Mary in the New Testament

A Collaborative Assessment by Protestant and Roman Catholic Scholars

When Protestant and Roman Catholic scholars work together to study how Mary is perceived in the context of the New Testament, the resulting work is a good scriptural understanding of Mary - one that many Christians of different denominations can definitely agree upon.

Mary: Introduction

In the Catholic Church, Mary is often linked to a tradition of devotion and spirituality. This tradition goes way back to early Christianity and was handed down along the centuries to present times. When Martin Luther (a former Augustinian) led a movement that understood the Christian faith as "sola scriptura" [scriptures alone], his followers believed from then on that what is only in the Bible is what should be believed. This direction led to the final rift of understanding between how Mary is seen by Catholics and by Protestants. However, if Mary is understood in a scholarly manner by the study of her role as presented by scriptures, a common understanding of who Mary is in the context of the New Testament can be arrived at.

Mary in the New Testament

Such a study was made with the book "Mary in the New Testament". This book is a product of a team of Protestant, Anglican, and Roman Catholic scholars. All the scholars have reached an agreement as to how Mary was seen by the Christians of the first two centuries. They arrived at an understanding by studying the very text of the scriptures and the socio-historical factors of those first two centuries. This analysis and socio-historical examination is an excellent ecumenical achievement for a modern age where facts are given more emphasis.

Who can benefit from this book

Although the book is written by scholars, it is not meant only for scholars. The authors have presented this work in a manner that is intelligible to students, clergy, and the laity of Christian Churches who have done some of study in scripture. What is amazing to note is that the book has a sensitive respect for both readers of a more devotional temperament and those who are more scientifically-minded.

Chapters in the book

There are ten chapters in the book. These chapters are subdivided further into several specific topics. There is also an Index in the back part of the book which gives meaning to specific words or phrases related to the person of Mary:

• Chapter One: Origins of the Study
• Chapter Two: Presuppositions of the Study
• Chapter Three: The Birth of Jesus in the Pauline Writings
• Chapter Four: Mary in the Gospel of Mark
• Chapter Five: Mary in the Gospel of Matthew
• Chapter Six: Mary in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles
• Chapter Seven: The Mother of Jesus in the Gospel of John
• Chapter Eight: The Woman in Revelation 12
• Chapter Nine: Mary in the Literature of the Second Century
• Chapter Ten: Conclusions from the Study