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From: firth@sei.cmu.edu (Robert Firth)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Mary's Virginity & Jesus's Siblings
Message-ID: <Jul.18.03.33.54.1990.15514@athos.rutgers.edu>
Date: 18 Jul 90 07:33:56 GMT
Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu
Organization: Software Engineering Institute, Pittsburgh, PA
Lines: 29
Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu

In article <Jul.16.02.59.13.1990.14769@athos.rutgers.edu> ckp@grebyn.com (Checkpoint Technologies) writes:

>What many non-Catholics don't realize is that Mary was _conceived_
>without sin.

And what follows is the Roman doctrine of the Immaculate Conception,
and I at least would have been happier if it had been presented as
such, rather than as if it were some established truth.

For the record, no non-Roman sect believes this, and it is refuted
by Holy Scripture, as Paul says,

	"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
	 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption
	 that is in Christ Jesus."

As for myself, I believe that salvation comes only through the
redemptive sacrifice of Our Lord, and that this redemption is
both necessary and universal.  The doctrine that any man or
woman whatsoever was sinless, and hence not in need of salvation
through Christ, is one that I cannot reconcile with the Christian
faith as I see it.

[I believe you have read into the doctrine more than (or other than)
it intends to say.  Mary's sinlessness was "because of the merits of
Christ our Lord, the Savior of mankind, which were forseen" (quoted
from "Ineffabilis Deus", the pronouncement that defined the doctrine.)
Mary, like everyone else, is saved only by Christ.  I'll let one of
our Catholic correspondents give more details.  --clh]