Do you only want an answer that agrees with your point of view?
Why should I doubt Gods ability to reveal His truth in His written Word? I don’t, I know God has revealed His truth in His written Word.
Gods written Word doesn’t say Mary was sinless but it does say the following;
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Rom 5:12
.
But we know some of Jesus’ written words are lost to us completely. In fact the only thing Christ ever wrote that is stated in scripture is when he wrote in the sand before the woman caught in adultery. Apparently the only single thing Jesus was ever stated to have written was lost by the wind but not at all important to our salvation or was it?
It is apparent that you have not read the references I have previously given. Here are some highlights from another source that show how the Marian doctrine is not in contradiction with scripture. You simply can’t accept it because you can’t accept ALL of what is in scripture. In particular you can’t accept the authority of Christ’s Church - and that makes you a disobedient Christian.
Consider this:
If
all have sinned in the literal sense through your sin of fundamentalist logic, that means Jesus sinned too. But Jesus did not sin - even though Protestants like to make out that Jesus became sin in a false substitution sort of theology. That sort of Protestant error puts the Trinity at odds with itself and becomes blatantly impossible. So your interpretation is in error.
It logically follows if Jesus is an exception, Mary can be as well. Catholics have already stated that not all of God’s word is in scripture. We believe in a revealed truth through the Holy Spirit which will never contradict scripture.
Second, you misinterpret Paul. Paul means that all people are subject to original sin. Mary was also subject to original sin, but God Himself redeemed her from the moment of her conception. Mary’s sinlessness is completely based on the anticipated sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In other words, God let all of us fall into original sin, and then washed us in baptism. For Mary, God did not let her fall. Both scenarios leave scripture consistent and show how Christ’s redemption can in the general case of humanity be initiated through baptism but in another very rare case through total preemption by “saving” Mary from from falling into sin while she was still subject to temptation.
Third, a logical mind must admit that not “all have sinned,” because babies, the mentally retarded, and the senile cannot sin (that is, they are not culpable for their sin).
Fourth, the word “all” in Rom 3:23 in Greek is
pantes. It is the same word used in 1 Cor 15:22 where Paul says “all” have died. But we know that Enoch and Elijah did not die; they were assumed into heaven. This means that when Paul says “all” (pantes), he does not mean every single one. In fact, Paul says in Rom 5:19 that “many” were made sinners. This means that when Paul says “all” in regard to sinners, he really means “many.”
Change “all” to many in the Paul’s words and you may be able to understand your error.
Just to make one final point about how you fundamentalists set yourself up for error please note that the phrase “so death passed upon all men” or ‘all men have sinned’ please note the obvious that Mary was not a man. Why be inconsistent and not take a literal read here?
James
