Love and religious devotion are two separate things though. If I start setting up shrines to my earthly loved ones or saying repetitive prayers to them, then it might be a fair comparison. Otherwise, there isn’t an equivalency.
“Love and religious devotion are two separate things though.”
And which one were you commenting on? Let’s look at what you responded to:
“We can love and honor Mary, and Joseph, and Paul, and Augustine etal and still have unlimited of love and devotion to give to the One we all, the living and the saved dead, are living for.”
See that? “can love and honor”; “unlimited of love and devotion”.
And your response?
“Maybe you can, but I don’t think I can. I’m only human, and there are only so many hours in the day. Once I feel I have sufficiently honored the Lord with all the devotion he deserves, then maybe I will see if I have any left to spare for mere men. So far, I haven’t given Him his due yet.”
So, you honor the Lord but have no love for Him? After all, you said, “Love and religious devotion are two separate things though.”
“If I start setting up shrines to my earthly loved ones or saying repetitive prayers to them, then it might be a fair comparison. Otherwise, there isn’t an equivalency.”
Yes, there is. Do you love those people or not? Have any pictures of them around the house? Ever celebrate their birthdays, anniversaries, accomplishments, etc.? If you can do those things for your family AND LOVE THEM TOO OF COURSE and yet also love Jesus, then you have room for saints in your life too. Sorry, that’s just irrefutable. If you’re going to tell me you have no time or energy for anyone other than the Lord, then you had better not be married or have kids.