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Radical Reformation History  /  Lecture 4: The Church Councils and the Pilgrim Church  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 4
Athanasius is quoted saying the Word “takes a human body born of a pure virgin in whose womb he makes human flesh his own.” Why does Dean press the question of whether Jesus took Mary’s flesh (not just “appeared” in a body), and what do the later Anabaptist controversies he mentions suggest is at stake spiritually—not merely technically—in how Christians speak about the incarnation?
Another way to ask: Why does Dean stress that Jesus took Mary’s real human flesh instead of only seeming to have a body? What do the later Anabaptist debates show is spiritually at risk in how we talk about the incarnation?

Direct Answer Dean presses the “Mary’s flesh” question because, in his telling, the incarnation is not a vague appearance but God truly entering our humanity; how we speak about that connects to whether Jesus genuinely lived the kingdom life as one of us. The later Anabaptist controversies he mentions show that language about the incarnation can become a church-dividing identity marker, even when the spiritual aim should be to keep Christ central.

Support from Transcript:

  • Dean asks: “Was it important that he took Mary’s flesh?… or did he actually take our flesh from Mary?”
  • He notes this became “a heated topic,” even “the entire Dutch church excommunicating the Swiss brethren over that issue.”
  • Athanasius quote stresses real human origin: “born of a pure virgin in whose womb he makes human flesh his own.”
  • Another Athanasius quote could be misread: “he prepared this body in a virgin as a temple to himself and appeared in it and lived in it,” and Dean says “Simon’s could have taken that.”
  • He highlights John 1:14: “the Word became flesh,” noting Simon’s argued “it doesn’t say he took flesh… he became flesh.”
  • Dean’s broader warning: debates can replace Christ; the spiritual danger is losing “the focus… back to Jesus.”
Discussion Follow-ups How can we speak carefully about doctrine without turning it into a badge that justifies separation and harshness? What would it look like to keep the incarnation tied to discipleship, not only to argument?

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