The Queen of the Universe

What is generally accepted is that 66 books make up the Protestant Bible, 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. The Roman Catholic Bible has 73 books, including the seven known as the Apocrypha. Different books make up the Holy Bible, and it’s evident that only the chosen books became part of the Good Book (The Bible).

Suppose you’ve listened to any of my podcast episodes @ rebirthoftheword Podcast | or have read any of my previous articles. In that case, you know that I always try to look for at least a reputable source. And when it comes to the “virgin” Mary, I found a series of books that the Venerable Mary of Agreda wrote called The Mystical City of God, which was written in the 17th century. This is a very respected series of books throughout the Catholic Church, and it gave me a better idea of who the “virgin” Mary was.

A New “Heaven” and a New “Earth”

Reading The Mystical City of God book series, I learned a lot, including why Catholics worship the “virgin” Mary the way they do. She birthed a God-man; without her, there would be no Jesus, God in the flesh.

Interestingly, not only is the “virgin” Mary considered Jesus’s mother but she is also recognized as the Queen of Heaven. That’s interesting because that means to me that she would be sitting next to God in Heaven after her duties on Earth. This is only what I understand from reading those books. However, there are people out there who absolutely believe this.

There are many different branches and denominations of Christianity, and each one seems to have there own teachings. Still, no matter what type of version of Christianity you worship, God created everything. This is no different from Mary’s creation; he had a plan and needed a human woman to bring him into the world. But who was this woman?

Virgin Mary

The “virgin” Mary was born on the 8th of September; however, the years of her birth and death are just estimates dating anywhere from 16 B.C.-33 A.D. Her parents were Saints Anne and Joachim.

The “virgin” Mary was betrothed to Joseph when she was around 12-14 years old. The exact age of Joseph is unknown; I’ve read it was anywhere from his early twenties to his late nineties. Either way, there is no doubt that the “virgin” Mary was still a child when she was betrothed to Joseph and also when she birthed Jesus. Many suggestions that I’ve read said she was around 15 years old when she gave birth to Jesus.

I tried to find the oldest depiction of Mary, and it may possibly be a painting from the Roman Priscilla catacombs.

The Oldest Religion

When it comes to religion, I am constantly reminded that Christianity is not the oldest religion practiced today; instead, it is Hinduism. But Hinduism isn’t the oldest religion. Many scholars believe that Göbekli Tepe, which dates to around 9500 B.C. and 8000 B.C. or older, was a location where religion was possibly practiced. And without a written language besides pictographs being found at Göbekli Tepe, there is no idea what was practiced if Göbekli Tepe was once a religious site.

And that’s why I’m always led back to the Sumerians and the ancient Egyptians.

There are a lot of debates about who created the first civilization; the consideration goes to either the Sumerians or the ancient Egyptians. What is generally accepted is that the Sumerians were the first to develop a civilization, and there are many different reasons why they are considered the founders. One of them being their writing system and the other being agriculture. But, when I go and research the oldest writing system or agricultural site, I seem to find evidence of what would be an older writing system like the 270 pieces of engraved ostrich eggshells dated to around 60,000 years ago from a site called Diepkloof in South Africa’s Western Cape province. Then with agriculture, there is a much older agricultural site discovered by Israeli archaeologists from a site named Ohalo II which may go back as far as 23,000 years ago. The Sumerian civilization only goes back to possibly 3200 B.C.

Trying to find the first recorded record of the “virgin” Mary led me to learn that the “virgin” Mary’s name was derived from the ancient Hebrew name Miriam, which is also the name of the older sister of Moses and Aaron.

The Traditional Oral Stories before Christianity

Having read The Mystical City of God, I can see why some scholars believe that the “virgin” Mary could’ve possibly been Inanna who is also known as Ishtar from the Sumerians. Like the “virgin” Mary, Inanna was considered the Queen of Heaven. I know, just because there are some similarities doesn’t mean that’s a connection between the two. Either way, I’ve researched the similarities between Inanna, the ‘virgin’ Mary, Astarte, Hathor, and even Isis. Could the stories of the “virgin” Mary be derived from all these Queens?

I’ve read and learned that the Holy Bible is derived from many different sources, sources such as the ancient Egyptians, the Sumerians, the Caananites, and even the Greeks. And even though there are many similarities between the “virgin” Mary and Inanna and others, it doesn’t mean that it’s the same person. However, when the idea is suggested, I can only research the material for myself.

There are a lot of different beliefs about who the “virgin” Mary is and it will take reading different books to understand who she was.

Until next time, Knowledge is Power

Knowledge is Power