Protestants tend to think of the Virgin Mary as a bit player in the first Christmas pageant; as a young Jewish peasant girl who quickly fades into the background of the Gospel story; as an incidental participant in the incarnation; and as an example of Christian obedience and womanly submission; and see no evidence in the scriptures to convince them otherwise. I know this, because this is how I was brought up in the faith. After years of study, and based on Sacred Scripture, I have been forced to accept certain Marian doctrines that initially made me uncomfortable. Since originality in...