“A true Mariology serves as a guarantor against bad Christology.”
The essential elements of the Gospel, as Paul defined it in 1 Corinthians 15, contains absolutely NOTHING about Chirst’s mother, Mary. The reason for this is because a person does not need to even know Mary existed to learn of Christ’s saving work.
A heretic is someone who overemphasizes a Biblical concept or idea to the point at which it becomes twisted, distorted, or corrupted. This is EXACTLY what Catholicism does with a minor character in the pages of scripture. Is she important? Sure. Does her importance warrant claims that Mariology is essential to Christology. NO!
Does her important role warrant making images of her to bow toward, to make sacrifices to, and to offer prayers to? NO!
For these things the Word of God is explicitly clear that those who commit these acts of idolatry will have their part in the lake of fire. These are not merely my opinions, or the opinions of other mere men, but the Word of God.
Revelation 21:8
But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
As the real Mary of the Bible is holy, she would reprove the wicked idolatry that is being promoted in her name, just as the apostles and holy angels have done before when men were tempted to bow and worship them. This is not merely because such acts dishonor her, but also because they damn men’s souls to a Christless eternity in the lake of fire. Those who advocate this have not repented of their error themselves and have made a career of promoting it to others. They would make this woman of God out to be like Satan, calling for men to bow down and worship him. But Christ rebuked Satan for this, quoting scripture, which if Satan had obeyed, he would have been forced to bend his own knee to the One he was tempting to commit idolatry and Satan worship.
Luke 4:8
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
Woe to the impostors! Those who promote the worship of Mary are not content to rush headlong to destruction alone, they insist on taking many with them. But these errors will not go unanswered.
Matthew 23:13, 15, 24, 27-33
But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’
Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
The letters to the churches in Revelation should be studied in depth.