Posted on 01/12/2013 9:45:29 AM PST by count-your-change
Although once considered a binding "probable opinion" by the Catholic church, in 1950 the belief that the virgin Mary war taken into heaven "body and soul" was declared dogma for Catholic believers.
As the Catholic Encyclopedia notes in agreement with the Catechism of the Catholic church:
(Today, the belief in the corporeal assumption of Mary is universal in the East and in the West; according to Benedict XIV (De Festis B.V.M., I, viii, 18) it is a probable opinion, which to deny were impious and blasphemous.)
(Note: By promulgating the Bull Munificentissimus Deus, 1 November, 1950, Pope Pius XII declared infallibly that the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was a dogma of the Catholic Faith)
But what is the evidence claimed in support of this belief that Mary was taken "body and soul" into heaven?
In summation the catholic Encyclopeia offers:
(St. John of Damascus (P.G., I, 96) thus formulates the tradition of the Church of Jerusalem: St. Juvenal, Bishop of Jerusalem, at the Council of Chalcedon (451), made known to the Emperor Marcian and Pulcheria, who wished to possess the body of the Mother of God, that Mary died in the presence of all the Apostles, but that her tomb, when opened, upon the request of St. Thomas, was found empty; wherefrom the Apostles concluded that the body was taken up to heaven)
(Excerpt) Read more at newadvent.org › Catholic Encyclopedia ...
Which shall we believe? A tradition formulated centuries after Mary's death or the scriptures inspired by God?
Actually, I can’t get too far into this, but the tradition that Mary disappeared from her tomb and was assumed into Heaven goes back to very early days. In the very early middle ages, some of the Irish and British missionaries went to the Holy Land to visit the place of her tomb.
Jesus preceded Mary, of course, because according to the bible he died and ascended into heaven well before she did.
The Hebrew Bible tells us that Elijah was assumed bodily into Heaven, and when Jesus meets with him and Moses on the mountain, the presumption is that both of them were.
They were saved by the grace of Jesus extended back in time, according to traditional interpretation.
Mary was conceived without sin, as a suitable Mother to the Christ, and therefore did not suffer from the effects of Original Sin, which brought death into the world. That was the belief of early Protestants as well as Catholics. Luther and Milton, to mention two.
Your link doesn’t work.
Sorry, simply google catholic encyclopedia to find subject Mary.
Is being assumed into heaven with your body and soul, the same thing as coming back to life? Does the body continue to live?
The purest of all God’s creation in Heaven and on Earth, must surely be assumed into eternity to be with her son and the Son of God incorrupt from bodily decay. She alone was conceived without Original Sin. To argue differently, wold be deny the basic predicate.
This vision was made in connection with the announcement of God's approval of His Son as a faith building event for these disciples.
As for Elijah the use of the term heaven or heavens must be understood in the light of what Paul said seeing that Elijah was most certainly flesh and blood and the fact that Christ had not yet offered his sacrifice on the altar in heaven.
On that question you would have to ask those who advance this teaching of “assumption”.
If in fact she was born without original sin as was Jesus it does make sense that she was not subject to death which was one of the punishments for eating the forbidden fruit (Thanks alot Adam and Eve!).
BTW Joseph did die a human death and his soul went to Purgatory to await the death of Christ who would reopen the gates of heaven. Fanciful myth or lovely spiritual narrative--you decide.
The patron saint of my Catholic grammar school was Joseph and we were told that when Jesus opened up heaven He went to purgatory and walked past all the kings, queens, and rich merchants into a shadowy corner and lifted up Joseph, his stepdad, and brought him out first so that he could be the first to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Again--fanciful myth or lovely spiritual story--you decide. Personally I like the lovely spiritual story with its overtones of mystical calm, love and human warmth. It also taught us kids the value of humility and quiet grace and that these qualities would be rewarded.
If in fact she was born without original sin as was Jesus it does make sense that she was not subject to death which was one of the punishments for eating the forbidden fruit (Thanks alot Adam and Eve!).
BTW Joseph did die a human death and his soul went to Purgatory to await the death of Christ who would reopen the gates of heaven. Fanciful myth or lovely spiritual narrative--you decide.
The patron saint of my Catholic grammar school was Joseph and we were told that when Jesus opened up heaven He went to purgatory and walked past all the kings, queens, and rich merchants into a shadowy corner and lifted up Joseph, his stepdad, and brought him out first so that he could be the first to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Again--fanciful myth or lovely spiritual story--you decide. Personally I like the lovely spiritual story with its overtones of mystical calm, love and human warmth. It also taught us kids the value of humility and quiet grace and that these qualities would be rewarded.
I was thinking this thread would be where someone like that would be, so I asked.
Jesus prayed that God would make his followers holy or sanctified by means of the truth, truth being God’s word.(John 17:17-19)So myth and such must be rejected in favor of God’s sanctifying Word.
And do you believe in the resurrection of the body, including yourself and all those who are saved by Christ?
How is that Scripture relevant? The Assumption happened long after the Resurrection ... decades most likely.
and states the "flesh and blood cannot inherit God's kingdom".
Millions of Christians think they're going to be bodily assumed into heaven at some point in the near future in an event they call the "Rapture". A fortiori, is it more reasonable to believe that God raptured one woman who played a unique role in salvation history, or millions who are "special" merely by being alive at some date in the future?
How is that Scripture relevant? The Assumption happened long after the Resurrection ... decades most likely.
and states the "flesh and blood cannot inherit God's kingdom".
Millions of Christians think they're going to be bodily assumed into heaven at some point in the near future in an event they call the "Rapture". A fortiori, is it more reasonable to believe that God raptured one woman who played a unique role in salvation history, or millions who are "special" merely by being alive at some date in the future?
Heaven is not a place. Living bodies don’t “go” to Heaven.
It's relevant in that it indicates no Moses, Elijah, Enoch, etc. could have gone before Christ and if you noted the rest of that verse, Paul said each in his turn, that next it would be those who belong to Christ during Christ's presence.
Millions can believe as they wish but Jesus prayed that his followers would made holy or sanctified by means of the truth of God's word so Christians must seek that truth no matter who believes what or how many.
Remember Jesus said the broad road with many on it was the road to destruction.
No, i don’t believe in a resurrection of the fleshly body into heaven.
“The last Adam (Christ) became a life giving spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45)
That’s one view but is it supported by the Scriptures? If so where?
ping
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