Well, the good priest's review sharply highlights the reasons why the "road back to Rome" is closed to me. Despite all the wonderful and undeniably miraculous things God is doing in the papist side of the Christian family, the goddess thing is just too much for this member of the last generation to say the mass in Latin to swallow.
But then, I imagine you probably feel the same way about five-point Calvinism, so we're even!
I once wrote a scholarly article about the attitude of the church fathers towards sex. Folks, it was far more neoplatonic than Biblical. "Never send Clement a Valentine!" The very word "celibacy" traces back to the rites of self-castration practiced by the devotees of Cybele, the prototypical suffering mother goddess.
What are you talking about? Do you think the Catholic Church teaches that Mary is a goddess? If so, where does it teach that? And what sense of the term 'goddess' are you using?
-A8
Goddess thing? If you were a member of that generation, you should remember your Baltimore Catechism then.
Q. 1196. Do we not slight God Himself by addressing our prayers to saints?
A. We do not slight God Himself by addressing our prayers to saints, but, on the contrary, show a greater respect for His majesty and sanctity, acknowledging, by our prayers to the saints, that we are unworthy to address Him for ourselves, and that we, therefore, ask His holy friends to obtain for us what we ourselves are not worthy to ask.
Q. 1215. Is it allowed to pray to the crucifix or to the images and relics of the saints?
A. It is not allowed to pray to the crucifix or images and relics of the saints, for they have no life, nor power to help us, nor sense to hear us.
Q. 1216. Why do we pray before the crucifix and the images and relics of the saints?
A. We pray before the crucifix and the images and relics of the saints because they enliven our devotion by exciting pious affections and desires, and by reminding us of Christ and of the saints, that we may imitate their virtues.
Because the Church uses the word "celibacy," it is somehow connected to the cult of Cybele? LOL! Reread your Bible, and you'll find Our Lord talks about those who "are eunuchs, who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven. He that can take, let him take it" (Matthew 19:12).
THe road is always open. But, if you think Rome teaches Mary was Goddess, you neeed to purchase an orthodox Magellan because you are way off the road
A sagacity and truth bump to the top. I would include Augustine and Jerome as having a totally warped view of the subject matter as well. They set a whole lot of bad inclination in motion.
I'll wait to see this movie for free when I can get it on DVD thru my library. I refuse to pay money into the coffers of Hollywood for something that insults scripture (ex: showing Mary with an attitude).
When the angel appeared to Mary in the Gospel his name for her was "Full of Grace." Nothing more need be said to understand Our Father's feelings for her. We are brothers in Christ Jesus and sons of Mary who is "Full of Grace." Not just having some Grace but "Full of Grace." She is not a Goddess. She is the mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And what son would not "Honor his mother and Father?"
Then why did Moses choose celibacy? Also, using the root word from an entirely different language in which to argue against a well established Jewish practice is shifting the ground mightily.
I'm sorry, but I just don't believe that etymology. The "y/upsilon" to ae and then to "e", the exchanging places of the l and the b -- I just don't think so. Can you give some documentation or refer me to someone who can?
A myth based on sub-incompetent etymology.
The word caelebs is Latin, and not Phrygian nor Greek.
The goddess called "Cybele" by the Greeks was known by the name "Agdystis" and sometimes identified with their goddess Rhea. The name "Cybele" did not come into common usage until about 200 BC.
The worship of Cybele was unknown to the Romans until the late Republican period, centuries after the Latin language was standardized.
And caelebs means "one who is not married", not "one is is ritually castrated."
Catholics do not worship Mary as a goddess. That is an old Protestant myth. Protestantism has never dealt well or sufficiently with Mary. Karl Barth, in his "Church Dogmatics," vol. 2, when discussing the Miracle of Christmas, comes closest to a good Reformed treatment of the entire issue. Barth remains one of few protestant theologians that the Church takes seriously, and I continue to read him as a Catholic.
I believe it is fair to assume, however, that the Mother of Christ might just have a special place in the heart of God and in our own prayer life. If you understand the terrible sovreignty and majesty of God the Father and the Risen Christ (who returns as the Judge, by the way), Mary eases our way to the Gentle Savior and Lamb of God. It is an important devotional function for many and it enriches our lives in worship.
Sometimes Calvinism/Lutheranism, with all their proper emphasis on doctrine and theology, are a bit stark, leaving us very much alone before an Almighty and Sovreign God. Christology is subsumed by Doctrine of God, and the love of God is submerged in His sovreignty. The Church has always managed to balance God's love and sovreignty, which is one of its many strengths. The Catholic understanding of Mary is a wonderful "softening" of what can be, to many who are struggling with sin, death, and judgement, a terrible and unapproachable Christ in Majesty.
There are two major thrusts in all theology with respect to Doctrine of God: 1.) God's love is shown in sovreignty, or 2.) God's sovreignty is shown in love. The former is Calvin, the latter is Luther...who, interestingly enough, always saw himself as just a Catholic who had a radical disagreement with the Church. His theology still bears the marks of Catholicism and the Lutheran Mass is still close to the Catholic one. My own eschatological hope is to see all Christian churches re-united under Rome. At base, we aren't that different.