The New Testament doesn't address the Immaculate Conception of Mary. So,what's the real source?

Question

Is it possible that early Christian writings & books that were excluded as final New Testament books address Mary's Immaculate Conception since none of the included 27 New Testament books do?
Would it be mentioned in gnostic gospels that were discovered in Nag Hamadi, Egypt in 1947?

If I can get any answers from New Testament scholars,great!
If not,I'll accept answers from Christians who are very knowledgeable about any sources regarding this matter.

Answer 1

The Protevangelion of James details the birth and early years of Mary, but I don't recall whether it addresses the actual conception. That was a development of the theology that recognized Jesus as truly God, with the understanding that a transcendent deity could not be associated with sinful flesh. Simple logic required Mary to be completely free of the taint of Original Sin, and therefore conceived "immaculately". But no theologian has ever been able to explain HOW it happened, only that it must have.

Answer 2

The original Greek text speaks of Mary as ALREADY being "full of grace" or "highly favored by God" even before Gabriel appeared to her.

No one else since Adam and Eve had ever been the recipient of God's sanctifying grace.

And since Jesus could not have been our savior if he was ever stained by sin, and Jesus' flesh came from Mary's, it was absolutely necessary for God to preserve Mary from sin, from the moment of her conception.

Otherwise, Satan would have had a claim on Jesus, from the moment HE was conceived, his life and death would have been a total waste, and we would all still be trapped in our sins.

And while the bible may not clearly state all this, the Catholic church has known and understood it clearly, from Penetecost, right up until the present day.

You see, we Catholics actually knew Jesus, Mary, and all the apostles and disciples ... and much (but not all) of what we knew to be true was later written down and became authentic scripture.

Joh 21:24 This is that disciple who giveth testimony of these things and hath written these things: and we know that his testimony is true.
Joh 21:25 But there are also many other things which Jesus did which, if they were written every one, the world itself. I think, would not be able to contain the books that should be written.

Answer 3

The Immaculate Conception and Assumption of the Blessed Mother is rooted in Sacred Tradition.

Since the Immaculate Conception and Assumption are not explicit in Scripture, Fundamentalists conclude that the doctrines are false. Here, of course, we get into an entirely separate matter, the question of sola scriptura, or the Protestant "Bible only" theory. That would be another topic. Let it just be said that if the position of the Catholic Church is true, then the notion of sola scriptura is false. There is then no problem with the Church officially defining a doctrine which is not explicitly in Scripture, so long as it is not in contradiction to Scripture.

The Catholic Church was commissioned by Christ to teach all nations and to teach them infallibly—guided, as he promised, by the Holy Spirit until the end of the world (John 14:26, 16:13). The mere fact that the Church teaches that something is definitely true is a guarantee that it is true (cf. Matt. 28:18-20, Luke 10:16, 1 Tim. 3:15).

An implicit reference to the doctrine of Immaculate Conception may be found in the angel’s greeting to Mary. The angel Gabriel said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28). The phrase "full of grace" is a translation of the Greek word kecharitomene. It expresses a characteristic quality of Mary.

The grace given to Mary is at once permanent and of a unique kind. Kecharitomene is a perfect passive participle of charitoo, meaning "to fill or endow with grace." Since this term is in the perfect tense, it indicates that Mary was graced in the past but with continuing effects in the present. So, the grace Mary enjoyed was not a result of the angel’s visit. In fact, Catholics hold, it extended over the whole of her life, from conception onward. She was in a state of sanctifying grace from the first moment of her existence.

For more information about this subject please go to this link.
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0832.htm

Edit: To answer those who said Mary was a sinner.

Mary, too, required a Savior. Like all other descendants of Adam, she was subject to the necessity of contracting original sin. But by a special intervention of God, undertaken at the instant she was conceived, she was preserved from the stain of original sin and its consequences. She was therefore redeemed by the grace of Christ, but in a special way—by anticipation. By receiving Christ’s grace at her conception, she had his grace applied to her before she was able to become mired in original sin and its stain.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that she was "redeemed in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son" (CCC 492). She has more reason to call God her Savior than we do, because he saved her in an even more glorious manner!

Answer 4

I see some people are already falling for the common mistake of confusing the Immaculate Conception (the concept that Mary was born without sin) with the virgin birth (the concept that Mary was a virgin). Geez, even I know the difference, and I'm not even a Christian!

Some Catholics claim that the description of how Gabriel sees Mary ("full of grace", etc.) implies this.

Answer 5

Pope Sixtus IV, in 1476, introduced the feast of the Immaculate Conception, but he did not say that this was an official teaching. This was left to Pope Pius IX in his constitution ‘Ineffabilis Deus’ (1854) who made it official doctrine. The Roman church says that this teaching is supported by Scripture - Mary greeted by Angel Gabriel as "full of grace" or "highly favoured" and being called ‘Blessed Virgin (Luke 1:48).

Answer 6

It may be they were excluded because if Mary's birth were the result of Immaculate Conception, she would be as much of a deity as Jesus.

She is not for then she, too, would be God.

The only Immaculate Conception involving Mary was the Conception and birth of Jesus Christ.

Answer 7

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07674d.htm
Try that article on for size. She wasn't given that title until the 1800's. Bernadette of Lourdes asked the Lady 4 times who she was, and finally she identified herself as "I am the Immaculate Conception" to her. Well, Bernadette had no idea what that meant, but the priest she told it to knew, and wondered how it could be that this child could know something that the Pope had only declared a few weeks previously to this all happening....(the apparitions of Our Lady at Lourdes)

edit: it does say later on in the article that early Christians celebrated the conception of Mary (The conception of St Anne)

Answer 8

The New Testament doesn't address it because it isn't so. Jesus was born without sin of a virgin - Mary was NOT! Mary herself admitted she needed a Saviour -

Luke 1:46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

We find more proof that Mary was a sinner in that she offered the sin offering as she was commanded to do. See toward the end of Luke 2.

Mary was a virgin and she was obedient to God. She was not without sin.

For more info on what Mary would say -http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0040/0040_01.asp

Answer 9

I'm not sure what you mean by Mary's conception not covered in the Bible:
Matthew 1:18 -- Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
This text shows that she was still a virgin when she conceived Jesus.

If, however you are referring to Mary having no sin, that is not in the Bible, because it is purely false, a myth invented by people who did not know God or his Word. It developed over time, centuries after the New Testament was complete.

There are several biblical based reasons for the fallacy of this doctrine. It is primarily based upon another false doctrine, that of original sin being passed on from generation to generation (with only Mary spared). The Word of God completely and directly contradicts this notion of sin being passed on (Ezekiel 18:20). Also, though Mary's life is not detailed in the Bible, she is recorded as calling God her savior (Luke 1:46-47), implying that she, like the rest of humanity, is in need of a savior from her sins. {If you think this last seems speculative, the biblical foundation for Mary's sinlessness is FAR more speculative.}

Answer 10

“Immaculate Conception of Mary”was pronounced and defined by Pope Pius lX in the year 1854! According to this Catholic dogma - - "Mary (alledgely) was conceived without original sin."

You can check this one out in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

God bless...
GH