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Blessed Among Women

Comparing Maryan in the Quran and Mary in the Bible
Caloy Dio
December 8, 2016

1) Introduction

It is a great privilege for me to be invited to this forum at this

time of the year when the Catholic faithful celebrate the
Immaculate Conception of Mary (or Maryam), the mother of
Jesus (or Isa).

I grew up in a deeply religious Catholic family as a young boy in

Bulacan. And so I am familiar with all of the rituals surrounding
the Blessed Virgin Mary.

But later in life I became an Evangelical Christian and started to

become a follower of Jesus Christ.

Perhaps it might come to you as a surprise that Evangelicals do

not really celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception. It
is not part of what we believe. It is part of Catholic teachings
that Protestants and Evangelicals have not accepted.

But as an Evangelical, Id like to tell with you that studying for

this lecture has been quite an interesting theological journey.

In the course of my study, I have come to understand, and it

was such a pleasant surprise to learn that Mary is one of the
most honored figures in Muslim history, with many regarding
her as one of the most righteous women to have lived. And if I
am not mistaken some even view her as an actual female
prophet.

And Im sure you are aware that Mary is venerated and very
much loved by most, if not all in the Catholic faith.
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It may surprise you, therefore to hear that most Evangelicals

are conflicted about Mary, and many Evangelicals practically
avoid teaching about Mary in our churches.

It is understandable if most Muslims may think Catholics and

Evangelicals have the same beliefs. Indeed, Catholics and
Evangelicals share a lot of beliefs in common. But, perhaps
similar to how there are differences in teachings within the
Muslim faith with it different strands, so it is Christianity. There
are key points in our beliefs where Catholics and Evangelicals
differ. Perhaps it may be interesting for you to hear about these
differences.

My talk will have several parts. First I will outline what I have
observed to be difference and similarities between Muslim and
Christian faiths with regards to Mary/Maryam.

Then I will outline the commonalities and the differences

between the Catholic and Evangelical beliefs regarding Mary.

And then I will go a bit deeper into why Mary was called
Blessed among women from the Christian perspective.

Lets begin!

2) Comparing Maryan and Mary

a) Main Difference between the Muslim and Christian teachings.

The main difference between Muslim and Christian teachings

of course is what sets the Christian faith apart from all the
other faiths, and it centers around how we understand who
Jesus, the son of Mary is.

I have observed that there are certain similarities in how

Jesus or Isa is known in both faiths. Muslims acknowledge Isa
to be the penultimate prophet, recognized as the Al Masih or
the Messiah, the Christ. So do we. We believe Jesus to be the
greatest prophet who ever lived.

Both faiths talk about Jesus as the miracle worker, having

performed scores of miracles throughout his life. Both faiths
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know Jesus or Isa as the one who preached the way to

God, or according to how it is formulated in Muslim
teachings, he preached the straight path.
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The point where the two faith diverge however is in the

belief that Jesus is God in the flesh, which Christians believe,
and we understand Muslim will never accept, knowing that
God is One. Christians also believe that God is One, and
without getting into the complexities of this doctrine, we
understand this in a way that God decided to enter human
history as a man to fulfill a mission, and we believe that
person to be Jesus, the son of Mary.

b) Commonalities between the Muslim and Christian teachings

about Mary

Notwithstanding this key difference, there are so many

commonalities in Muslim and Christian teachings regarding
Mary or Maryam

i) Family lineage.

Tradition in both Muslim and Catholic faiths name the

parents of Mary. Catholic tradition says that Marys father
is Joachim and St. Anne. It matches the tradition in the
Muslim faith that says her father is Imran (equivalent to
Joachim) and Hannah (equivalent to Anne).

ii) Announcement to Mary by an Angel.

In the Quran, an angel announced to Maryan that she

would bear the child Isa, and this angel was Jibril.
Similarly, in the Christian Bible, the announcement was
made to Mary by the angel Gabriel.

iii)Mary was Chosen among women.

In the Quran, it written that Maryam was chosen among

women. She is honored as one privileged to have been
chosen from so many women as the single one worthy to
bear Isa the prophet.

The Bible account is very close to this, as it declares Mary

to be Blessed among women. It is indeed the supreme
blessing to be chosen by God as the one to bear the
Anointed One of God in her womb.
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iv)Miraculous Virgin Birth of Jesus.

Both the Quran and the Bible declares the birth of Jesus or
Isa to be miraculous, as he was borne by the virgin
Mary/Maryam.

All of us here know how babies are created, and we all

know the natural way is for a man and a woman to come
together in an intimate way. Of course, science has
devised ways to make pregnancy in a woman happen
even without a man present. But no one would ever claim
that as miraculous.

During the first century or 2,000 years ago, to become

pregnant without a husband was either a scandal, or an
astounding miracle. Both the Quran and the Bible declare
that no man touched Mary as she became pregnant, and
that this phenomenon was truly miraculous.

These are the key commonalities in teachings about

Mary/Maryam between the Muslim and the Christian faiths.

c) Commonalities between Catholic teachings and

Protestant/Evangelical teachings

At this point I would like to share with you, that just as

Muslims and Christians have similarities and differences in
our understanding of Mary/Maryam, so too within the
Christian faith itself. There are different denominations within
it, with similarities and differences in teachings as well. We
will focus for now on Catholic and Evangelical teachings.

Here are the things that Catholics and Evangelicals share in

the faith:

i) Both the Catholics and Evangelicals believe that Mary was

the mother of the Promised King of Israel.

Christianity as a faith community emerged from, or is an

offshoot of the Jewish faith. So there is something that
Christians share with the Jews. And that is the embrace of
the Jewish Bible which we call the Old Testament.
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So the stories in the Old Testament have become, for

Christians, part of our story of faith as well.

In the Old Testament, there was one who ruled as King of

Israel who was referred to as the man after Gods own
heart. He is David. He is highly regarded in the Jewish
faith as a very important figure in Israels history. Biblical
accounts say that he was the one responsible for bringing
together the fragmented tribes of Israel into a unified
Kingdom. Many consider him to be the greatest King of
Israel.

And in the Bible, just before David died, God gave him a
promise:

Let me read from the Old Testament, the Second Book of

Samuel

2 Samuel 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie

down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after
you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish
his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I
will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will
be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he
commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men,
with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast
love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom
I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your
kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your
throne shall be established forever. 17 In accordance
with all these words, and in accordance with all this
vision, Nathan spoke to David.

Now, many centuries after the death David, Israel fell into
the hands of different powerful kingdoms. Babylonian,
Persian, Roman. During a large part of near-eastern
history the piece of land that the Jews considered their
promised land was ruled by Muslim kingdoms.

And all that time, as far as the Jews were concerned, the
prophesy of the establishment of Davids kingdom has not
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yet happened. And those who are faithful in the Jewish

faith are still waiting for the fulfillment of this prophesy.

For Christians, howeverboth Catholics and Evangelicals,

this prophesy has already been fulfilled.

This was announced by the Angel Gabriel to the young

virgin Mary, who was a descendant of King David, that she
was about to bear in her womb this promised King of
Israel.

Here is the account in the Gospel according to Luke.

Luke 1: 30 And the angel said to her, Do not be afraid,

Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold,
you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you
shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be
called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will
give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will
reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom
there will be no end.

So as far as Christians are concernedboth Catholics and

Evangelicals, the King has already come.

ii) Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit

Both Catholics and Evangelicals adhere to the belief that

Marys miraculous pregnancy was a supernatural work of
the Holy Spirit of God. And because her conception was
supernatural, she remained a virgin, not having been
touched by any human to become pregnant.

This is the account in the Gospel according to Luke.

Luke 1: 34 And Mary said to the angel, How will this be,
since I am a virgin? 35 And the angel answered her, The
Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born
will be called holythe Son of God.
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In no way should this be understood as God having an

intimate relationship with a woman. This is supernatural
work by a supernatural force.

iii)Mary is Blessed among women

Both Catholics and Evangelicals acknowledge that indeed

Mary is blessed among women. We read in the account of
Luke:

Luke 1: 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary,

the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled
with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry,
Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit
of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the
mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold,
when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the
baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she
who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what
was spoken to her from the Lord.

d) Differences between Catholic teachings and

Protestant/Evangelical teachings

While Catholics and Evangelicals have many commonalities

when it comes to beliefs about Mary, there are a number of
major differences in key issues.

i) Immaculate Conception.

According to the teaching of the Catholic Church, the

Virgin Mary was conceived in the womb of her mother,
Saint Anne, free from original sin by some form of merit
prospectively from her soon to be son Jesus Christ. The
Catholic Church teaches that God acted upon her soul,
keeping her "immaculate" at the time of her conception.
This view was widely held during the first few centuries of
the church, but became dogma or authoritative,
incontrovertible teaching in 1854, by declaration of Pope
Pius IX.
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Evangelicals are known as the Bible people and we draw

our major teachings from the Bible. Since this teaching
has no Biblical basis, Evangelicals do not accept this.

ii) The term, Mother of God

This is the belief that since Mary was the mother of Jesus,
and because among Christians we believe that Jesus is
God in the flesh, Mary is the Theotokos or God-bearer.

This evolved over time into Mary becoming known as the

Mother of God.

Evangelicals are concerned that this kind of teachings

may lead to people going beyond venerating Mary and
start mistaking her for having divine attributes, and that
people may start to worship her. Evangelicals do not use
this term to refer to Mary.
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iii)The Assumption of Mary to Heaven.

The doctrine of the Assumption says that at the end of her

life on earth Mary was assumed, or taken up body and
soul, into heaven. Although there is no specific teaching
about it, it is generally understood that Mary did not die.
Pope Pius XII, declared in 1950 that "after the completion
of her earthly life, Mary was assumed body and soul into
the glory of heaven."

Since there is no Biblical basis for this teaching,

Evangelicals do not believe in this.

iv)Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix

Both Catholics and Evangelicals believe that the reason

Jesus died on the cross was to be a sacrifice for the sins of
man, and therefore Jesus purchased forgiveness for them
through his blood. Sin is a big issue among Christians, and
so this is rich redemption language for us. Salvation is a
high apiration among Catholics and Evangelicals, and
Jesus is known as the Redeemer, the one who saves us
from sin.

Also both Catholics and Evangelicals believe that after

Jesus died and rose again, he went up to heaven and is
even now sitting at the right hand of the Father. And there
he acts as a mediator between God and man, interceding
in behalf of people.

Now this is where Catholics and Evangelicals diverge in

beliefs:

Catholics venerate Mary and many place her on a close to

equal status to Jesus. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, 1,000
years ago considered Mary, a mediator with the
Mediator. At about the same time Anselm of Canterbury
has said about Mary, She pleads with the Son on behalf
of the sons. These theological formulations had led to a
view of Mary as co-redemptrix, a term that became
popular in the fifteenth century.
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And that is why Catholics pray to Mary, so that she may

intercede with Jesus on the behalf of the Catholic faithful.

Evangelicals, who believe in the Bible as the only reliable

guide for the faith, do not accept these formulations, and
focuses instead on the role of Jesus as redeemer and sole
mediator between God and men.

3) Focus on Blessed Among Women

But differences aside, it is important to ask: why is it that

Christians consider Mary to be significant so as to be called
Blessed Among Women?

We believe that what made Mary blessed among women is the

great historical and cosmic importance of the child she bore
and gave birth to. Because through Mary, the fulfillment of
Gods promises to the people of Israel was to fulfilled in the
person of her son Jesus.

But how this came about is quite different from what I

mentioned earlier to be the expectations of the Jews.

The Jews were expecting a righteous warrior king in the mold of

King David. Especially since during that time, the land of Israel
was colonized by the Roman Empire.

While the Jews knew that their subjugation as a people was

part of Gods punishment to them for their failure to keep Gods
commandments for many centuries, they had been looking
forward to the coming of the King promised by the Old
Testament prophets.

The coming of the King meant these things for them:

The time of judgment was to ended, their sins would be

forgiven, and vindication will finally come

The enemy will soon be defeated, and the kingdom of

Israel will be re-established
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The Temple of God will be restored, and God will once

more dwell in their midst, just like in the days of Abraham,
and Moses and David.

These ideas are precious to the Jews. All of these, I believe,

were in the mind of Mary. Thats why as she carried the baby
Jesus in her womb, Mary exclaimed, in what is to be known as
the Magnificat:
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Luke 1: 46 And Mary said,

My soul magnifies the Lord,

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me

blessed;

49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

50 And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

51 He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

53 he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

54 He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

55 as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

We sense here the idea that everything that is wrong with the
world would be set right with the coming of the Messiah.
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And so Jesus was born, with the angels making the great
announcement:

Luke 2: 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude

of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 Glory to God
in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he
is pleased!
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Christians believe that Mary bore the Messiah, the Anointed

One of God, the promised King of Israel. But we believe if
differently from the Jews because:

While we believe that the time of judgment has ended,

and the forgiveness of sins has come, we believe that this
has come through Jesus sacrifice on the cross

While we believe that the enemy is indeed defeated, we

believe it is a bigger enemy that was defeated: Satan, and
the power of sin and death. This was accomplished with
the death and resurrection of Jesus. With Jesus being
raised from the dead, death has lost its power.

We believe that the kingdom has begun, but it is not the

Kingdom of Israel but the Kingdom of God, or Gods rule
over all creation, over everything in heaven and on earth,
that is being re-established

We believe that the Temple of God is already being

restored, but we believe it is the people who follow Jesus
who together as a body form the temple of God, or the
place where God dwells

Christians believe that something significant happened in the

universe when Jesus was crucified on the cross and was
resurrected from the dead.

We believe that Jesus has ascended to heaven, and is given all

authority in Heaven and Earth, and is seated at the right side of
the Father and rules as Lord of lords, King of kings.

We believe that Jesus will one day return to earth for a final
judgment of all men, and after that there will be a new heaven
and a new earth where those who are saved may live with God
forever.

And all these pivotal events in history happened because a

young woman responded in faith to the call to bear the child
who would be King.
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Mary or Maryam is indeed, blessed among women!

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4) Final Reflection

Evangelicals, in our desire to preserve the Biblical teachings

about Jesus from what we view to be incorrect teachings of the
Catholics, have lost appreciation for the crucial and pivotal role
of Mary in salvation history.

From what we have heard today, we can see that Mary is the
person in whom God has chosen to enter most deeply into the
human story. Mary is the one who heard the Word of God, and
the one who responded in faith. Mary was a disciple before she
was a mother, for if she had not believed, she would not have
conceived. Mary is the object of Gods gracious choice, and this
divine choice is the source of her blessedness.

I confess to you that I believe we Evangelicals need to recover

our admiration and respect for this special person. Mary or
Maryam was chosen out all the women in the world to bear in
her womb a man who was destined to change the course of
history. Evangelicals need to better appreciate the Mother of
the human Jesus, the one who took care of him as he grew in
wisdom and stature and in favor with God and others, until the
time came when he finally fulfilled his calling as Messiah, Lord
and King.

Blessed is she indeed among all women!

Thank you PCID for giving me this opportunity for me to reflect

more deeply into this issue, and help me better appreciate
Mary, the Blessed mother of Jesus, the chosen one among
women.

Good day to all of you.