Sunday, August 22, 2021

John of Damascus (675/76-749) on the "Pre-Purification" of Mary and the Quran

In his "Disputation between a Christian and a Saracen," Damascus, responding to a "Saracen" (Muslim) wrote the following which is of Mariological importance:

 

Section 2c: The communication of the Word to men: The Incarnation

 

And if a Saracen asks you, “How did God descend into the womb of a woman,” say to him, “Let us use your Scripture and my Scripture. Your Scripture says that God purified (προεκαθηρεν) the Virgin Mary above all other women and the Spirit of God and the Word descended into her . . .” (Daniel J. Janoski, John of Damascus First Apologist to the Muslims: The Trinity and Christian Apologetics in the Early Islamic Period [Eugene, Oreg.: Pickwick Publications, 2016], 274)

 

This refers to Qur’an 3:42, “Behold the angels said: O Mary Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee—chosen thee above the women of all nations.”

 

While I think his arguments about Oration 38 from Gregory Nazianzen does not hold up, I think Christiaan Kaapes does a good job at showing that John of Damascus did hold to a "proto-Immaculate Conception" understanding of the pre-purification of Mary in his writings. See his "Immaculate Conception: Why Thomas Aquinas Denied, While Duns Scotus, Gregory Palamas, and Mark Eugenicus Professed Absolute Immaculate Existence of Mary."