Scot McKnight is soon-to-be releasing a new book entitled The Real Mary. An excerpt of his book is available at http://www.paracletepress.com/nstore/linkedfiles/excerpt/RealMaryFORMAT.pdf
I'd be very interested in any comments anyone has regarding the excerpt. Also, any help anyone may have on posting a PDF file directly into a Blogger blog.
I agree with Scot that a new look at Mary is warranted, and he states the case for it quite well. One could also make a case that Mary was the first Christian; the first to trust in Christ. I'm definitely interested in reading the rest of Scot's book. There's nothing terribly revelatory in those first few pages, but it's a good start.
ReplyDeleteI'm especially looking forward to his discussion of Mary's influence on Jesus and James, which he hinted at in his 9/12 blog entry. This is an idea I hadn't considered before. Scot's brief comparison of the Magnificat with the teachings of Jesus and the book of James has whet my appetite.
I like the idea of a reexamination of Mary quite a lot. I'm actually a little disappointed at the excerpt we've seen, however.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with trying to study the Biblical Mary is the paucity of information. I got the feeling, even in the introduction, that Scot was repeating himself.
Scot does a good job of discussing the potential consequences of Mary's "Be unto me." But when he talks about why she acquiesced, he loses me a little. Gabriel didn't exactly ask her permission, and New Testament appearances of angels were generally overwhelming. She may not have thought about the consequences until later. But of course, it's a moot point, because God would obviously have chosen someone who would have been willing, regardless.
As to the Magnificat and the evidence from it of Mary's influence on Jesus and James, I'm not sure if it means that Mary had such a strong influence personally, or simply that all three of them were deeply immersed in the same Jewish Torah culture.