by Bob Faulkner

Created on: April 28, 2008

Paganism crept and then galloped into the church in its early centuries. When you tell pagans, Convert or die! the smart ones will convert. But they bring a lot of baggage with them. One of the things pagan thought slowly influenced was the person and character of the mother of Jesus Christ.

There are a lot of things one needs to question if one is going to be a disciple of the Lord via the written Word. Here are some pertinent questions about the role of Mary, the Lord's mother, in His life and in the life of the church.

Like, When the shepherds came to Bethlehem, was there anything of praise directed to the mother, or was it all for the Son?

And, Why did Simeon tell Mary that a sword would pierce her heart? Does this not have to do with the pain a mother feels when her offspring is harmed in some way? Does it have anything to do with the later devotion of the "sacred heart" ?

Or, Is there anything unusual about Mary in the story of how Jesus was left behind at the Temple (Luke 2:41-51)? Does she come off as a near Divinity in this episode, or as an ordinary young mother caught up in something eternal? Does she not seem to struggle like the rest of us?

Here's a good one. If the Bible says that Joseph and Mary did not have intimate relationship until Jesus was born, isn't that an implication that they did have such after? More to the point, does not the Scripture state specifically that Jesus had brothers and sisters? Why is this fact covered up in certain church traditions?

Was not Mary on the border of something wrong when she asked Jesus to work a miracle so early in His ministry? Wasn't Jesus a bit harsh in His rebuke of her? If Mary should indeed be subordinate to Jesus, why do we see statues today of a gigantic Mary next to a little Jesus, even when the statue is being depicting an adult?

If the Biblical Mary pointed people to her Son, why does the present-day "Mary" point people to herself, as in "Build me a shrine," or "Listen to and repeat my message," or "Make statues to me," and "Pray rosaries to me" ? Can these appearances possibly be the Bible's Mary?

His family, including Mary, want to speak with Him while He is teaching. Remember the incident? Wouldn't this have been the time to let people know exactly how exalted Mary is to be? "People, I want you to meet My mother. I want you to treat her with as much respect as you do me" Could He not have here or elsewhere defined some sort of ritual or homage for His mother? Is it significant that He equates

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