by Renae Richardson

Created on: April 04, 2009   Last Updated: April 06, 2009

The root of the word divinity is literally 'Godlike'(from the Latin 'Deus) or refers to some transcendent or transcendental power, or its attributes, or manifestations in the world (Wikipedia, 2009, n.p.).

Was Mary the Mother of Jesus divine or human?

When we are first introduced to Mary we know nothing of her childhood or of her lineage. She is simply introduced as a young girl who is engaged to be married. It is sometime later before we are given a glimpse into her pedigree. It is after her holy encounter that we learn that she is the cousin of Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist. I am assured that the reason for this introduction is not to establish her bloodline but to establish the supernatural nature of Jesus birth and His relationship to John the Baptist. This factoid also serves to establish Mary's humanness Because of this fact we know that Mary had grandparents, parents, and cousins, for Elizabeth is identified as one of them. We know that her birth was not an immaculate conception. There is nothing unique about her that would serve to separate her from any other young girls her age. She wasn't a royal or a vagabond and there is no documentation of any act that was performed by this young maiden that would earn her a place in anybody's hall of fame She was simply a plain girl who pleased God.

To answer the question was Mary human?

Assuredly yes.

Was Mary divine?

The word divine refers to someone with transcendental power or attributes or in simpler terms to be God-like.

Here are reasons why she can not be divine.

Reason 1:

To transcend something is to go beyond it. When we speak of Mary being divine we speak of a nature that transcends or goes beyond that of human possibility. Did Mary truly possess a nature that transcended that of normal human behavior?

Let's see

Her initial reaction was human.

At the time of visitation Mary displayed one of the purest human emotions known to men, fear. Her fear was not one of terror but it was one of surprise or shock. She was a witness to an event that was out of the norm. She was a witness to an extraordinary event. She responded with a human reaction.

The spirit of her acceptance was not abnormal (extraordinary).

We often attribute her acceptance of her role as divine, but such a reaction is birthed out of a spirit of servitude. We see the same reaction in others throughout the bible that was chosen to carry out God given task. Queen Esther, Deborah, Joshua, and John the Baptist are a few of such individuals yet we do

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>