No, it is not a small thing.
The Scriptures will solve nothing in this disparate understanding of things because they are replete with verses that point to each of our views. This 'no small thing' hasn't been solved for centuries and I don't believe really can be solved for 'we have not been His Counsellor.'
I call any Christian my brother or sister if he or she believes and recites the Apostle's and Nicene creed.
The proper understanding of predestination and justification, if these in fact are proper doctrines, is not truly possible without consulting St. Paul, St. Peter, St. Luke, St. Matthew, St. Mark and St. John and getting their blessed Consensus Patrum. In the meantime, we proceed with faith, hope and love, the greatest of which is Love.
I can't imagine that either one of us is going to alter our views. The one thing I can say for myself though, is that this last year has proven to me that I can think clearly and fairly, and I don't believe you can have one without the other.
Insofar as Mary is concerned. I was named after her. When I was 13 or 14 years old my mother walked into my bedroom when I was getting dressed and looked at my naked form and said to me, 'sei come la madonna.' How I could I not love myself after that? And I did, and I do.
Maria is the blessed virgin and she is the blessed of all mothers, she gave birth to our Lord. I believe only Jesus was without sin, but she is the blessed mother who suckled our Lord. One doesn't have to bow before a statue made of her or pray to her to feel affection for her. We feel affection for St. Paul and for theolgians we like, how unimaginable to withhold that same affection from the Blessed Maria.
Ah, sadly spoken like a Romanist.
For me, the Scriptures answer most every important question worth asking to an end that is both satisfying and defensible. I believe God intended it that way.
As for justification and predestination, I read both concepts on nearly every page of Scripture with eyes and ears given to me by God.
Insofar as Mary is concerned. I was named after her. When I was 13 or 14 years old my mother walked into my bedroom when I was getting dressed and looked at my naked form and said to me, 'sei come la madonna.' How I could I not love myself after that? And I did, and I do.
Does the Bible tell us to be like Mary? Here all along I thought we were supposed to become more Christ-like, even us women.
"Vanity, definitely my favorite sin." -- Al Pacino as Satan in "The Devil's Advocate."