Is the Virgin Mary feminine aspect of God incarnate?

Question

Pope Benedict's proposal to name Mary Co-redemptrix (and a bunch of accompanying statements) has me in a tail spin but tonight I've come up with this and would like feedback (no bashing please - thank you)

Could Mary be the femine aspect of God, the Holy Spirit, incarnate as Jesus is the Son of God incarnate?

I recently read a book "Why I'm Catholic" by Gary Wills, a Jesuit-educated historian, in which this is hinted at. Wills presents in his book and observation that when looking for the Holy Spirit (Divine Femine) in the Roman Catholic doctrines and traditions, one finds Mary mother of Jesus/God instead. Well if the Son of God incarnate is Jesus, and God is 3 aspects in one (Father Son Holy Spirit) then why not Mary the incarnation of God the Holy Spirit as well?

Alfalfa- well, no, not quite, although you get a thumbs up from me for the great laugh...
It would be more like this:
Son of God Jesus on Vocals and lead guitar
Father of God (And now I'm wondering who is that incarnate?) on vocals and bass guitar
Mother of God Mary on vocals and drums
Satan still gets to be roady. Give the devil his due...

outlaw393 - um well, DaVinci Code left me ambivalent, to say the least; thin on verifiables and thick on over-dramatization and Jesus married to Mary M a really far stretch especially after I read the Gospel according to Mary (Magdalene). I'm still thinking she was the one who Jesus cast demons out of, and that her demons were akin to bi-polar/manic-depressive personality disorder. But you bring up some great food for thought: Three phases, one life? We experience the mother-father phase in man and woman which would correspond to Genisis where God made them (us) man and woman-and then somewhere in the bible about husband and wife becoming one... The gender division occurs within our humanity...hmm I'm still struggling here. The one-God thing is not something I'm going to let go of. But thanks for your feedback. It's very helpful.

Born Again Catholic and Edge -- Yah I think I'm over my head too, so we all tread water together (water - get the symbolism?)...And Co-Redemptrix as an acknowledgement of how we each play a role in each others' salvation - well, role I can get my brain around, but adamantly important to me to remember that God is the source and cause of salvation, not any of us. Either way, this envelope gets pushed. Thank you both for your feedback, it's helpful and supportive. (In Him) -M

Answer 1

You've got two issues going here.

One, the co-redemptrix issue: The most cogent explanation you've received here is the answer from Edge. He has the essence of it.

As for the divine feminine, I think you may be off on the wrong track of thought. Gary Wills may well have found Mary when looking for the Holy Spirit, but it does not follow that one equals the other. Mary is many things but divine is not one of them. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the love of the Father and the Son ... and nowhere are we told that the Spirit is incarnate in Mary. It's not the sort of theological water I'd want to tread into, and even now I'm a bit over my depth. All I can say is that it doesn't square with what I know of the Trinity.

Answer 2

For a number of reasons, such a premise is unworkable, at best, and heretical, at worst.

God had all eternity to decide how to create the woman who would be Jesus' mom, and he did a very nice job of it.

And why shouldn't God give his only begotten son the best mom in the universe?

Still, Mary is a creature. Not a deity. But she is probably as Christ-like as any non-divine person could ever be ... according to God's grace, of course.

Answer 3

St. Mary is totally human being,
to born Jesus a complete man,
united with the divinity who is the Christ the son of God
in her womb so the word became flesh in one nature,
to able carry the sin of all human being
to offering himself a pure sacrifice to save the whole world.
Mt. 1:24
Joseph awoke from his sleep. He did what the angel of the Lord told him to do. He took Mary as his wife.
But he did not have her, as a husband has a wife, until she gave birth to a Son. Joseph gave Him the name Jesus.

Heb 1:3
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Heb 2:14 , 17
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—
For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

Heb 10:5
Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me;


and St. Mary need the salvation
Luk1:47
Mary said:
"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

Answer 4

Mary is a woman most blessed. To have been chosen from among the sea of humanity to carry God's only begotten Son is a most incredible honor.

But, make no mistake. Mary did not redeem anyone. To raise her to the level of Redeemer is tantamount to raising her to the level of God Himself. It is blasphemy.

Mary herself acknowledges her humanity, her humility before the Lord, and her need of a Savior in her own recorded words of the Magnificat in Luke 1.

Dogma and policies such as this are the very reason for the Protestant Reformation of Martin Luther, so many years ago.
They are unbiblical, and break God's Commandments.

Answer 5

It order for Jesus to be fully God and fully human at the same time his biological Father must be God and His biological mother must be totally and completely human.

There is nothing in Scripture to indicate that Mary is even remotely divine.

The only thing we know about her is that at the time of Jesus birth:

1. She had found favor with God.

2. She was a virgin

The Bible never hints that Mary was a perpectual virgin in fact, quite the opposite Matthew tells us that Joseph kept her a virgin until Jesus was born:

Matthew chapter one:

25But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. NIV

25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. NASB

25But he had no union with her as her husband until she had borne her firstborn Son; and he called His name Jesus. (Amplifed)

25but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. ESV

25He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus. (New American Bible)

And of course in Matthew 13:55-56 we see that Joseph and Mary had at least six more children the regular way. Their four sons are named and it say they have at least two daughters.

To suggest that Mary was a perpetual virgin is to call Saint Matthew a liar.

We also know that one of Jesus' younger siblings was James, leaders of the church at both church councils as recorded in the book of Acts and the author of the book of James.

Another of Jesus' younger siblings was the author of the book of Judas.

One of the many ways in which the Roman church has gone off the deep end is all this utter nonesense about Mary being a perpetual virgin and that she did not taste normal death.

That's all man made hogwash.

If you prefer call it man made heresy.

Mary is the human mother of the human Jesus.

Mary is NOT the mother of God.

Mary was a sinner who needed to be saved from her sins by Jesus, just like you and I needed to be saved from our sins. In that area Mary is no different than any other teen age girl.

Mary's only qualification was that she had not sex before Jesus was born. Mary was a sinner, and Mary's birth was very normal.

After Jesus was born, Mary and Jospeh had a normal passionate sex life which produced at least six more children.

It would have been sin for Mary and Joseph not to have had a normal sex life after Jesus was born.

Those who suggest Mary was a perpectual virgin and never tasted a normal death, are ignorant of the Scriptures and they don't know God.

They are religionists who have created a false religion.

Please don't tell me I hate Catholics because I have pointed out the bad teaching which originates from Rome.

When the topic is the Baptist Church, I'll tell you the bad teaching they have and when the topic is Pentecostals I'll tell you where they have gone astray.

There are NO PERFECT denominations!

I am telling you the truth about the lies which originate in Rome so that you can avoid them.

Why am I pointing this out now? I am responding to the question a Roman Catholic has asked.

I am the best friend Roman Catholics have.

Why? Because I've told you the truth from God's Word.

Pastor Art

Answer 6

So now God is to be divided one more time?
A Quartet instead of a Trinity.

Cool

Jesus on vocals and lead guitar
Mary on tambourine and back up vocals
God himself on bass
The Holy Spirit on drums

With Satan as the perpetual roady forced to sleep in the equipment van.

Answer 7

I would say no. Mary as co-redemptrix does not mean what we protestants think it means. I have been working to clear this up tonight in my mind. What they mean is that Mary as the mother of Jesus was the means by which the one who delivers salvation came into this world. Additionally she is a co-redemptrix in the same manner we are when we lead a friend to Christ. We play a role in their salvation by telling them about God and introducing them to Jesus.

Answer 8

Yes

The Virgin Mary is the Goddess, Christianized for when Christianity invaded Europe, and the pre-christian religions there.

She is a separate entity, however. God the Father has (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) and the Mother has (Mother, Maiden, Crone) representing three phases of life.

Go read the Da Vinci code, has some good stuff about Mary being the "Sacred Feminine"

Answer 9

No, and no one thinks so.

but Catholics have been often accused of worshipping her as God, which is very unfair to Catholics. there's nothing wrong with what the Pope said, it's how people misunderstand what he said that makes them all angry.

Answer 10

no...
Mary is Jesus's mommy
Jesus loves his mommy
Jesus said to honor to your dad and your mommy
Jesus was not a hypocrite