The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #16351   Message #4085772
Posted By: GerryM
30-Dec-20 - 10:12 PM
Thread Name: Lyr/Chords ADD: Mary Did You know?
Subject: RE: Lyr/Chords ADD: Mary Did You know?
Leeneia, maybe Joe has opinions similar to those of The Rev. Diana L. Wilcox of Christ Church in Bloomfield & Glen Ridge:

See, whenever I hear the song “Mary, did you know?” I want to scream at the radio, or whatever is playing it, “Stop mansplaining the birth you fool, of course she knew! Haven’t you ever heard of the Magnificat?” The thing is, while this modern popular song, written by two men and most often, though not exclusively, performed by men, has got is all wrong. Yes the melody is beautiful, but perhaps if they went to church in Advent, they might know that, while many did not know who he was, this young woman – chosen by God to bear God – she knew.

Of course, I am not the only one who has an issue with it, though I didn’t realize the extent until I looked at the Wikipedia page and found this about the lyrics: “The text has received criticism for perceived ambiguity or lack of scriptural or theological depth. For example, Lutheran writer Holly Scheer, in addressing the rhetorical question of the song’s title, wrote: “Anyone who has even a slight familiarity with the biblical account of Christ’s conception and birth shouldn’t need to ask if Mary knew, because the Bible plainly tells us she did.” Baptist theologian Michael Frost suggests it is the “most sexist Christmas song ever written… It treats her like a clueless child… Could you imagine a song asking Abraham 17 times if he knew he’d be the father of a great nation?”

The Rev then goes on to give, and praise, the Jennifer Henry lyrics. Here's a link to the full text of the Rev's post.