Theologian Says Non-Catholic Believers Should Honor Mary
by Jim Brown
December 24, 2003
(AgapePress) - A Southern Baptist theologian says he wrote an article in Christianity Today on the Virgin Mary in hopes of encouraging evangelical Christians and other Protestants to pay more attention to her.Dr. Timothy George is dean of Beeson Divinity School at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. As a biblical scholar and educator, as well as a senior editor for Christianity Today magazine, George has written a number of books and articles on religious subjects, and has authored a doctrinal study for the Southern Baptist Convention.
In his recent Christianity Today article titled "The Blessed Evangelical Mary," George notes that Evangelicals and Protestants have reacted so negatively in the past to Catholic teaching on Mary that many of these non-Catholic Christians may have ignored constructive material about the mother of Jesus in the Bible.
George says he was prompted to write the article based on conversations he has had with Roman Catholics. "They give a great deal of devotion to Mary that we Evangelicals and Protestants feel is not appropriate biblically or can't be justified," the theologian says. "And yet, as you can see from how I developed the article, I feel there is a proper biblical way of honoring Mary -- and maybe we've neglected that."
George feels Mary was a great example of Christian discipleship and obedience, who should be praised for her faithfulness. He says non-Catholic Christians should not hesitate to lift up the "blessed virgin" this Christmas, and in general.
"Mary is a model believer," George says, noting that the mother of Jesus believed the Word of God when it came to her, even as she was being prepared by the Holy Spirit to give birth to the Messiah.
"She believed the word of the angel and said 'Let it be unto me according to your word.' So she submitted to the will of God in great humility," George says.
The Southern Baptist scholar and author, who has been involved for a number of years in a project called Evangelicals and Catholics Together, says reaction to his article has been mostly positive. However, he notes that he has received some negative letters from former Catholics who have become Protestants.
