Was Mary the Mother of God?

 No, the Bible does not teach that Mary is the mother of God, nor does it suggest that Christians should either worship or venerate Mary. Consider:

* Mary never claimed that she was the mother of God. The Bible explains that she gave birth to "the Son of God," not God himself. - MARK1:1; LUKE 1:32.

* Jesus Christ never said that Mary was God's mother or that she was worthy of special devotion. In fact, he corrected a woman who gave special attention to Mary's happy role as his mother, saying: "No, rather, happy are those hearing the world of God and keeping it!" - LUKE 11:27, 28.  

* The terms "Mother of God" and "Theotokos" (God bearer) are not found in the Bible.

*The expression "Queen of Heaven" in the Bible refers, not to Mary, but to a false goddess worshipped by apostate Israelites. (Jeremiah 44:15-19)  The "Queen of Heaven" may have been Ishtar (Astarte), a Babylonian goddess. 

* Early Christians did not worship Mary, nor did they give her any special honor.  One historian states that early Christians "would have rejected cults and probably feared that undue  attention to Mary might evoke a suspicion of goddess worship." - In Quest of the Jewish Mary.

* The Bible says that God has always existed. (Psalm 90:1, 2; Isaiah 40:28) Since he had no beginning, he cannot have a mother.  Furthermore, Mary could not have held God in her womb; the Bible makes that clear that even the heavens cannot contain him. - 1 KINGS 8:27.

Next time: Was Mary the Mother of God? - Mary-Mother of Jesus not "Mother of God"

From the jw.org publications