FACT CHECK! God’s Own Mother Blest, Ever Sinless Virgin: A Response to Shane Idleman

Shane Idleman wrote:

Adoration of Mary. When the government and the church united toward the end of the 4th century, the departure from biblical truth increased. Mary was eventually hailed as co-redeemer and mediator; her perpetual virginity and immaculate conception are still upheld.

Granted, not all Catholics view Mary as a co-redeemer, but the study of Mariology suggests otherwise. Antipater of Bostra, a father of the Council of Ephesus, wrote this about Mary, “Hail, you who acceptably intercede as Mediatrix for mankind.”

The Catholic doctrines of “Perpetual Virginity” and “Immaculate Conception” teach that Mary maintained her virginity and was conceived without sin. But the Bible teaches that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (cf. Rom. 3:23). This teaching elevates Mary.

Historical Christianity teaches that Mary was highly favored, but she does not play a role in redemption, nor should we pray to her. We believe that Jesus is the only way, the only truth and the only life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (cf. John 14:6).

My response:

Shane says “the departure from biblical truth increased” towards the end of the 4th century. We would need positive proof of this assertion. In other words, demonstrate what the Church believed about Mary prior to the end of the 4th century, and then show how it changed afterwards. The reality is we see an organic development of our understanding of Mary blossom throughout the centuries, whereas the Protestant sects of the 17th century and onward gradually began to deviate from the testimony of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition in regards to Mary.

Right from the 2nd century going to the 4th, we see the early Church Fathers harmoniously speaking of Mary as the New Eve, the Spotless one, All Holy, All Pure, Ever Virgin. Check out the writings of Sts. Justin Martyr and Irenaeus (2nd century); Tertullian and St. Gregory (3rd century); Sts. Jerome and Ephrem (4th century). If anything, the departure from biblical and historical truth concerning Mary began some time after the Protestant Revolt of the 16th century.

Romans 3:23 teaches a general truth, that all have sinned. But even then, we see exceptions to this rule. Jesus was true Man, and yet never sinned. Babies who die before the age of reason have not sinned. Scripture reveals that Mary is an exception, right from the words of St. Gabriel the Archangel in Luke 1:28, when he greets her with the title Kecharitomene, translated in English as Full of Grace. Or more literally, she who is overflowing in grace from a past event that is presently ongoing into the future. While Scripture commands us to combat our vices by growing in grace, Mary is overflowing in grace and thus without sin, since grace and sin can not coexist.

We also see from Genesis 3:15, right after the Fall of Adam and Eve, that there will be a Woman who has enmity with the devil. Meaning she will be completely at odds with him. And this prophecied Woman will give birth to the Savior. And this Savior will crush the head of the serpent. We know who the Savior is, and we know who gave birth to Him. Her name is Mary. And we know that the serpent’s head was crushed at the Cross. And Our Lord even addresses Mary as “Woman” right from the Cross. Again, another example right from Scripture showing Mary as an exception to the general rule.

As well, when St. Paul writes, “All have sinned,” he is quoting from Psalm 14, in which David echoes the general truth that all have sinned, and yet David then distinguishes between those who have sinned and those who are righteous before God. Again, showing that the word “all” is not meant to be taken literally but rather as a general truth.

St. Paul himself uses the word “all” as well in 1 Corinthians 1:5, when he says the Corinthian church has been enriched with “all knowledge.” He then goes on for nearly the rest of the letter to discipline the Corinthians for having fallen into all different sorts of sin, showing that his usage of the word “all” is more colloquial in nature, rather than literal exactness.

So the dogma of Mary’s sinlessness is not an attempt to “elevate” Mary, as Shane posits. It is merely being faithful to the testimony of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. The primary error here on Shane’s part is his allegiance to Private Interpretation as the final court of appeals in matters of faith and morals. But the Christian Religion has never operated this way. We hold to the full Word of God, which is both written and oral (2 Thessalonians 2:15), as interpreted by the Magisterium, which is the model handed down to us by God, as we see practiced even in Acts 15 at the Council of Jerusalem.

Shane writes, “Historical Christianity teaches that Mary was highly favored.” Indeed, not only highly favored, but much more than that. She is Full of Grace. She is the New Eve. That is the actual testimony of historical Christianity, as I have demonstrated. Even Martin Luther, the Father of the Protestant Revolt, taught in 1532, “God has formed the soul and body of the Virgin Mary full of the Holy Spirit, so that she is without all sins, for she has conceived and borne the Lord Jesus.” It was the ashes of the aftermath of his Revolt which began to demote the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Shane goes on to assert that she plays no role in redemption, but without her “Fiat” to God, we would not have the Savior. So she played a very important and crucial role in the redemption, and again, one that was prophesied by God all the way back in Genesis 3:15. And we see it too in glorious detail in Apocalypse 12:1, which describes her in ways befitting of a truly Immaculate Queen.

We do not “pray to Mary,” properly speaking. We ask her to pray to God for us, which is an important distinction. No different than requesting another Christian to pray for us. Well, except for one notable difference: her prayers on our behalf are even more efficacious, since the prayers of the righteous avail much before God, as St. James teaches in James 5:16. Even then, the term “pray” has a range of meaning, such as we find even in modern day legal terminology, when an attorney tells a judge, “I pray thee.”

I sincerely hope and pray that Shane Idleman can come to experience how beautiful it is to see Jesus through the eyes and heart of Mary, which we as Christians so wonderfully get to encounter in every Rosary devoutly prayed. As she herself said in her Magnificat, “My soul magnifies the Lord!” When we see Jesus through her, we see Jesus through a magnifying glass. And may Shane one day come to profess this biblical truth: “All generations shall call me blessed.”

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We love you. Save souls. Amen.