Monday, October 16, 2023

It is the 16th of October, 2023. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

Happy Monday to you all. I don’t know how happy it will be for me as I am recording this before USC takes on Notre Dame… we will see. We head to the mailbag and to Sharon, who writes from Johns Hopkins University- one of America’s great universities in Baltimore, Maryland (sorry about the Orioles)- a university founded by Johns Hopkins- a Quaker. Johns Hopkins has a lot of famous academics and the like- but also Davey Johnson, who won a World Series as a player with the Orioles and as a manager with the 86 Mets.

Ok- Sharon writes:

I understand that Mary was born in a region of ancient Palestine, present-day Israel. As a Jewish woman living in this area, would Mary have known how to read and write?

I was surprised to learn that Mary has a chapter dedicated to her in the Quran. How does the depiction of Mary in the Quran, the Holy Book of Islam, differ from the Bible?

Great questions. First- was Mary literate? We have to re-jigger our idea of literacy for this. How literate? Can you write your name? Read from a holy text? The honest answer is we don’t know- but it seems unlikely. Part of what makes Mary so unique is that she comes from the lower class. It has been tempting to some to reverse engineer Mary as the Mother of God and give her extraordinary abilities. But what makes her special is that she is ordinary. And if she was an ordinary Palestinian girl, she would not know how to read. This does not mean she didn’t know Scripture. The Hebrew bible was to be read aloud and memorized. The public reading of the text and the private mediation on it (by memorization) was a key element to a faithful Jewish person in the first centuries, both BC and AD. It’s interesting that Jesus seems to be literate- reading from the scroll and the like- we read in John 7:

“How did this man get such learning without having been taught?”

16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. 17 Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.”

The second question is, what does the Qur’an say about Mary? How does it differ from the Bible? First, I recommend John Kaltner’s “Ishmael Instructs Isaac: An Introduction to the Qur’an for Bible Readers” and the Study of the Qur’an if you’re interested in this topic.

So- there are more verses in the Qur’an about Mary than there are in the New Testament. She is the only woman named in the Qur’an, and a Hadith (tradition) reads: “The Prophet names Mary as one of the four spiritually perfected women of the world.” She is also a virgin- The Qur’an reads Mary saying:

“My Lord, how shall I have a child while no human being has touched me?” He said, “Thus does God create whatsoever He will.” When He decrees a thing, He only says to it, “Be!” and it is. And He will teach him the Book, Wisdom, the Torah, and the Gospel. And (he will be) a messenger to the Children of Israel.”

There is no Joseph in this telling, there is no Bethlehem, and of course, the big difference is that of the Jesus she gives birth to it is written: “The Messiah, son of Mary, was naught but a messenger—messengers have passed away before him.” The same is said of Muhammed- the point being that, according to the Qur’an, these are not divine characters. Therefore, Mary is not the mother of God in the Qur’an, and Jesus is not divine- and here is the chasm that can’t be bridged theologically. But, it’s interesting to see this touchpoint- and the book by Kaltner is instructive and can maybe lead to fruitful dialogue and conversation between people of good faith who want to better understand a different faith.

Thanks, Sharon, for your question- you can send me yours at danv@1517.org.

 

The last word for today is from Luke 1- let’s hear the Magnificat, the great inspired song of Mary:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

47 

    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 

for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,

49 

    for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
    holy is his name.

50 

His mercy extends to those who fear him,
    from generation to generation.

51 

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

52 

He has brought down rulers from their thrones
    but has lifted up the humble.

53 

He has filled the hungry with good things
    but has sent the rich away empty.

54 

He has helped his servant Israel,
    remembering to be merciful

55 

to Abraham and his descendants forever,
    just as he promised our ancestors.”

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 16th of October 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who reminds you during this spooky season that Wes Craven- famed horror director and writer, graduated from both Johns Hopkins University and Wheaton. He is Christopher Gillespie. 

The show is written and read by a man who reminds you of another Johns Hopkins alum: John Astin, who played Gomez Addams on the Addams family, married Patty Duke, and adopted Sean Astin of Goonies and Lord of the Rings fame. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be OK.