(from Born of a Woman by John Shelby Spong)
". . . Few people stopped to realize that the woman who was being hailed as the ideal mode was a woman who had been totally defined by men. That a permanent virgin can be an ideal woman only to a celibate male did not appear to be obvious as the values of the church were presented as objective revealed truths. Theological discussions continued to rage around Mary in the male citadels of theological learning. Without exception all of these discussions led to the further erosion of Mary's humanity.
The more evil the flesh was thought to be, the more Mary's virtue needed to be protected. She became not just the virgin but the perpetual virgin and then the postpartum virgin. It became an issue of great import to prove that Mary retained her unbroken hymen throughout childbirth. The male theologians were equal even to that task. They searched the Scriptures in a paroxysm of wild exegesis to find texts to undergird postpartum virginity. The prophet Ezekiel had once written (ca. 580 B.C.E.) , "This gate shall remain shut, . . . and no one shall enter by it; for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut" (Ezek. 44:2). Without so much as an apology, this text was fastened on to prove the now-popular claim for postpartum virginity. It had been, the fathers shouted, preshadowed even in the prophets! Midrash separated from the Jewish tradition that created it had become absurd. . ."
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OHO's "Ocean City Ditty," the CD single is now available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/oho4
(and, if you're in town, at Trax On Wax on Frederick Rd. in Catonsville, MD) OHO is Jay Graboski, David Reeve & Ray Jozwiak
My latest solo release, '2014' of original, instrumental piano music, can be downloaded digitally at:
(or you can copy-and-paste this URL directly to
your browser: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/rayjozwiak4)
Also, be sure to visit:
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