How do you, personally, view Mary in terms of your faith?

Question

Putting aside, for the moment, the objections Protestants and others have to the status of Mary in the Catholic church and the place she has in our devotional lives (including the rosary and prayers, statues, all of that -- the points we all know are in contention):

Does the Mary of the Bible have any significance at all to you? Is she a worthy example to follow ("let it be done to me according to your word", "do whatever he tells you")? Or does she make an appearance at Christmas in the music and Nativity scenes and that's pretty much it -- a necessity for the Incarnation but hustled off the stage soon thereafter? How do you really feel about this blessed woman who brought Christ into the world?

I'd honestly like to get beyond the reactions to what Catholicism has made of her and discover the place (if any) the woman who bore the incarnate Word and was present at both Calvary and Pentecost has in the personal beliefs of non-Catholic Christians, and those of other faiths.

Answer 1

As a Muslim, I believe that Mary was a good, pure and chaste woman that God chose to bless her with the pregnancy of Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him). Jesus was born with a mother and without a father as Adam and Eve were born with neither.

I view Mary as a good and pious women who raised Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) to be one of the most influention prophets in the history of the world. I view her as a blessed women who will be blessed by God and given a place in Paradise.

We should all strive to emulate or imitate her in regards to piosness and kindness and faith, but by no means worship her.

That's how I view her.

Answer 2

As a Baptist, I see Mary as a beautiful example of a Godly person. Joseph as well. The amount of faith they showed in trusting in God that He would give them what they needed to raise Jesus is incredible. She is definitely a worthy example to follow. That being said, I don't see her as any more special than many other examples of Godly women in both the old & new testament. I think the problem that I and a lot of protestants have is not that we don't think Mary was a remarkable woman, but that Catholics give the impression that she is the next step under God to the point that it sounds a lot like she is being worshipped. I know that whenever I say that, Catholics immediately say that they do not worship her, but when looking at it from the outside, that is the impression one gets.

Answer 3

Mary did indeed give birth to Jesus and was present at both of the occasions that you mention as such followed the Lord's will but there was another person involved in Jesus' life.

Joseph got Mary to Bethlehem, got them to Egypt for safety,and raised Jesus as his son until Jesus took up His ministry. Yet this man is forgotten except as a Nativity figure like a lamb or the manger.

Answer 4

I think the Virgin Mary is a very significant character in religion, because she was the start of the creation of Christ, and His most faithful follower. Anyone who is hand-picked and chosen by God to have His baby is worthy of, not to say the least, a mention in religious history! My grandmother in fact told me that she prays to Mary because she is supposedly a messenger for God and your prayers will get answered through her quicker. I'm Catholic though, so maybe that is just how I was raised. I hope my answer provided you with some insight on her.

Answer 5

I find it interesting that current Protestants seem to reject what their own founders said about Mary:

The protestant reformers affirmed their belief that Mary, while remaining ever-virgin, was truly the Mother of God. Here are only a few examples:

Martin Luther (1483-1546), On the Divine Motherhood of Mary, wrote:

In this work whereby she was made the Mother of God, so many and such great good things were given her that no one can grasp them. ... Not only was Mary the mother of him who is born [in Bethlehem], but of him who, before the world, was eternally born of the Father, from a Mother in time and at the same time man and God. (Weimer's The Works of Luther, English translation by Pelikan, Concordia, St. Louis, v. 7, p. 572.)

Luther wrote on the Virginity of Mary:

It is an article of faith that Mary is Mother of the Lord and still a virgin. ... Christ, we believe, came forth from a womb left perfectly intact. (Weimer's The Works of Luther, English translation by Pelikan, Concordia, St. Louis, v. 11, pp. 319-320; v. 6. p. 510.)

The French reformer John Calvin (1509-1564) also held that Mary was the Mother of God.

It cannot be denied that God in choosing and destining Mary to be the Mother of his Son, granted her the highest honor. ... Elizabeth called Mary Mother of the Lord, because the unity of the person in the two natures of Christ was such that she could have said that the mortal man engendered in the womb of Mary as at the same time the eternal God. (Calvini Opera, Corpus Reformatorum, Braunschweig-Berlin, 1863-1900, v. 45, p. 348, 35.)

Calvin also up held the perpetual virginity of Mary, as did the Swiss reformer, Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531), who wrote:

I firmly believe that Mary, according to the words of the gospel as a pure Virgin brought forth for us the Son of God and in childbirth and after childbirth forever remained a pure, intact Virgin. (Zwingli Opera, Corpus Reformatorum, Berlin, 1905, v. 1, p. 424.)

Answer 6

I am not a Christian although I have studied that religion, was part of it for a time and still enjoy learning all I can about it. I have been Pagan since being born into a mixed up strange family with a mother as a Witch, in the literal sense;)

However through my studies and of my own Pagan beliefs... I see Mary as a strong and beautiful woman.

I see Mary M as being one of the few LEADING and STRONG ladies in the Bible. A book of which I believe lacks much balance.

Answer 7

I believe Mary was a devoted follower of God who was chosen to carry his Son to us. I believe she has a special place in heaven with her son. I do not believe in praying to her for intercession or worshipping her. I think the ten commandments are clear, we are only to worship and pray to God. The Trinity of God is divine. I do think Mary is a wonderful example of a woman that served God. I would love to be able to live my life in such a worthy way.

Answer 8

Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, was no different than you or I except that she gave birth to Christ by miraculous intervention from God the Father. Although she was picked by God to birth Jesus becuse of her willingness to serve Him, she was born into sin and lived life with all the pain, heartache, and struggles any other mother endures. She deserves no special veneration for that and certainly should not be prayed to.

Answer 9

Very simple. She IS the Mother of Christ begot by the Holy Spirit sent FROM GOD the Father. No I am not Catholic.

Answer 10

Have you read these versus about Mary in the Quran?

In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful

And remember when the angels said, 'O Mary, God has chosen thee and purified thee and chosen thee above all women of the time.'

When the angels said, 'O Mary, God gives thee glad tidings of a son through a Word from Him; his name shall be the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, honoured in this world and in the next, and of those who are granted nearness to God;

And sets forth as an example Mary, the daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity - so We breathed into him of Our Spirit -and she fulfilled the prophecy conveyed to her in the words of her Lord contained in His Books and she was one of the obedient.

Holy Quran