You wrote:
“No, she died 2,000 years ago.”
Her body died, not her soul. The same thing will happen to you and me. Our souls live forever.
“I would think if you truly believe Scripture you would ask God directly for things.”
I would think if you knew anything, you would know we do.
“Why do you need an intercessor.”
We don’t other than Jesus but since Jesus gives us saints to help us why not use them?
“Is God not enough?”
Yes, He is.
“Is not Jesus enough?”
Yes, He is. But Jesus loves us so much that He gave us a family of saints to help bind us to Him. Why not use what God has given us? Do you really need scripture? Gee, isn’t God enough? Do you see how stupid that sounds?
“Check out Hebrews 3:1 “ Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.””
And we do - even when we petition the saints because we are always cognizant of the fact that God made them saints. They are nothing without Him - just as we are nothing without Him.
“And Hebrews 4: “14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,[e] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.””
Again, we know all of this and that is exactly why we have teh saints. Christ is the High Priest who made the saints with His grace.
“Pretty clear from those passages that we do not need any intercessors to put our needs before Jesus.”
Pretty clear from those passages that Jesus is generous with His grace for us and His saints.
“I don’t understand why Catholics think this isn’t good enough for them, and they want to add human created layers between us and the Son of God?”
Since we don’t do that there is no surprise that you don’t udnerstand what doesn’t exist. Maybe you should spend more time studying what we actually believe rather than make up things like a bigot would do. Wouldn’t you be more successful in learning that way? When you study geography do you make up countries that do not exist? When you study scripture do you make up lettesr from Paul that do not exist? Don’t invent doctrines we don’t believe in. If you wish to debate me on the faith, fine, but why make things up that NO ONE believes in? How honest is that?
It's pretty hard to have a reasoned debate with someone when they start out the conversation with a comment like this in #26 of this thread:
“It’s good, honest and refreshing. The truth always is. What it isn’t is hatred. The simple fact is that Protestantism is rebellion. The sort of idiocy in the article is just a logical development in it.”
I usually don't have a problem with the Catholic faith, but when utter falsehoods are posted; one can't just sit back and let them go unchecked.