(December 18, 2015 at 2:13 pm)Drich Wrote:(December 15, 2015 at 8:39 pm)vorlon13 Wrote: So, did gestating and birthing Jesus use up (for lack of better verbiage) all the Immaculate mo-jo Mary had, or did some remain to 'enhance' subsequent offspring ??
IOW, did having Jesus result in Mary sliding back into the sinful nature the rest of us are awash in all the time, or did she stay as she was, and if so, wouldn't that have been a significant positive for subsequent pregnancies ??
Mary was a sinner before during and after she gave birth.
Nothing in the bible even hints at the fact that she was without sin. It simply says God was pleased with marry/who she was, not that she earned God's approval because she lived a sin free life.
D-
Normally, I would say that you are on target in your explanations of Christian doctrine, but what you wrote above is not what Christians have believed from the beginning.
As you may or may not know, Catholics believe that Mary was preserved from original sin by the Immaculate Conception, and that this was fitting since she would carry god in her womb. It wasn't NECESSARY since God could have simply prevented Jesus from inheriting that but it was FITTING that Mary be a pure vessel. Catholics see Mary as the New Ark of the Covenant. The Orthodox have a different understanding regarding original sin, but they also hold Mary in very high esteem.
The angel's greeting, "Hail, Mary, full of grace" provides some scriptural support for this view. A glass that is "full" cannot have anything more added to it. If Mary is "full" of grace, then there is no room for sin in her. So, in addition to the constant, ancient teaching of the Church, there IS something in the Bible that "hints at the fact that she was without sin".
Conversely, there is nothing in the Bible that says that Mary WAS a sinner.
