Proto-Gospel Of James Essay

The Proto-Gospel of James, also referred to as the Infancy Gospel of James, is one of several non-canonical Gospels written in the second century. Though the Proto-Gospel of James (“proto-” as it describes events prior to Jesus’ birth, life, and death) is considered scripture by some groups and includes characters and events discussed in the canonical Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John, the narrative was not ultimately included in the canonized New Testament, as opponents of the Proto-Gospel of James argue that it verges on Mariolatry (the idolatrous worship of the Virgin Mary) for its focus not on Jesus, but the Immaculate Conception and virginity of Mary. The narrative describes Mary as a perpetual virgin; she is conceived by the Holy …show more content…
The Proto-Gospel can be classified as what is known as an Infancy Gospel, and provides and understanding of the questions raised by early Christian and Christian-opposing communities. The canonical Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John – provide understanding of early Christian focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus in the first century, but by the end of the first century, Christians began to expand and to show interest in stories not discussed in the earliest traditions, such as Jesus’ infancy and youth. This is evident in the addition of birth narratives that can be found in the Gospels According to Matthew (Matt 1:128-25) and Luke (1:26-2:38), but not Mark (which is believed to have been written earlier) (Ehrman 2016). But even the additions of these stories prompted questions surrounding Jesus’ birth and childhood, such as, whether Jesus was divine as a child (which is explored in The Infancy Gospel of Thomas) and why Mary, of all Jewish women, was chosen to bear the Son of God. The latter is the focus of the Proto-Gospel of James, which describes Mary’s childhood and ends with Herod’s execution of children under two years old. The Proto-Gospel serves to answer the question of Mary’s worth to both