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Jesus is the Life Preserver. Mary is the Rope He Chose To Reel Us In.
The Most Ancient Tradition | 06-16-2019 | Charles O'Connell

Posted on 06/16/2019 4:55:18 AM PDT by CharlesOConnell

In Captains Courageous, with Spencer Tracey, Freddy Batholomew is a blowhard millionaire's son who is socially, poorly adjusted. He uses his father's incredible wealth, to bully his classmates and even his teacher, but he's roundly disliked, and ostracized. While on an ocean liner, he unsuccessfully tries to impress some other boys by eating 5 ice cream sodas. When he has to throw up, to escape the mocking boys, he runs into a lifeboat area to evade their ridicule while purging his overindulgence, and manages to fall overboard into the ocean.

Instances of people falling overboard into the open ocean are rather commonly reported in the news. Usually they are lost, but if by chance their accidents are observed and a life-preserver is thrown to them, is that the end of the story, do we just say, "oh, well, you have a floatation device, you're okay now"?

No, we have to pull them in. The life-preserver, the lifesaver, is only part of the formula for saving their lives. There is also a rope, which must be attached to the life-preserver, and must be used to finally accomplish their salvation.

Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and man. But on the man side of the equation, unlike the radical individuality most typified by J.J. Rousseau, we who life the life of Christians do so in communities. But even then, we do not abide as atomistic individualists. We live our Jesus-oriented life in relation to our fellows. "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." – Hebrews 10:25.

Jesus' first disciple was his mother, who gave us the total account of his early life and who "treasured these things up in her heart". "A sword will pierce your own soul too, so that the secret thoughts of many hearts might be revealed". On the cross, he gave his mother to John to take in his home, but when you take your master's mother, she takes care of you.

Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery.
And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth; she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which to be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days. …
And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had borne the male child. But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood. But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river which the dragon had poured from his mouth. Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus. - Rev 11:19 -- 12:17

She forms the body of Christ. She schools her son's disciples. Those who won't attend her school, remain ignorant.

We are in a time when any merely human institution would be washed away. Our churches are going under the shadow of a new Heresy of Ba'al of Peor, as when the Hebrew people were successfully attacked and overwhelmed through human sexuality. Our churches are now pro-gay and as soon as the civil authority authorizes child sex, they will be indistinguishable from the denizens of the town of Sodom: "Bring them out that we may know them".

Jesus' mother forms the few of the elect who will resist being fooled by the great apostasy. Those who will not avail themselves of the lifeline of Mary, will be lost.


TOPICS: Apologetics; Catholic; Ecumenism
KEYWORDS: jesus; mary
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To: hiredhand
Not so. There is even more about Mary in the OT than there is in the NT. The events and prophets of the OT refer to her in types and prophecies, just as they refer to her Son.

People who really love the Bible will find this fascinating. Let me recommend just one thought-provoking author:

Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary: Unveiling the Mother of the Messiah

And no, we're not talking about some dingbat goddess.

21 posted on 06/16/2019 7:56:06 AM PDT by Mrs. Don-o ("God bless the child who's got his own." - Billie Holliday)
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To: Mrs. Don-o
There is even more about Mary in the OT than there is in the NT. The events and prophets of the OT refer to her in types and prophecies, just as they refer to her Son.

Most types are just like seeing a horse in a cloud.

It looks like a horse, but it isn't a horse.

Nor does God identify much of anything in Scripture as a type.

The ones he doesn't identify as a type are an opinion

.

22 posted on 06/16/2019 8:03:18 AM PDT by aMorePerfectUnion
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To: Popman; CharlesOConnell
If I may pop in here with a repl, I believe Charles is talking about the total account which is found in the NT.

We all know that most of Jesus' early years pass without record, which is why we refer to these as the "Hidden Years."

SOME of us also realize that there's as much about Mary in the OT as there is in the NT.

And no, we're not talking about dingbat goddesses.

23 posted on 06/16/2019 8:04:51 AM PDT by Mrs. Don-o ("God bless the child who's got his own." - Billie Holliday)
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To: aMorePerfectUnion
Amazing! That's exactly what learned and highly respectable Jews say about Christological types and prophecies in the OT. They say it's all wishful thinking, back-reading and eisegesis on the part of Christians.

I think it takes an attitudinal shift, in that we have to 1 (Corinthians 2:16) "Have the mind of Christ.” Having the mind of Christ means sharing the plan, purpose, and perspective of Christ, who fulfilled the commandments and always honored His Father and His mother.

24 posted on 06/16/2019 8:12:19 AM PDT by Mrs. Don-o ("God bless the child who's got his own." - Billie Holliday)
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To: Mrs. Don-o

“Amazing! That’s exactly what learned and highly respectable Jews say about Christological types and prophecies in the OT. They say it’s all wishful thinking, back-reading and eisegesis on the part of Christians.”

The Jews don’t accept the NT as inspired.

We do.

You can’t just pretend things are true and have them become true.


25 posted on 06/16/2019 9:01:07 AM PDT by aMorePerfectUnion
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To: CharlesOConnell

Mary no doubt was a very strong, courageous woman of high character, but like the rest of us, she was in need of a savior.

Like 1:46-47:

“And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”


26 posted on 06/16/2019 9:14:45 AM PDT by ScottfromNJ
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To: RoosterRedux

Author states....”Those who will not avail themselves of the lifeline of Mary, will be lost.”.....

That is a false statement....God’s word tells us there is salvation ‘in no one else’ but Jesus..... for there is ‘no other name’ under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. – Acts 4:12

We should respect Mary and Joseph and all the great men and women of the Bible days, in Old Testament and New Testament times. However, none should be put above Jesus and none should be put equal to Jesus. All of us and all of them are far below our wonderful Savior and Lord.

While every true Christian has the deepest respect for her we pay Mary no genuine honor by attributing to her qualities that are not supported in the revealed Scriptures.


27 posted on 06/16/2019 9:15:09 AM PDT by caww
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To: aMorePerfectUnion

“The Jews don’t accept the NT as inspired.”

And apparently Isaiah 53.


28 posted on 06/16/2019 9:24:52 AM PDT by ScottfromNJ
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To: Mrs. Don-o

Mary is “D.E.D”... dead. Ecclesiastes 9:5 applies to all humans impacted by the fall of man... Mary included. Praying to, communicating with, or otherwise trying to contact “the dead” amounts to necromancy and is prohibited (Isaiah 8:19).


29 posted on 06/16/2019 9:26:59 AM PDT by hiredhand
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To: CharlesOConnell

Oh, this is fun! Can I make up a fairy tale, too?


30 posted on 06/16/2019 9:39:13 AM PDT by MayflowerMadam
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To: CharlesOConnell

Wow...so much error in one post.


31 posted on 06/16/2019 9:46:54 AM PDT by ealgeone
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To: CharlesOConnell
Those who will not avail themselves of the lifeline of Mary, will be lost.

Do you wear one of the Scapulars and/or Miraculous Medal?

32 posted on 06/16/2019 9:48:15 AM PDT by ealgeone
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To: metmom

+1


33 posted on 06/16/2019 9:50:19 AM PDT by ealgeone
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To: Mrs. Don-o

The bride is the Church....


34 posted on 06/16/2019 9:51:00 AM PDT by ealgeone
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To: Mrs. Don-o
Not so. There is even more about Mary in the OT than there is in the NT. The events and prophets of the OT refer to her in types and prophecies, just as they refer to her Son.

ONLY if one practices eisegesis and not exegesis.

35 posted on 06/16/2019 9:53:05 AM PDT by ealgeone
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To: CharlesOConnell

Could you provide a link to this article? Or is this your own blogsite?


36 posted on 06/16/2019 9:56:27 AM PDT by ealgeone
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To: hiredhand

Because,as Our Lord’s mother,she was his very first disciple.


37 posted on 06/16/2019 9:59:28 AM PDT by Biggirl ("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
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To: Mrs. Don-o

Amen!


38 posted on 06/16/2019 10:00:54 AM PDT by Biggirl ("One Lord, one faith, one baptism" - Ephesians 4:5)
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To: caww

Beautifully put.


39 posted on 06/16/2019 10:12:25 AM PDT by RoosterRedux
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To: Biggirl

Very true, and as a rule dissing a man’s mother will get you in trouble! Some on here don’t understand that! The real problem is that Catholics understand the relationship between Mary and Jesus, so for the protestants, it’s gotta be wrong! After all every one of them can be lead by the Holy Spirit and come to their own conclusions regarding scripture and somehow they’ll all be different and all be correct. Not sure how that all works.


40 posted on 06/16/2019 10:24:51 AM PDT by nobamanomore
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