: Daniel McGraw http://chrisaltrock.com/2009/10/acts-of-god-acts-1-mary-the-theotokos-3/comment-page-1/#comment-4126 Daniel McGraw Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:15:09 +0000 http://chrisaltrock.com/?p=1182#comment-4126 I think the position is based on your theological grouping. Obviously she was a woman of deep faith and abiding love in God. She had a deep devotion, and God used her in an amazing way to change the world. But... if you are a Catholic there is a theological bias towards Mary. For someone who gets less than 40 verses about her in the Bible she receives an awful lot of attention. Indeed, Pope Benedict XVI has a new book called Maria, over 200 pages of Marian dogma. Intriguing for someone who wasn't a perpetual virgin, had other children, and only gets a few verses. I think I'd rather focus on Christ or the Holy Spirit, who gets more of a focus... I think the position is based on your theological grouping. Obviously she was a woman of deep faith and abiding love in God. She had a deep devotion, and God used her in an amazing way to change the world.

But… if you are a Catholic there is a theological bias towards Mary. For someone who gets less than 40 verses about her in the Bible she receives an awful lot of attention. Indeed, Pope Benedict XVI has a new book called Maria, over 200 pages of Marian dogma. Intriguing for someone who wasn’t a perpetual virgin, had other children, and only gets a few verses. I think I’d rather focus on Christ or the Holy Spirit, who gets more of a focus…

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