The term ‘Immaculate Conception’ is known to many, but to the way it is usually used, it is evident that many people do not know what this Catholic dogma really means. It is often thought that this term refers to the virginity that Mary retained in the conception of Jesus Christ. However, this is a misunderstanding.
The Virginity of Mary
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a formulation that many atheistic critics of the Christian faith like to use in particular when they speak on an ironic, sarcastic or cynical way of the begetting of Jesus with the Virgin Mary. After all, it is a well-known figure of speech to throw in humorous texts with terms that sound elevated, such as ‘Immaculate Conception’.
Incorrect use
Numerous times one encounters that term in columns, opinion pieces and other speeches. No matter how funny those texts of the critics may be, by incorrectly using the term ‘Imbuach Conception’, one does not strengthen the power of the argument, to say the least. It is really startling how often that term is misused and how much confusion there is about the real meaning of this Roman Catholic dogma.
For example, when one claims that the ,Imbuy Conception, is biologically or medically impossible, it is usually meant that a very different Catholic dogma, namely the ,Inner-Quental Birth of Jesus Christ,, biologically or medically would be impossible. The Immaculate Conception is a Room-Catholic dogma that is not about the conception and birth of Jesus, nor about the virginity of Mary.
What does the ,Immaculate Conception, really mean?
What does the ,Immaculate Conception of Mary, mean according to the Roman Catholic teachings? It means that the soul of Mary was not stained with original sin, when she was ‘received’ (at conception) by her mother Anna. She was born without the original sin on her soul.
Dogma and Dogma
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma promulgated by the then Pope Pius IX on December 8, 1854, in a bull entitled ‘Ineffabilis Deus’ (translation: God who is unspeakable). In this text it is proclaimed that the most Blessed Virgin Mary in the first state of her Recipient by some special grace and privilege of Almighty God, for the sake of the merits of Christ Jesus the Hattor of mankind, of all with the stain of inheritance, has been revealed by God, and so must be firmly and settled by all believers.’
This dogma emphasizes how special Mary would have been. After all, the first two people on earth, Adam and Eve, committed a sin that forced them to leave Paradise. As a result, the souls of all later people, as descendants of Adam and Eve, were stained by the ,sin sin,, except the souls of Mary and Jesus Christ.
The Mariadevotion of the Mariadevo
The proclamation of the bull ‘Ineffabilis Deus’ was one of the reasons for the enormous flowering of the Marian worship (Marian monk) among Catholics in the second half of the 19th century. In many Catholic countries, the date on which this dogma was proclaimed, has become a great holiday, celebrating the annual ,Imbumination of Mary,. In Italy, Spain, Austria, Portugal and Colombia, it is therefore also a day off for many. There are also a large number of churches worldwide named after the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
The Netherlands and Belgium�
In the Netherlands and Belgium, many churches also bear a name that refers to this dogma, for example ‘the Our Lady-Onbevlekt-Invastvangenkerk’. In Belgium, churches with that name can be found in Bruges, Aalste, Bruges, Linde and Tervant. In the Netherlands, churches with such names can be found in The Hague, Erica, Amstenrade, Venlo, Waalwijk, Leiden and Kerkrade.
Discussion of the discussion
Within the Christian world, there has always been much criticism of the Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. Many theologians believe that there are no explicit biblical grounds which can serve as evidence for the ‘Immaculate Conception of Mary.’ Other Christian churches, such as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Protestant Churches, reject this Catholic dogma.
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- Saint Anne – Mother of Mary and Grandma of Jesus