She successfully supplanted older female deities, particularly the capricious Greek and Roman goddesses, who could not be relied on to provide succour to suffering humans.īelief in her consistent charitable intent and lack of egotistical qualities made her a far better object for supplicants than Artemis or Diana, who might turn against them for no obvious reason. (She is in fact mentioned more often in the Koran than in the New Testament). Jews refused to believe in the virgin birth, while Muslims created an entire set of attributes around Mary’s motherhood, and worshipped her as the mother of a prophet. How can you say that any aspect of divinity dwells in such an ugly place?” During the reproduction wars of the 1980s in Ireland, Nell McCafferty referred to the levels of woman-hatred revealed in some of the debates. For example, Nestor, a Christian priest who converted to Judaism in the 10th century, wrote to a Christian bishop: “I wonder that you are not embarrassed to worship him who dwelled in the oppression of the womb, close enough to hear his mother’s flatuses when she moved her bowels like any other woman, remaining in deep darkness for nine months. The concept of the virgin birth provoked much dissension, not least claims that the original prophecy in Isaiah was mistranslated: the relevant word meant “maiden” or “young woman” rather than “virgin”.Įlements of profound misogyny surface throughout this debate, which rumbled on through the Middle Ages. The early Christian debates focused on the dual character of Christ – as God and human – and naturally the character and circumstances of his mother and birth became huge issues, often dividing believers.

Miri rubin mother of god