Is the Assumption of Mary in the Bible? (original) (raw)

No, the assumption of Mary is not found in the Bible. The assumption of Mary is the teaching that Mary was taken body and soul into heaven at the end of her life. This was first declared by the Catholic Church in 1950 by Pope Pius XII. However, the Catholic church tries to find support for it in the Bible – which we’ll examine below. Furthermore, the Catholic Church teaches that Mary was born without original sin. Therefore, she did not need to die. Instead, she was assumed into heaven.

“Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.” The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 966)

The following is a list of some of the Scriptures used by Catholics in support of the Assumption of Mary. I will address them inside the outline.

• Gen. 3:15, “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
  • This verse refers to Mary, the ‘her’ of “her seed.” The seed refers to Jesus. But nothing here implies that Mary is sinless, perfect, or needs to be assumed into heaven.
• Luke 1:28, “And coming in, he said to her, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.'”
  • Catholics use Luke 1:28 to say that Mary was sinless. They translate it as Mary being “full of grace.” They then say the term means she could have no sin, and with no sin, she can’t die and must be assumed into heaven. But “full of grace” is the Greek “plaras karitos.” It is not there in Greek in Luke 1:28. Instead, the Greek is “kexaritomena” which means “highly favored one.” The Greek phrase “full of grace” (plaras karitos) is found in John 1:14 of Jesus and Acts 6:8 of Stephen. So, this verse can’t be used to support the assumption of Mary.
• Rev. 12:1-2, “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; 2 and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.”
  • Catholics often say that the woman clothed with the sun who was with child refers to Mary. She is in glory and magnificence. Therefore, she could not have sinned. If she didn’t sin, then she would have been assumed into heaven. But the problem is that Rev. 12:2 says she “cried out, being in labor and in pain.” That is the curse of increased pain. This means that she was under the curse. How, then, was she sinless so that she could be assumed into heaven?

Conclusion

Nowhere in the Bible does it specifically support the assumption of Mary into heaven. The verses used to imply Mary’s sinlessness don’t show that she was. Without that sinlessness, then she would’ve died like anybody else. This would invalidate the Assumption of Mary by inference.

Related Articles

• What are the things Mary said in the Bible?
• What is the immaculate heart of Mary?
• The Bodily Assumption of Mary
• What is the difference between Protestantism, Catholicism, and Eastern Orthodoxy?
• One Minute Catholicism

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