It’s common to hear non-Catholics point to Romans 3:23 (“for all have sinned and fallen sort of the glory of God”
as evidence that Mary must have sinned.
But Romans 3:23 arises from Romans 3:10-18, where Paul quotes Psalms 5, 10, 14, 36, 53 and 140, and Isaiah 59. All of these passages specifically refer to those who are evil, boastful, foolish, greedy, violent, and wicked – the violent devise evil in their hearts, no fool turns to God, the greedy spurn God, no fool is righteous, etc., etc.
Psalms 5, 10, 14, 36, and 140 contrast these evildoers with the righteous – so there ARE those who are righteous, those who do not devise evil in their hearts, who do turn to God, etc. etc.
So in order to say that verses such as these must mean that Mary sinned, one must first say that Mary must have been evil, boastful, foolish, greedy or wicked - because those verses are speaking of evil, boastful, foolish, greedy and wicked people.
Furthermore, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" doesn't demand a universal meaning, in the same way as "everyone in town showed up for the parade" doesn't mean that every single individual in every house turned out. Such phrases can (and often do) have a general meaning, and the Catholic position is that it does here. In fact there are many people who not only have not sinned but who cannot sin, among them infants and the mentally infirm. Such people do not have the mental capacity required to make an act of the will to reject God.
If this is not true, if in fact these passages mean that every single person without exception has sinned, then it must also be true that without exception no person brings suit justly, no person pleads truthfully, every person is quick to shed innocent blood, etc., as also described in the passages from the Psalms and Isaiah. In short, it must be true that absolutely no one does what is right, ever! But that conclusion flatly contradicts scripture, which explicitly speaks of righteous men who walk with God: Job, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, those mentioned in Psalm 14, Zechariah and Elizabeth, and so on. It also flatly contradicts actual experience, because the world is full of people who more often than not choose to do good when offered the opportunity to do evil... hopefully some of us are among them.
So the idea that Mary must have sinned based on passages such as Romans 3:23 falls flat on its own face.
as evidence that Mary must have sinned.But Romans 3:23 arises from Romans 3:10-18, where Paul quotes Psalms 5, 10, 14, 36, 53 and 140, and Isaiah 59. All of these passages specifically refer to those who are evil, boastful, foolish, greedy, violent, and wicked – the violent devise evil in their hearts, no fool turns to God, the greedy spurn God, no fool is righteous, etc., etc.
Psalms 5, 10, 14, 36, and 140 contrast these evildoers with the righteous – so there ARE those who are righteous, those who do not devise evil in their hearts, who do turn to God, etc. etc.
So in order to say that verses such as these must mean that Mary sinned, one must first say that Mary must have been evil, boastful, foolish, greedy or wicked - because those verses are speaking of evil, boastful, foolish, greedy and wicked people.
Furthermore, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" doesn't demand a universal meaning, in the same way as "everyone in town showed up for the parade" doesn't mean that every single individual in every house turned out. Such phrases can (and often do) have a general meaning, and the Catholic position is that it does here. In fact there are many people who not only have not sinned but who cannot sin, among them infants and the mentally infirm. Such people do not have the mental capacity required to make an act of the will to reject God.
If this is not true, if in fact these passages mean that every single person without exception has sinned, then it must also be true that without exception no person brings suit justly, no person pleads truthfully, every person is quick to shed innocent blood, etc., as also described in the passages from the Psalms and Isaiah. In short, it must be true that absolutely no one does what is right, ever! But that conclusion flatly contradicts scripture, which explicitly speaks of righteous men who walk with God: Job, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, those mentioned in Psalm 14, Zechariah and Elizabeth, and so on. It also flatly contradicts actual experience, because the world is full of people who more often than not choose to do good when offered the opportunity to do evil... hopefully some of us are among them.
So the idea that Mary must have sinned based on passages such as Romans 3:23 falls flat on its own face.
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