[Magdalen] Images and words about Mary

[Eleanor Braun]

I'm with you, Sally.  I love the Magnificat, but I see putting Mary on the
pedestal of "unstained" or "undefiled" as part of the whole package that
keeps women apart and lesser.

And theologically, I don't get how Jesus can be fully human if his mother
is something different than the rest of us.

Eleanor

On Fri, Jan 29, 2016 at 1:13 PM, Sally Davies <sally.davies at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Fascinating - thanks Ian. This site has prompted me to download Tumblr
> which looks like a good thing to have...
>
> I have SUCH mixed feelings. At a purely emotional level I love "Our Lady"
> far more than a Protestant should (and in Southern Africa the Anglican
> church is firmly in the protestant tradition). The love I have for her is
> simple and trusting, as the Mother of the church and one of the treasures
> bequeathed to us by Jesus as he died, through the "beloved disciple".
>
> But there are aspects, brought out by some of these contributors, that
> annoy me so much I can scarcely stand to look at them. Such as, the world
> of misogyny and anti-humanism implicit in notions such as "unstained", or
> "undefiled". YECHH!!
>
> What the heck does any of that mean? If Mary was "unstained by original
> sin" then who was that person who fully identified with her people in the
> joyous explosion of the Magnificat? Not a perfect woman, just a very young
> human who gave her whole heart to the purposes of God.
>
> Why do we allow a very dubious doctrine ("original sin") to subvert
> everything like this?
>
> And it gets worse - it's clear from some posts that "undefiled" means that
> Mary never had sex. Now I don't take a position on that either way,
> considering it her private business, but I cannot go along with any
> discourse implying that being sexual somehow "defiles" a woman (it's
> unlikely to be a man in that context).
>
> Bah. Sorry to rant, but it's because I AM so fascinated by all this that I
> end up biting off more than I can chew.
>
> What say you, pub friends?
>
> Sally D
>
> On Friday, 29 January 2016, Ian Gomersall <ian.gomersall at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Friends
> >
> > Our Church is hosting a friendly Facebook Group called 'Mary, images,
> words
> > and music' simply for people of *any* Christian tradtion *(or none)* to
> > share images or verse or prose about Mary.
> >
> > It doesn't assume a particular stance on devotion to Mary ...
> >
> > Please feel free to join if you're on Facebook. You'd be very welcome.
> >
> > <goog_1806472691>
> > https://www.facebook.com/groups/986129021426449/
> >
> > Ian
> >
> > *Ian Gomersall*
> >
>