Oh, this thread is going to be fun....
Why cut it off?
Post it all.
for later
Nowhere in the Bible is Mary called the “mother of God,” despite the author’s uses of the term “orthodoxy.”
Mary was a human being, and she found favor with God—God is a triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit and is self-existent, has always existed, but not in the flesh until the Holy Spirit came upon her, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her; “and for that reason the holy offspring was called the Son of God, and the Son of the Most High.” (Luke 1:26-35)
God used lots of people in fulfilling Jesus - Moses, Abraham, John the Baptist, Mother Mary, etc. They are all pointers to the Christ.
The author purposely conflates the ORG Church with the One True Church composed of ALL believers whom God did the ‘born again’ spiritual thing for. That shows an agenda driven article. What is your point in posting this deceit?
Mother of G-d” - I don’t understand why there should be any controversy with that phrase. Anyone who has read the Gospels knows exactly what the word “mother” means there.
If the Catholics would like to focus a bit more on Mary than most, then why not? And if some other group would like to focus a bit more on John the Baptist than most, again why not?
It’s not like either group is putting someone ahead of Christ.
I sure wish Christians would quit picking at each other, and instead think of ways to unite us.
“All generations shall call me blessed.”
Now Protestants, just be careful not to go too far with devotion to Our Lady. Let’s say, only as far as Our Lord did. He chose her and granted her more graces than all, “full of grace.” He sent an emissary to kindly ask her permission to become His mother, to receive the flesh He would sacrifice for the salvation of men. He came as a slave, and lived totally subject to her for 30 years. He learned to recite the prayers and Psalms as a child on her lap. He gave more honor to The Father by His subjection to her than had He conquered the world and converted all men.
Does anyone imagine that he could give Mary more honor than does Jesus Christ Himself? Go and do likewise.
Luther was Marian
https://www.wikizero.com/en/Luther%27s_Marian_theology
Oy vey.
Here we go.
In long after the gnashing off teeth over Mary.
Mary can certainly be admired as the bearer of the God-man, Jesus Christ. Though the Son of God has always existed, His incarnation (infleshment) occurred in a point of time 2000 years ago. God chose blessed Mary to be the woman who was honored to bear God-with-us. Her obedience, faithfulness, longsuffering and devotion are also traits to imitate. Apart from this, there is no place for "Marian devotion". Only Almighty God deserves our devotion. He alone is the Savior, the Redeemer, the Consoler, the focus of worship. As the Psalmist states,
Whom do we really have in heaven BUT God? Not "Saints", not Mary, but Almighty God alone. Devotion to a human being is a slap in the face to the One who alone deserves ALL our devotion. We can certainly honor Mary without devotion to Mary.
I trust He's got his reasons.
I listened to Patrick Madrid addressing this the other day and he even hit on it a little this morning as I was driving across rural America
I think this is one of those sticking points between Protestants and Catholics that’s unresolvable honestly ...Protestants just don’t see Mary the same
Catholics ascribe qualities to Mary most Protestants won’t or don’t
I personally don’t care....I’m not Catholic and if it suits Catholics that’s ok...I’ve lay dying in a Catholic hospital and I sure didn’t complain when the nuns came in and asked if they could pray for me...I said please do
Here’s Patrick on Mary recently...i listen to Patrick to learn .about Catholics ..I’m southern Baptist....Patrick’s politics are pretty solid and his radio show is educational and well done
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It is a common misconception that Catholics worship Mary. Devotions like the Rosary, May crownings, and statues of the Blessed Mother give some who are not Catholic the impression that Catholics put Mary on the same level as God. This is not true, but it can happen that even Catholics can get confused or worried that certain devotions are heading into dangerous territory.
A listener named Frank recently called in to The Patrick Madrid Show with just such a concern. He explained that his parish was going through the book 33 Days to Morning Glory in preparation for consecrating themselves to Jesus through Mary. He told host Patrick Madrid, “I know this isn’t true or Catholic teaching, but it seems to put Mary on a God-like level, and how we’re being souls for Mary. My wife is a convert and asked me and I kind of got stumped a little bit.”
Patrick responded, “I guess my reaction is that I’ve never detected anything like putting Mary on the same level as God. I mean, that would be blasphemy. That would be completely contrary to everything that the Church teaches.”
He asked Frank to remember, “Jesus said in John chapter 17, in His high priestly prayer to the Father, ‘I have given them the glory You have given Me.’ So Jesus Himself glorifies His own mother. Not just her, but all the friends and followers of Jesus. He glorifies His own mother.”
“We know that in choosing the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the mother of God, God elevated Mary to a height so majestic and so beautiful and glorious,” Patrick explained. “There’s no honor that we could bestow on Mary that could even approach the honors that God has already given to Mary, by choosing her to be the mother of Jesus; by selecting her from all other women.”
God has already crowned Mary as the Queen of Heaven and Earth, so any honors that we give her are simply acknowledgements of what God has already done in her. In terms of Marian consecration, Patrick explained that, while there are many practices that honor Mary in it, the purpose of it is to have Mary be our mother, guide us to her Son, and trust her to help us be Christians as she is.
“It’s a way of trusting yourself to her motherly guidance,” Patrick said. “And in seeing her in her rightful place. She was the first Christian. She’s the very first person to whom the message of salvation was given by an angel. And she said yes. She accepted Jesus, not only into her heart but into her body.”
Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help
“She’s not only the first Christian, but we see that she goes immediately to tell somebody else about Jesus. She gets up and brings Jesus to Elizabeth and Zechariah and John the Baptist. So she’s a model of Christianity. I could go on but I want you to be encouraged to see this not as some sort of elevating Mary to some improper place or giving her glory that she doesn’t deserve. Nothing we do can compete with the glory that God has already given her. And when we acknowledge that, and when we see her biblical place in the plan of salvation we say, ‘I want to be like her.’”
“Mary I trust myself to you. Pray for me that I can be like you
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Protestants just don’t do all this....not sure which Popes or Bishops first went down this road...I’m sure some here know better than I ...no question.
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I have a Theotokos of Vladimir print in my formal dining room for disclosure