The Myth of Mary challenges the concept of the Virgin Mary. I personally love Mary. She represents all that is good in the world: compassion, love, devotion, humility, loyalty, kindness, maternality, and morality. Her flower is the rose and she is considered to be the Christian incarnation of the Mother Goddess. Christians pray to her for guidance and strength. What is not to love about her?
But what do we really know about Mary? First, everything we do know is based on historical invention and religious propaganda. She had a boyfriend named Joseph. She was impregnated by a dove with the help of an angel. (OK. That's just a tad kinky if not creepy.) She road a donkey and gave birth in a barn on December 25th. She was a devoted mother which had to be a challenge since her son was the Messiah. She witnessed the execution of her only child. She has a bunch of prayers dedicated to her. She has a preference for blue mantles. She was a virgin.
I find it suspect she was a virgin. Can you imagine today a teenage girl getting pregnant and trying to convince her parents she was a virgin and this must be an immaculate conception? IF Mary really existed, she might have pulled a fast one in hopes of not being stoned for immoral indiscretions. Or was she violently raped like so many women in ancient and modern times? First century Palestine did not have much tolerance for women let alone unmarried women who were with child. Did her family create the virgin birth myth to save face? To save her life? I wonder what her community really thought of Mary, Mother of God? Did they gossip? Laugh behind her back? Shake their heads in disgust? Ridicule her? Shun her? Believe her? Or maybe they were so entertainment-starved they welcomed the distraction and traveled far and wide to see the attraction?
No matter what the situation, it couldn't have been easy for such a young girl. I take comfort in believing the Virgin Mary didn't really exist although it doesn't change the millions of women who have been abused and ridiculed since the beginning of time. However, if Mary really did exist, she's now sanctified, venerated, and has her own cult so she has the last laugh.
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