Cracked up protestants take baby steps toward reality.

El Paso Times: Evangelicals make case for Mary
In the popular imagination, (??? - F.G.) Christmas is the season of Mary as much as of the baby Jesus. This year, interest in Mary includes "The Nativity Story," an earnest Hollywood film greeted with respectful reviews, respectable box office returns and a bit of controversy.

But more important than this one film is a revived religious debate about Mary. Last year, international Anglican and Roman Catholic negotiators issued a new accord on the mother of the Son of God. Now conservative evangelicals -- those least likely to hail Mary's veneration by Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox -- are talking up.

The December issue of the leading evangelical magazine, Christianity Today, features an "Incendiary Mary" cover story. It's drawn from the book "The Real Mary: Why Evangelical Christians Can Embrace the Mother of Jesus" (Paraclete) by Scot Mc Knight of Chicago's North Park University.

He uplifts Mary partly by stressing the threat she and her messianic Son represented to tyrants such as Caesar and the Herods.

McKnight's book and blog appear alongside a richer theological treatment: "Mary for Evangelicals: Toward an Understanding of the Mother of Our Lord" (InterVarsity) by Tim Perry of Canada's Providence College.

McKnight wants Protestants to overcome past neglect by holding an annual "Honor Mary Day." Perry lays ground for a full-fledged "evangelical Mariology," borrowing that category from Catholic theology.

Christmas as such is no issue (except for liberals who deny the biblical report that Mary was a virgin when she miraculously conceived and gave birth). On other topics, McKnight says, "the Mary of the Bible has been hijacked by theological controversies."

A rundown:

Protestants, who believe the Bible is Christianity's supreme authority, think some Mary traditions go beyond what Scripture says or violate its teachings.

The harshest polemics say popular devotion to Mary overshadows Jesus and constitutes heresy, blasphemy or idolatry.

Is it proper to pray to Mary and other saints in heaven? Perry sees some biblical basis, since in this life believers ask each other for prayers. He proposes that both this practice and its rejection be recognized as "authentic forms of Christian witness."

Oy vey!

They have a long way to go, kiddies. Let us ask the Blessed Mother to pray for the conversion of all souls.