Description:

Exegetes as well as other theologians will like to learn how the First-Gospel was understood by the Fathers of the Church and the modern scholars, as well as in official documents. Throughout the centuries Genesis 3:15 played an all-important role in Mariology. In 1854 Pope Pius IX appealed to the traditional interpretation of Genesis 3:15 as a proof for the Virgin Mother's immunity from sin, even original sin. The Pope held that a sufficient number of the Fathers and of ecclesiastical writers held the Christological and Marian interpretation of the First-gospel to warrant him to use it as an argument from Scripture for the complete victory of Mary over Satan, for her absolute immunity from all sin. Catholics in general accepted the Pope's interpretation. Only non-Catholics complained about the Pope's use of Genesis 3:15. This book provides an in-depth examination of Genesis and its connection to Mary's Immaculate Conception within the context of a pre-Vatican II environment.