Why didn't Mary oppose the sin offering after birth?

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Opal0427

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I’m talking to a guy about Mary not sinning in her lifetime, and he brings a point I can’t reconcile. Can you clear this up?

So, we know Mary brought the sacrifice after Jesus was born out of humility, not because she sinned.
But - since this was a sin offering for giving birth - was giving birth or some aspect of it a sin under the law at that time?

If so, in this, doesn’t the bible directly say that by giving birth, Mary sinned?

EDIT: He bases his conclusions on Leviticus 12:6-8 “And when the days of her purifying are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the door of the tent of meeting a lamb a year old for a burnt offering, and a young pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering and he shall offer it before the Lord, and make atonement for her; then she shall be clean from the flow of her blood. This is the law for her who bears a child, either male or female. And if she cannot afford a lamb, then she shall take two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for burnt offering, and the other for a sin offering; and she shall be clean.”

I just want to know how to explain this to him. Why did women offer a sin offering after giving birth?
 
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Jesus constantly pushed the limits of the law and tested people’s inflexible minds on behalf of truth. He didn’t shy away from speaking honestly even when it would cause confrontation or consequences. Yet, none can say he wasn’t humble.

So, how can I explain why Mary offer the sin offering after giving birth since she was sinless? Why didn’t she stand up for the truth? She wasn’t afraid of the consequences to getting pregnant out of wedlock. This seems out of character and not neccisarily a trait of humility.
 
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When the Holy Spirit overshadows you there is no sin!
 
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She was an orthodox Jew and it was an act of obedience. Subsequently, Jesus submitted and was baptized by John in the river Jordan, even though John was a servant and Jesus was Lord.

Also, she may not have known that she was sinless, or at least not dared assume. Many saints believed she did know but that is speculation.
 
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Opal0427 said:
So, why did Mary offer the sin offering after giving birth then if she was sinless? Wouldn’t she have standed for truth? She wasn’t afraid of the consequences to getting pregnant out of wedlock. This seems out of character and not really a trait of humility.
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These very notions placed into question form - are presumptuous, misleading, false…

Along with being insulting to Catholics. and most likely, to most other Christians as well
 
PatK63 said:
When the Holy Spirit overshadows you there is no sin!
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Yes…

And it’s beginning to smell of insult to Christ - the underlying sense of some questions …

Along with wondering if they’re not simply made up stories …
 
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Opal0427 said:
since this was a sin offering for giving birth
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No, it was a ritual purification.
Opal0427 said:
was giving birth or some aspect of it a sin under the law at that time?
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No. This is a really weird question. Giving birth is a natural process- like breathing. How else are babies supposed to be born? God created the reproductive process.

I’m truly puzzled by this question.
Opal0427 said:
If so, in this, doesn’t the bible directly say that by giving birth, Mary sinned?
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No.
Opal0427 said:
I’m talking to a guy about Mary not sinning in her lifetime, and he brings a point I can’t reconcile.
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His “point” is nonsensical.
 
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1ke said:
No. This is a really weird question. Giving birth is a natural process- like breathing. How else are babies supposed to be born? God created the reproductive process.
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Yes. It’s akin to a contrived provocative question that a non-Christian might ask…
 
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She did not want to scandalize others (scandal being used in the Thomistic sense). To put it another way, She wanted to set a good example for others as well as fulfill the law.

If She had not done so, she would have disobeyed the law and others would be horrified. If I tried doing that people would say to me “who do you think you are?”. She submitted to it even though She was and is immaculate.
 
Why are you starting multiple threads on the same topic? Please follow forum guidelines and refrain from doing so.
 
It is a natural body function. There isn’t anything sinful about it.
 
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Birthing a baby (expelling it from one’s body) is a bodily function.

Not sure what your point is. The question was whether or not giving birth was considered sinful in the Old testament.
 
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To scandalize others is to cause them to sin. Remember what Our Lord said in the Gospel re scandalizing “little ones”.

If She had not done so She would have been ostracized from the community for disobeying the Law.
 
Opal0427 said:
Jesus constantly pushed the limits of the law and tested people’s inflexible minds on behalf of truth. He didn’t shy away from speaking honestly even when it would cause confrontation or consequences. Yet, none can say he wasn’t humble.

So, why did Mary offer the sin offering after giving birth then if she was sinless? Wouldn’t she have standed for truth? She wasn’t afraid of the consequences to getting pregnant out of wedlock. This seems out of character and not really a trait of humility.
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Well, the “sin” offering, according to Leviticus, isn’t offered for moral faults (what we consider sin to mean today), but for ritual impurity. After giving birth, a woman was ritually unclean for 40 days (7+33) after giving birth to a son, and the two turtle doves she offered at the Temple were to make herself ritually clean in the eyes of the Israelites (although the NAB commentary suggests that she wasn’t ritually unclean, only submitting to the Law of Moses as Jesus did).
 
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Thank you. Can you answer - Why was a sin offering traditionally offered after giving birth specifically if giving birth itself was not a sin?

I know there’s an answer. I just don’t know anything about Old Testament laws & this is a big deal for my friend who’s starting to investigate the possibility that Catholicism is true.
 
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