Theotokos
Pace youself, Tex.
I'm quite skeptical of this statement. I've known a lot of Protestant ministers, including several rather violently anti-Catholic ones. None would say that her veneration is the cause of all bad in the world.
Tex Confederate on 1/5/06 1. RC & EO DO NOT "WORSHIP" DEAD PEOPLE....
Says it all right there.
" 3"You shall have no other gods before[a] me.
4"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing steadfast love to thousands[b] of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:3-6)
The Orthodox Eastern church has celebrated the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, and has proclaimed her ever-virgin. They also celebrate her bodily assumption to heaven. These practices go way back before 800AD.
But, their theologians also like to make fine points of distinction about what each of these doctrines mean, and how they differ from the Catholics. However, and this is the real point, the Eastern faithful believe and practise exactly the same as Catholic faithful. The Easterns honor her just as much, and in fact, placed side to side nowadays, I would suggest that Orthodox liturgical statements, observances and prayers to and about Mary are far more Marian than your average "modernised" Catholic.
Now this article by the good Fr. John is more like it! :)
I elected not to elaborate on this the other day in the interest of brevity. After trying to read your two postings today, brevity seems to be a far away place. "blessed are the paps which gave you suck" is a direct reference to Semaramis, the mother and wife of Tammuz in Babylonian lore. This woman was directly rebuked by her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for equating Mary with someone to be worshipped. Worshipping statues of the "Mother and Child" dates back to the apostate descendants of Noah. Erecting these statues is idloatry. Praying to Mary is a violation of the commandment to not put any Gods before Me. Jesus Christ is our only intercessor at the right hand of the Father. Unless you want to debate the definition of the word "is".
Sex with one's husband isn't impure. There is nothing inconsistent with having children and remaining pure.
The commandment to "be fruitful" didn't have an asterisk (at least not in my KJV Bible). It's possible to be fruitful and pure simultaneously.
The EO have a much more level-headed understanding of the role of Mary than the RC (the Church I was raised in), which has effectively made her a co-redemtrix. This, in my eyes, is largely responsible for the feminization of the faith.
Ping!