You mean something like the obsession that keeps the anti-Catholics always at the Catholic Church, uwilling to come in and unable to leave it alone? Lots of obsession going around, I guess -- must be something in the water! ;-)
It does seem to me, though, that those who object to Catholics' veneration of Mary see it that way because their own worship of God -- indeed their very understanding of God -- is so stunted, so truncated, so limited that it's no greater than (if as great as) our veneration of Mary. They have no conception of the immeasurably greater worship we offer God.
It seems to be tied in (as with so many things in dispute) with their understanding of Eternity as merely time, only longer. Their God (like the pagan gods) is entirely within Time because they can conceive of nothing outside of time, though this conception makes Time greater than God -- in effect, the real God.
In our view, time itself is a creature. (As I understand it, in the physicists' view, time is merely the fourth dimension. Thus it is as meaningless to place the Eternal God wholly within time as it would be to limit Him to height and width and depth.)
That's basically at the root of it. Either it's man and to be hated or God and to be worshiped. And any picture or statute can be the target of worship - because there's nothing in between. Veneration = worship because "honor" is neither hate nor worship - inconceivable.
always at the Catholic Church
Some folk's religion is all about being against something, not what they are for. It's a unity in hate, very far from what Jesus prayed for in the garden before His passion.
THAT’S
INCREDIBLY THOROUGHLY, TERMINALLY WRONG
AGAIN!
Of course not...I would hope catholic christians keep going to church to hear the message Christ has for them and to worship and lift His name high above all others, for surely He is deserving of such.
" those who object to Catholics' veneration of Mary see it that way because their own worship of God -- indeed their very understanding of God -- is so stunted, so truncated, so limited"
Our objection to catholics veneration of Mary has nothing whatsoever to do with our own worship of Christ... Indeed. Rather,.. that we recognize Gods elevation of His Son above all others, including Mary, and do not place Mary as co-redeemer with Christ as catholics do, which she is not.
It certainly is evident catholics believe in the position they have elevated her to, and worship her because of that elevated position, just as these catholic articles and references on this thread attest to. I disagree with that obsession and worship of Mary, and how she is elevated above Christ and equal to Him.
Mary did not die for the sins of mankind...she was not crucified...nor was she raised from the dead in bodily form...and she certainly is not the hand that moves in our life today...Christ did and is sovereign above all in Heaven and on earth... and therefore I stand with God that it is His Son we are to worship...and Him alone.