The Mother of God in the Word of God - Hail - Holy Queen

Scott Hahn has it all over other Catholic authors. I love his works.
Why?
He's brilliant, learned and respected PhD - and most of all a former Evangelical.
Not just a former Protestant - but an arm-waving "Praise Jesus" Evangelical.
And like all Evangelicals, only knowing our Blessed Mother as a figure to be taken out of a box marked "Creche Scene" during the Advent season.
Scott Hahn introduces our Blessed Mother in a clear, beautifully -written and easy-read style.
A must-read, especially for new Catholics as well as seekers.

An excellent explanation of the importance of Mary's role in Christianity and most definitely from a Catholic perspective. I was enthralled by the explanation of the role of Queen Mother from Old Testament times and the many links to the Old Testament. This book certainly deepens the Catholic understanding of and love for Mary, Mother of God.

As has been said by other reviewers, however, this is not a book for sceptical Protestants who have difficulty understanding our devotion to Mary.

I would actually give our Queen 12 stars! Scott Hahn does a great job spelling out one of the most difficult areas of Catholic doctrine when it comes to the Protestant view point. Which is fitting in light of the fact that he once held that view point. Even if you are not considering conversion to Catholicism this book at least provides a reasonable explanation of TRUE doctrine in opposition to the wide variance of myths in circulation and will help to foster a true understanding of Marian doctrine. Any Protestant will appreciate his use of scripture and Jewish tradition in his treatments of doctrine. Although, Dr. Hahn is highly educated and intelligent he writes in a fashion that your average Joe can easily comprehend and yet is challenging to the more scholarly. I have recommended this book to several Catholics and Protestants who struggle with Mary, it was one of the books that helped me during my personal conversion.

If I remember correctly from Rome Sweet Home, Scott Hahn has a Masters in Theology from a Protestant college and then eventually converted to Catholicism. One of the questions I have from a Protestant perspective is the Mariology of the Catholic Church, sure I'll admit that often Protestants don't give her the respect she deserves, but at the same time I don't understand all of the attention Catholics give her, so to help with my questions I went to this book. For a book written by someone who used to preach about the problems with the Catholic Church and has a masters degree, I figured I would find some sound arguments to the questions I had, sadly I was mistaken.

My biggest disappointment from Mr. Hahn's book is that he writes it only as a devotional with straw man arguments. Someone who comes from the protestant side and is seriously trying to understand the mariology would quickly see through his aguments (or with a little bit of research). From a book by someone like Hahn who himself had to struggle with the doctrines of Mary, I expected something more. If you're looking for a Mary devotion this book is okay, but its terrible for protestant apologetics.

For example one issue I had was on page 66 he mentions the greek word "adelphos" and says this
"literally means `from the same woumb'. From John and Irenaeus through Ephrem and Agustine, the early Christians believed that womb belonged to Mary."

He goes on to say that this means all Christians are from the same womb as Mary therefore she is the Mother of the Christians and the Church. Okay, but later when discussing the perpetual virginity of Mary he says that the "brothers" of Christ could mean cousins or close relative and therefore not technically as literal from the same womb (according to him the Hebrew didn't have a word for cousins". The problem I have with this is that with a quick look in a Strongs the word translated brothers in those passages is the same "adelphos" mentioned above, so literally this should mean from the same womb, or does it mean cousins, does it change based on the point you're trying to prove? He conveniently leaves the greek word out in this instance. Okay so the word can mean either then it's possible that the brotherhood of Christ means we are close relatives or cousins or possibly that the brothers of Christ are from the same womb.

He conveniently forgets to mention that there actually IS a greek word for cousin 'syngenes' and its used in Luke 1:36 in relation to Mary and Elizabeth, so to use his example that Hebrew doesn't have a word for cousin(p 104) completely ignores the fact that Mark was written in Greek and he could have used the word for cousin or close relative if he meant cousins. So you argue that well perhaps it was only Luke who knew the normal greek word for cousin, then fine please explain Luke 8:19-21, why does he uses brothers there but cousins earlier?

Okay, maybe I'm being too picky, but from discussing Mary with a Catholic I know, I had as much information in 15 minutes than Hahn presented in 180 pages and the friend could discuss it better. Really I probably expected too much, the obvious audience of this book has to be Catholics who already accept Mary dogma and not so much as a defense to Protestant questioning the subject. To better understand this, I'll have to look elsewhere.

So here is my final question which I'm having so much trouble understand. Why? Why do these doctrines even matter? Why if I'm a catholic do I have to believe that Mary was ever virgin, sinless, a co-redeemer, that she gave him to the cross (even though Christ himself said that he alone freely gives himself), ect. In the ultimate purpose what purpose do these doctrines focusing on Mary serve? I was hoping that Scott Hahn's book would answer these questions yet I have the same ones.

I finished reading this while on vacation. It has equipped me for having conversations with my Protestant friends. I have found that no matter what the topic, he or she always wants to come back to Mary as being non-biblical etc. I'm in such a debate on line right now. I post in question form. I ask the same questions that Scott Hahn had as he was wrestling with these issues. Its sort of fun.

Scott Hahn brings his A-game in this wonderful and eye-opening unveiling of Our Lady's importance and the divine plan for her in the role of our lives.

Never boring, Hahn begins with his usual charming stories as they relate with the book's topic. Hahn's mastery of scripture shines as he discusses the entire biblical case for Mary--from Genesis to Revelation.

A must-have in any Christian household!

Bought as an Orthodox Catechumen. Was recommended by my Priest. He said there were very few issues in the book as an Orthodox and it is an excellent way to understand the reverence for Mary that Orthodox Christians have and that I could not wrap my head around coming from a contemporary church setting.

We purchased this book in conjunction with a study program at our church by the same person. The book didn't contribute much to the study. It read more like a wordy and "fluffy" narrative and the substance could have been compressed into much briefer space. If I read this independent of the study, I'd feel that it took too long to make his points of which there weren't many and felt somewhat short-changed given the author's reputation. If I could restart the study program I would't order this book and only buy it for light, bedtime reading.

I think Scott Hahn is a great teacher, speaker, and author; and is very knowledgeable and articulate in explaining the theology of Mary in his book 'Hail Holy Queen.' I would recommend this book to anyone who has doubts about the biblical validity of honoring Mary and making her a part of their lives, as the mother of Christ.

I think Scott Hahn is a great teacher, speaker, and author; and is very knowledgeable and articulate in explaining the theology of Mary in his book 'Hail Holy Queen.' I would recommend this book to anyone who has doubts about the biblical validity of honoring Mary and making her a part of their lives, as the mother of Christ.

Clear and concise. Well written and easy to understand. Logical. Well researched. Upbeat. Lovely. I highly recommend this book for anyone even remotely interested in the Catholic perspective of Mary. Once you turn the first page, you won't want to put it down.

This was a spectacular book on the Blessed Mother! This certainly rivals Theotokos, written by John Paul II! Although Mary is referenced very little in scripture, one must truly dig deep to find her beauty in the echoes of the Word, in which case Hahn did an amazing job in raising our conscience with his superb scholarship. I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to learn Mary's role in the history of salvation!

For anyone, Catholic or not, who wants to understand more about Catholic devotion to the Mother of God, this book is outstanding! This is an area I've struggled to grasp during my conversion, and Scott Hahn has really nailed it down for me. A fantastic read, and easily one of my favorites!

The author presents an honest summary of his faith journey. He writes clearly. While I disagree with his conclusions I have a better understanding of how Roman Catholics understand the role of Mary in the life of the Church.

A most insightful account regarding our Blessed Mother. It gave me a better understanding of the importance of why She is called the Mother of the Church. Thank you, Scott Hahn, for this beautiful book. May God bless you always.

Again Scott Hahn writes so simply and eloquently another book for Catholic believers and those who are inquisitive about the Catholic teachings. Very faith inspiring and it helped me to feel closer to Our Mother and why we call her Mother. Thank you Scott for sharing this with us.

This was written by a devout Roman Catholic that writes with
an insight that was refreshing "if you coud you would have your
mother born without original sin" a Roman Catholic Priest is
quoted as having said that at a Mass...That is food for thought.

This book explains where the Blessed Virgin is found in the Old Testament & the New. A really good read for Catholics and all those who believe in God as well as those who are not so sure. Scott Hahn does a great job of explaining a topic he doubted as a young man. Beautiful Boticelli on the cover.

A great book for anyone wanting to delve deeper into Mary's life. Lot's of scripture references and in depth analysis by Hahn. I enjoyed the book and will probably come back to it in the future, since it is an excellent source of references on Mary. Worth your time.

Alex Gutierrez
Author of Mother Mary's Resurrection