Monday, August 17, 2026

It is the 17th of August 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

A very happy Monday to you- as is often the case (always?), we head to the mailbag to answer a question from a listener.

Brett in Mt. Pleasant wrote a little while back- his question seemed appropriate for today. Mt. Pleasant? I hear it’s totally flat- which is ironic. It’s the home of the LaFleur brothers- both NFL coaches and both former Offensive coordinators for your soon-to-be Super Bowl Champion Rams.

Brett wrote to ask about the doctrine of Mary during the Reformation. I was reminded of this question for a few reasons- this past weekend was the feast of the Assumption, or Dormition of Mary- that is, the Catholic and Orthodox belief that she was assumed into heaven, or “fell asleep”. I am not online very much, but in the few places I am, there have been some arguments about Mary, some stemming from a recent document from the Catholic Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith- Mater Populi Fidelis- from 2025, which stated Mary is NOT to be referred to as the “co-redemptrix”.

Protestants would co-sign, of course. But what about the other doctrines about Mary? First, in the unofficial transcript at 1517.org, you can find a link to a weekend edition I did 3 years ago: “Behold Your Mother,” all about Mary: https://www.1517.org/podcast-overview/2023-05-13.

The confessions of the Reformation don’t say a lot about Mary, save that she was a virgin and can be called the “Mother of God”. It is worth noting a letter John Calvin wrote where he rejected the use of the term “Mother of God,” but he is an outlier. He famously wrote in a letter, “to call the Virgin Mary the mother of God, can only serve to confirm the ignorant in their superstitions.”

That language of Mary as the mother of God goes back to the early church and is used to say more about who Jesus is than who Mary is- that is, Jesus is man and God and thus “Theotokos” or “Mother of God”.

The Reformation was concerned with Marian piety more than doctrine- that is, we find arguments against praying to her- as with any saint- but will continue to use the standard language. By doing so, we do find references to Mary as the “ever virgin” and even “immaculate” or “undefiled”.

As for “ever” or “perpetual” virginity… I’ll contend you won’t find that in Scripture, but it was such a widely held view it wasn’t really questioned- or at least wasn’t a flashpoint.

The Basel Confession, as well as the Swiss Reformer Heinrich Bullinger, use the language of “undefiled,” which is curious, as this would be a reference to her being conceived without sin. This seems to be more of an inherited than argued point- there is no clear scriptural teaching that she was conceived without sin. Could she have been? Sure. Like with the assumption of Mary- it is not completely foreign to Scripture for God to take certain saints directly to Himself- see Enoch and Elijah. If you want to believe in either the perpetual virginity or the assumption of Mary, you are using Church tradition- which is important… You just have to decide how important.

The issue of Mary at the Reformation seems to run parallel to the Reformation traditions and how much continuity with the Western Latin Church or discontinuity they want. Was the Reformation “cleaning up” errant doctrine in the church, or was it more of a wholesale re-formation of doctrines? Marian piety- praying to her, art depicting her as the Queen of Heaven, etc.- became especially prevalent in the Middle Ages- I suggest why in the Weekend Edition- and so you’d expect Protestant blowback. However, it’s also worth noting that the Marian doctrines of her sinlessness and assumption weren’t cemented in the Catholic Church until the 19th century (not that they weren’t there- they just were not explicitly defined).

For me, the most interesting conversations have to do with the “perpetual virginity” or the language of “ever virgin”- you have to play with the texts about Jesus’ brothers… and there are ways to interpret that as step-brothers or spiritual brothers, I’m not convinced that’s the plain reading- but I’d rather argue about other things- but that’s just me.

Do you have a question about church history? A possible topic for a weekend edition? Email me at Danv@1517.org… Thanks, Brett, for the question.

 

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and let’s stay with the Psalms- number 87 and a stunning picture of the radical inclusion of the future kingdom of God:

He has founded his city on the holy mountain.

2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion
 more than all the other dwellings of Jacob.

3 Glorious things are said of you,
 city of God:

4 “I will record Rahab and Babylon
 among those who acknowledge me—
Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush—
 and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’”

5 Indeed, of Zion it will be said,
 “This one and that one were born in her,
 and the Most High himself will establish her.”

6 The Lord will write in the register of the peoples:
 “This one was born in Zion.”

7 As they make music they will sing,
 “All my fountains are in you.”

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 17th of August 2026 brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man whose home state is going to get a second football team… wild… he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who wonders when you’re supposed to stop doing “half birthdays”… I’m 47 and a half today… 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.