Recently I went to see the new movie Journey to Bethlehem. A musical inspired by the events surrounding the birth of Jesus.

Mary does sing in Luke 1: 46-55.

While I found the movie entertaining and enjoyable to watch, I didn’t agree with it all but I came to notice the very distinct representation of Mary as human, not sinless. As some of you may know the Roman Catholic Church upholds a doctrine that claims Mary was not subject to original sin. Although I don’t particularly have a problem with believing that Mary did not practice sin, I do have a problem with the false claim that Mary was sinless.

While there are complexities within the doctrines upheld within Roman Catholicism, Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy, it should be stated that there is not a single verse in the Bible that claims Mary was “sinless”. In Luke 1: 47 Mary sings ‘my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour’.

If Mary was “sinless” she would not need a Saviour.

Many years ago I visited Ephesus and also the house of the virgin Mary. This house is way up in the mountains and was discovered in the 19^th century and is believed to be the place where the Apostle John took Mary as instructed by Jesus in John 19: 25-27.

I like many people sat and pondered upon what the mother of Jesus may have been like. What did Mary look like, how did she talk, what stories could she tell?

Luke 2: 19 says that Mary cherished her memories and stored them in her heart, so I assume Luke’s gospel tells us all we need to know. That being said I understand the nativity texts in Luke contain feminine uses of Greek meaning that many verses could actually contain her own hand written testimony. Thus her own statement in Luke 1: 47 affirmed that Mary was not without original sin.

Likewise 1 John 1: 8 states that ‘if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us‘ and that verse does not exclude Mary. After all it was written by the man who Jesus gave instructions to take Mary into his own home so Mary may have even read the letter when John wrote it. After all, John is believed to have been an older man when he wrote his letter, so Mary would have still been present with him as instructed by Christ.

I believe this point and Luke 1: 47 disproves the false claims of Roman Catholicism.