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No doubt Marian devotion has taken many harmful forms, but should we not defer to the consensus of many centuries of Christians that some kind of Marian devotion is appropriate and desirable?

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 have I in heaven but You? And on earth I desire no one besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:25,26)

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.