Feast of the Immaculate Conception

[Japher]

Can anyone explain this to me? Wikipedia isn't doing a good job. Roman Catholics are feasting to celebrate the immaculate conception of the virgin Mary... WTF? What did I miss in the Bible that said she was immaculately conceived? Also, isn't this worship of Mary a sin, it's not a worshiping of God?

The Catholic infatuation with Mary and inparting on her super powers makes no sense to me.

[SlowwHand]

By, not of, is my assumption.

[KrazyHorse]

By, not of, is my assumption.

[KrazyHorse]

The Catholic infatuation with Mary and inparting on her super powers makes no sense to me.

Forkin' Prod.

[OzzyKP]

He's right, it is of. Doesn't make much sense to me either, and I'm Catholic.

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse

By, not of, is my assumption.

What's that for?

[KrazyHorse]

For your complete lack of understanding of Catholic theology.

[SlowwHand]

I'm not Catholic. All I know is that she conceived immaculately. I didn't know anyone thought in ran in the family.

[Verto]

Originally posted by OzzyKP
Doesn't make much sense to me either...

What part of Christianity DOES make sense?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Roman Catholics are feasting to celebrate the immaculate conception of the virgin Mary... WTF? What did I miss in the Bible that said she was immaculately conceived?

The Virgin Mary has been described quite often as being the only person who committed no sin. In order to not sin, to the Catholics, you have to be immaculately concieved (in order to avoid all that original sin stuff). Other Christians believe that Jesus wiped away the original sin and all that stuff (while others have some problems with the entire original sin stuff as the Catholics believe).

You'd imagine that for the vessel of the son of God, you'd need the perfect womb. One that was without sin would be it.

[OzzyKP]

Ah, good explanation.

[Japher]

I don't get how who her parents were would figure into the equation. I get the fact that Jesus was conceived without sin, but why Mary?

[Ben Kenobi]

Can anyone explain this to me? Wikipedia isn't doing a good job. Roman Catholics are feasting to celebrate the immaculate conception of the virgin Mary

Christ has a human nature, being born of the Virgin and yet was entirely free from sin. Since we know that human nature since the fall of Adam, has been corrupt, how can this be possible? The answer is that the chain has been broken.

If it were Mary who was sinful, then the question is how did Christ, who was carried in her womb, free from sin?

The answer is that Mary was immaculately conceived, preserved from her birth by Christ himself.

Also, isn't this worship of Mary a sin, it's not a worshiping of God?

No, it just makes Mary a saint and free from sin, the second Eve for the second Adam.

Are we worshipping Eve when we say that before the fall she was free from the stain of sin?

The Catholic infatuation with Mary and inparting on her super powers makes no sense to me.

Catholics believe three things, her immaculate conception, her ascension into heaven and her sinlessness. If in fact she was sinless, then the other two follow. For we know that the wages of sin are death, and that without sin we would not die. Therefore, Mary ascended into heaven, as did Elijah and other OT saints.

If you want to complain about super powers, then you should read up on Elijah.

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
Christ has a human nature, being born of the Virgin and yet was entirely free from sin. Since we know that human nature since the fall of Adam, has been corrupt, how can this be possible? The answer is that the chain has been broken.

If it were Mary who was sinful, then the question is how did Christ, who was carried in her womb, free from sin?

The answer is that Mary was immaculately conceived, preserved from her birth by Christ himself.

If it all takes to make one without sin is that they be immaculately conceived, why would Mary have to have been immaculately conceived as well to make Jesus without sin? This logic doesn't make sense, as you've stated it.

Or is the idea that Mary wasn't born of a woman at all, but rather just poofed into existence? What does "preserved from her birth" mean?

And if that is the case, the Bible states that Jesus is the descendant of David, how could that be if he had no father and his mother was poofed into being?

[Elok]

It seems it's a byproduct of two things:

A. The Catholic notion of Original Sin, under which IIUC we inherit not only Adam's predilections but his guilt.
B. The Catholic urge to make all theology as cut-and-dried as the multiplication table.

Having neither, I have no problem rejecting the IC.