Ah, but it has a Queen who trumps her Son.
Posted on 04/17/2010 5:46:07 AM PDT by markomalley
“RCCs (sic) misunderstand Scripture at their peril.”
Indeed. And I guess you have the singular and last word on the proper interpretation of Scripture? Ha-ha-ha-ha!
Pardon me, but Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Good grief: “...a system upon which the U.S. government was specifically modeled.”
It sounds like you have the impression that the ancient Greeks developed their political systems in their capacity as early Presbyterians. Hmm. I wonder why *I* never thought of that....
The Apostlic model not sufficient for the Presbyterians?
We have elders and presbyters elected by and from the congregation, a system upon which the U.S. government was specifically modeled.
The House and Senate were modeled on Presbyterian government? How about the White House? Vice President? Where does the Supreme Court fit in? I would be fascinated to understand yet another fascinating statement by the good Dr. E.
(And my Presbyterian denomination does not ordain women as pastors, so spare me the attempted insult.)
You and I both know that it is futile attempting to insult you. However, the point is well taken that the vast majority of Presbyterians and other formerly Calvinist denominations - (90% or higher) do ordain women as pastors. The local presbyter is female (last time I looked it up). Your point?
Wake up, Rome. You're going the wrong way.
I don't know about Rome, but the Catholic Church does not have priestesses at any level.
Ah, but it has a Queen who trumps her Son.
Ah, but it has a Queen who trumps her Son.
The name "Mary" comes from the Greek Μαρία, which is a shortened form of Μαριάμ. This is a transliteration of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic name Maryam. During the Middle Ages Hebrew vowel systems were formed and the Hebrew vowel "a" changed (regularly) to "i" in a closed unaccented syllable, so that by the time the Jews began to use vowel points, they wrote it as Miryam. Mary's most common titles include The Blessed Virgin Mary (also abbreviated to "BVM"), Our Lady (Notre Dame, Nuestra Señora, Nossa Senhora, Madonna), Mother of God, and the Queen of Heaven (Regina Caeli). See Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Mary is referred to by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Anglican Church, and all Eastern Catholic Churches as Theotokos, a title recognized at the Third Ecumenical Council (held at Ephesus to address the teachings of Nestorius, in 431). Theotokos (and its Latin equivalents, "Deipara" and "Dei genetrix") literally means "Godbearer". The equivalent phrase "Mater Dei", (Mother of God) is more common in Latin and so also in the other languages used in the Western Catholic Church, but this same phrase in Greek (Μήτηρ Θεοῦ), in the abbreviated form of the first and last letter of the two words (ΜΡ ΘΥ), is the indication attached to her image in Byzantine icons. The Council stated that the Church Fathers "did not hesitate to speak of the holy Virgin as the Mother of God",[10] so as to emphasize that Mary's child, Jesus Christ, is in fact God.
The title, Queen Mother, was given to Mary in early Christianity, since Mary was the mother of Jesus, who was sometimes referred to as the "King of Kings" due to His lineage of King David. The biblical basis for this understanding is found in 1 Kings 2:19–20, where King Solomon made his mother, Bathsheba, his queen mother present in his royal court. This governmental practice is also found throughout 1 and 2 Kings and in Jeremiah 13:18–19. In ancient Middle Eastern cultures, it was common for a king to have more than one wife; however, the king only had one mother and she was an integral part of each royal court.[11]
Mary is also sometimes referred to as the New Eve, as her obedience to God's command (contrasted with Eve's disobedience) led, according to this system of belief, to the salvation of mankind through Jesus.[12]
If you would stop looking at things through 2010 American eyes and look at the context of the times and realize what was actually being described, then you might see that the reality of the OT (and surely you would appreciate the OT reference, would you not?) model is in fact what the earliest Christians including St. Luke, he of the famous icon of Mary, believed.
The Queen Mother is not a goddess, nor is she an object of worship. If you would read your Middle East and European history - including the example of the recently deceased Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother - you would understand the role and cease the charges of goddess worship.
With that, the Catholic Church does not have priestesses. The Presbyterian Church does. The local presbyter is a priestess, at least the last time that I looked.
The list of pagan titles given to Mary by the papacy appears endless.
But it will end.
And not well.
You weren't paying attention. Mary is the Queen Mother. St. Luke venerated her with his icon. Do you reject St. Luke's icon? If so, do you reject his Gospel? Do you reject Acts?
But it will end. And not well.
When the OPC closes the doors of its final church (which may or may not occur within our lifetimes), will you admit that you were wrong? For it is not a matter of if but when.
The world is coming back to Christianity. Those Anglicans that are still Christian are flooding back to the Church, for instance. Mary, the Queen Mother concept goes back to the rooms in Jerusalem and the catacombs of Rome. Who will mourn the OPC after its demise? Will you guys return to Christianity after the death of all Presbyterian churches?
Flee from the pagan idolatry Rome practices as it ignore the Scriptures and invents its own delirium fantasies.
Who's preeminent in that church? Whose image is highest? Largest? Whose crown in biggest? Who's most commanding?
If you're having trouble with the answer, here's a close-up...
"Flee from idolatry."
That lather is worthy of a can of Barbasol. Instead of playing the banshee, how about investigating what the early Christians believed and practiced? You rail on about the Catholic Church, yet you accept completely and without reservation its New Testament, and its declarations of Christmas and Easter. You accept completely and without reservation the Lord's Day of Sunday replacing Saturday as the Jewish day of worship. You accept completely and without reservation the doctrine of the Trinity.
This is like the cafeteria Catholics who try to pick and choose. You say delirium. You yourself in your own theology are a significant follower of that 'delirium'. You guys reject the Church overtly, yet completely accept the Church tacitly. The numbers and the history tell it: you guys are wrong.
Discuss the issues all you want, but do not make it personal.
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