OK people, one last time.
The Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception has nothing whatsoever to do with Jesus. It has nothing to do with sex, period. It refers to Mary’s conception without Original Sin in her soul, as proof that God always intended her to be Jesus’ mother.
I’ve heard this from many an ignorant-of-this-point individual. I’ve politely corrected it on a case-by-case basis in the past, both Catholics and non-Catholics, and I expect to do so many times in the future.
However, I don’t expect to read in a book how a phallic-looking rock coming out of the head of the Virgin Mary is supposed to be secretly mocking the group that commissioned the piece, who named themselves after the Immaculate Conception, because the artist didn’t particularly care for the standard Church take on the Holy Family. In the first chapter. You’ve just guaranteed that I’m going to be skeptical about everything else you’re about to present, no matter how sympathetic I might be to the idea in the first place from other sources. Especially when you tell me you presented this idea to a conference, and instead of them laughing you out of the room, you all sat and laughed at the dirty joke together.
