Why Catholics Believe in the Assumption of Mary

Catholic Exchange.com ^ | 08-15-05 | Heidi Hess Saxton

[asformeandformyhouse]

why wouldn't Mary be assumed like Moses?

Huh?

Joshua 1:1  Now after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' minister, saying,
2  Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give to them, even to the children of Israel.

[biblewonk]

I think the RCC is a house of cards, what does that have to do with Gen 1:1?

[Rutles4Ever]

Why do you think the RCC is a house of cards? When are you expecting it to fall? A "house of cards" would indicate something "precarious" when, in fact, the Church is going on 2000-plus years of existence...

[Rutles4Ever]

If you think the Catholic Church is a house of cards built on one verse of the Bible, so it follows that monotheism a house of cards built on the first chapter, first verse of Genesis.

[redgolum]

OT guy, was counted as a friend of God and taken up to heaven. Shortly before the Deluge if I remember right.

[Petrosius]

Enoch and Elijah were both taken up to heaven. Do you really think that our Lord would grant them greater privilege and honor than he would to his own mother?

[annalex]

The Assumption of Mary does not negate the fact that she, like Moses and Elijah, experienced death. Moses and Elijah, however, were seen with Jesus, all three very much alive, by the apostles. This is evidence of the assumption of Moses and Elijah.

[wagglebee]

As you said, Luther removed several books from the Bible (he also tried to remove the Epistle of James, but couldn't find a way to justify it), he primarily removed portions of the Bible in order to remove possible references to Purgatory (to counter the selling of indulgences). Remarkably enough, the Church stopped the sale of indulgences anyways, in no large part due to the fact that Luther's opposition to them was very widespread. However, Luther never had anything negative to say about Marian devotion or dogma. In fact, to this day, Lutherans hold beliefs about the Immaculate Conception that are nearly identical to Catholic's. For what its worth, John Calvin and John Wesley also held Marian beliefs that are in keeping with Catholic tradition.
http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ95.HTM
http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ460.HTM

What is very clear to me is that anti-Catholic bigotry is the driving force behind opposition to Marian beliefs. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Protestant Reformation. Luther, Calvin and the others were mainly protesting Vatican corruption, and if what was going on in the Vatican was happening today, there would probably be an even larger revolt. Most of the anti-Catholic bigots rely on other bigots as their sources. These people claim to be intense studiers of scripture, yet what they seem to enjoy reading the most are Jack Chick's comic books.

[wagglebee]

You are both overlooking one very important fact:
Jack Chick has yet to write a comic book defaming Moses or Elijah, so this is not yet one of the "talking points" of anti-Catholic bigotry.

[annalex]

anti-Catholic bigotry is the driving force behind opposition to Marian beliefs

May be some, but there is also a fundamental theological reason: Protestant notion of depravity of man is refuted by sanctity of Mary and the saints.

[wagglebee]

Jack Chick is the main source of anti-Catholicism in America. Most of his ideas are put into comic book form, I guess he has determined that his readers are most comfortable with this medium.
http://www.chick.com/default.asp

[Invincibly Ignorant]

you assume moses was assumed just as you assume mary was assumed.

[wagglebee]

I think the bigger reason is the fact that out of ignorance many Protestants think that the Reformation had something to do with hatred of Catholicism rather than widespread corruption at the highest levels of the Church. I have done extensive research about the Vatican in the 15th century and it is amazing the level of hypocrisy and greed; I wrote a very in-depth paper on the Borgia family (Rodrigo Borgia was Pope Alexander VI and father of Cesar and Lucrezia Borgia; if you want to be truly appalled, do a search of the term "Banquet of Chestnuts") when I was in college and they were truly despicable people. There is no point in denying that there was corruption in the Church at that time; however, the Counter-Reformation corrected these problems. Popes no longer have mistresses, children and armies, they no longer sell indulgences in order to build palaces for themselves and their families. However, it is also important to recognize that but for these men's lavishness, the world would not have much of the great Renaissance artwork that we have today.

But back to my main point, I believe that these bigots simply believe that hatred of Catholics is somehow critical to their religious beliefs.

[biblewonk]

Why do you think the RCC is a house of cards? When are you expecting it to fall? A "house of cards" would indicate something "precarious" when, in fact, the Church is going on 2000-plus years of existence...

It falls when you die and fine out your faith was in the wrong thing. It falls when Jesus returns and reveals it to have been false.

[biblewonk]

The RCC is a house of cards built of an obviously wrong interpretation of a perfectly good verse. OK, not so obvious to a billion RC's.

[asformeandformyhouse]

The Assumption of Mary does not negate the fact that she, like Moses and Elijah, experienced death. Moses and Elijah,

Then what does 'assumption' mean?