Why I Celebrate the Immaculate Conception: History, Theology, and the Truth Behind the Accusations
By Chris M. Forte
Every year on December 8th, the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception—a feast loved by many, misunderstood by even more, and criticized endlessly by those who have never actually studied what the Church teaches.
I’m Catholic, and this feast has deep personal importance to me. It represents not only the Church’s reverence for Mary, the Mother of God, but also the way the Church reads Scripture historically and supernaturally, not through the modern literalist lens that flattens everything to what is “explicitly stated.”
Today, I want to explain why I believe in the Immaculate Conception, how the doctrine developed, what history actually shows, and why the usual claims that it is “pagan,” borrowed from Babylon, or invented in the Middle Ages are simply untrue.
1. What the Immaculate Conception Actually Means
Most people—even many Catholics—mistakenly think the Immaculate Conception refers to Jesus’ conception. It does not.
It refers to Mary’s conception, when she was preserved by God from the stain of original sin so she could freely cooperate with God’s plan of salvation.
This does not mean Mary was divine.
It does not mean she didn’t need a savior.
In fact, the dogma explicitly says she was saved by Christ—pre-emptively, by the merits of His future sacrifice.
As Pope Pius IX defined in Ineffabilis Deus (1854):
“The Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of Almighty God… preserved immune from all stain of original sin.”¹
This is not about Mary replacing Jesus.
It is about Christ’s saving power being so perfect that it could reach even backward in time.
2. Scriptural Foundations: The Bible Doesn’t Use the Words, but the Theology Is There
I often tell my Protestant friends that Christianity existed before the Bible was written.
So did Christian doctrine.
The Immaculate Conception is one of those teachings that grows naturally out of Scripture, even if the exact phrase is not printed in the text.
Genesis 3:15 — The Protoevangelium
God promises a woman whose offspring will crush the serpent’s head.
This woman stands in total enmity with the serpent.²
Not partial enmity—total.
How can someone at total enmity with Satan be under his dominion through original sin?
Luke 1:28 — “Full of Grace”
Gabriel calls Mary kecharitōmenē—a perfect-past-participle meaning not merely “favored,” but “made full of grace,” “completely graced,” or “graced in the past with continuing effects.”³
The Church Fathers saw this as evidence of a unique holiness.
Ark of the Covenant Typology
Just as the Ark was constructed to be pure before receiving the presence of God, Mary was prepared by God to become the living Ark of the New Covenant.⁴
When I read Scripture in its ancient Jewish context—rather than through a modern, minimalist lens—this doctrine no longer seems strange but inevitable.
3. Historical Development: Older Than Most Critics Think
Anti-Catholic critics often claim the Immaculate Conception was invented in 1854.
Historical fact disagrees.
Early Christian Witnesses:
-
St. Ephrem the Syrian (4th century) called Mary “immaculate” and “all-pure.”⁵
-
St. Augustine (5th century) said that when discussing sin, he would not even mention Mary “for honor of the Lord.”⁶
-
St. Andrew of Crete, St. John Damascene, and others spoke of Mary as uniquely holy from conception.
Liturgical Evidence
The Feast of Mary’s Conception was celebrated in the East by the 7th century and in the West by the 8th.⁷
The Church was celebrating this long before scholastics debated how it worked.
Duns Scotus (13th century)
The great Franciscan theologian explained how Mary could be saved without ever being tainted by sin—by being redeemed preventatively by Christ.⁸
This is what ultimately carried into the dogma.
In short:
The Church didn’t invent the doctrine in 1854—she defined what Christians already believed.
4. Responding to the “Pagan Origins” Accusation
Some critics—usually those influenced by Jack Chick tracts or internet conspiracy culture—claim the Immaculate Conception is borrowed from pagan myths, especially Babylonian ones involving Ishtar or semi-divine mothers.
Let me be blunt:
I laugh at this claim.
Not because I dismiss pagan myths—I actually study them.
I laugh because the claims show zero familiarity with either Catholic teaching or ancient paganism.
Why the Claim Fails:
(1) Pagan goddesses did not teach anything like the Immaculate Conception.
Ishtar, Astarte, Isis, or any other goddess was not “conceived without original sin.”
The concept of original sin did not even exist outside Judaism.⁹
(2) Pagan myths involve gods birthing gods—but Mary is entirely human.
Her holiness is a result of God’s grace, not her own divinity.
(3) The accusation is based on 19th-century pseudo-scholarship
Alexander Hislop’s The Two Babylons—the book behind virtually all “Mary = Ishtar” theories—has been thoroughly dismantled by modern historians as non-academic, conspiratorial speculation.¹⁰
(4) Christianity grew out of Judaism, not Babylonian mythology
If anything, biblical Israel rejected pagan myths, often violently.¹¹
My Perspective
I have studied ancient myths, comparative religion, Second Temple Judaism, the Church Fathers, and Catholic theology.
The Immaculate Conception resembles nothing in paganism.
It is the logical consequence of biblical typology, Christology, and the early Christian understanding of holiness and salvation.
5. Protestant Criticisms and My Response
“It’s not in the Bible.”
Neither is the word “Trinity,” “incarnation,” nor the table of contents of the Bible itself.
Christianity is built on the revelation of Christ, not the slogan “chapter and verse or it doesn’t count.”
“It contradicts Romans 3:23 — ‘all have sinned.’”
If “all” must be absolute, then Jesus sinned—He is a human being.
Clearly Paul is using “all” in a general sense, not an absolute universal with no exceptions.
Paul also writes that Adam brought death to “all”—yet we know exceptions exist: Enoch and Elijah.¹²
“It diminishes Christ.”
Actually, it does the opposite.
It shows His grace is so powerful it can reach even to Mary’s conception.
When I came back to Catholicism, I realized something profound:
Every Marian doctrine protects a deeper truth about Jesus.
Mary is who she is because Christ is who He is.
6. Why I Personally Love This Feast
The Immaculate Conception shows the beauty of Catholic theology:
-
God’s grace is proactive, not reactive.
-
Salvation is not merely legal; it is cosmic, transformative.
-
Holiness is not an abstract concept but something God builds into human history.
Mary is the first fully redeemed human.
The feast is a celebration of what we are destined for in Christ:
purity, holiness, and union with God.
When I pray on December 8, I am reminded of what humanity is meant to be—and what Christ makes possible for all of us.
Conclusion
The Immaculate Conception is not pagan, not invented, not unbiblical, and not illogical.
It is the culmination of Scripture, the witness of the Fathers, and the Church’s unwavering conviction that salvation is more than a courtroom declaration—it is a transformation of humanity from the inside out.
And Mary, preserved by God from the beginning, is the first sign of that transformation.
Footnotes (Chicago Style)
-
Pius IX, Ineffabilis Deus (1854).
-
Genesis 3:15.
-
Luke 1:28; cf. Catholic Biblical Association, A Commentary on the New Testament (New York: 1942), 77–78.
-
Scott Hahn, Hail, Holy Queen (New York: Doubleday, 2001), 23–45.
-
St. Ephrem, Hymns on the Nativity 15:23.
-
St. Augustine, Nature and Grace 36.
-
Luigi Gambero, Mary and the Fathers of the Church (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1999), 127–131.
-
Allan B. Wolter, Duns Scotus on the Immaculate Conception (Franciscan Institute, 2005).
-
John H. Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament (Baker Academic, 2006).
-
Ralph Woodrow, The Babylon Connection? (Riverside: Ralph Woodrow Evangelistic Association, 1997).
-
Deuteronomy 12:31; Psalm 96:5.
-
Hebrews 11:5; 2 Kings 2:11.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
-
Pius IX. Ineffabilis Deus (1854). https://www.papalencyclicals.net/pius09/p9ineff.htm
-
Augustine. Nature and Grace. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1503.htm
-
Ephrem the Syrian. Hymns on the Nativity. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3704.htm
Secondary Sources
-
Gambero, Luigi. Mary and the Fathers of the Church. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1999.
-
Hahn, Scott. Hail, Holy Queen. New York: Doubleday, 2001.
-
Walton, John. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006.
-
Woodrow, Ralph. The Babylon Connection? Riverside: Ralph Woodrow Evangelistic Association, 1997.
No comments:
Post a Comment