.
Leviticus 26:2 (reverence for a place)
Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.2 Samuel 9:6 (reverence for the anointed king)
Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence.1 Kings 1:31 (reverence for the king)
Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live for ever.Luke 20:13 (reverence for a landowner's son)
Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.Ephesians 5:33 (reverence for one's husband)
Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she shows reverence toward her husband.Hebrews 12:9 (reverence toward earthly fathers, and more to the Heavenly Father)
Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
Heres where the confusion comes in. Whats forbidden is bowing in adoration; not bowing as a sign of honor or respect.
Can I show that Biblically? Sure. It permeates Old Testament culture.
Genesis 23:7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of that land Genesis 33:3-7 Jacob bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother Esau
maidservants and their children bow down to Esau
Leah and her children, Joseph and Rachel bow. Etc. etc!
Genesis 37 Josephs dreams: his brothers sheaves of corn - and then the sun and moon and eleven stars bow down to him. Later his brothers actually do bow down to him with their faces to the ground
Genesis 48:11 Joseph bows to Jacob with his face to the earth.
1 Kings 1:15 Bathsheba bows low (face to the ground) and kneels before the aged king David
2 Kings 1:13 the captain kneels before the prophet Elijah, and prays begs- him to spare his life and the life of his 50 men
Moses bows down to father-in-law; Ruth bows down to Boaz; David prostrates before Jonathan; David prostrates to Saul; Abigail prostrates to David; Saul prostrates to Samuel; Nathan prostrates to David;
Obadiah bows to the ground before Elijah; the prophets in Jericho bow before Elisha;
the whole assembly bows low and prostrates before David; David bows to the Temple; David prostrates to Jerusalem;
God causes the kings adversaries to bow prostrate on the ground and lick the dust at his feet;
the sons of the oppressors will bow to Zion.
OK, pretty obviously the patriarchs, prophets, and kings knew about the commandment not to bow down and worship anything or anybody but God. But here they are bowing, kneeling, and prostrating, and God is not offended. Why?
Because the commandment clearly forbids bowing and worshiping a creature as the Creator; it does not forbid kneeling or bowing (to king, prophet, father, husband or brother) as a form of honor or veneration.
The commandment does not prohibit kneeling or bowing to give honor. It prohibits adoration toward anyone but Almighty God.
Now heres an interesting episode:
1 Kings 2:19
When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the kings mother, and she sat down at his right hand.
Heres the King bowing to his mother. Does that mean shes equal to God? No. It doesnt even mean shes equal to the King. It means hes pleased to honor her because of her royal dignity, her relationship as Queen Mother.
As our mindset gets further and further from traditional custom and culture, it gets harder and harder to grasp what was once the universal language of physical gesture (he salute, the tip of the hat, the bow, the genuflection, the handclasp, the curtsy, the kiss) and put each expression in its proper perspective.
Its something to ponder and appreciate. As I live, I appreciate it more and more.
Will non-Catholics ever understand that what Catholics are doing when they knell before Mary and pray to her is NOT worship, but rather a subordinate form of due respect shown to a holy person, whose honor is automatically referred to God?
Of course. Most non-Catholics DO understand that. In fact, I've never run into any non-Catholics who *refused* to understand it, except at Free Republic.
Heaven knows how many mistranslations are in this list. I only checked one item. What is cited as:
Luke 20:13 (reverence for a landowner’s son)
Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him.
Is more accurately and literally translated as:
Luke 20:13 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
13 The owner of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.
The difference between ‘reverence,’ and ‘respect,’ is vast.
You do realize we’re in the NT??
Below is a comparison of the titles assigned to Mary by the SVC in Lumen gentium #61-62 as compared to what is found in the New Testament.
I will note up front that NO WHERE in the NT is Mary ever referred to as any of these titles.
These, like so much of Rome's false teachings on Mary, began to appear in the 4th century.
This again repudiates the Roman Catholic claim of "Sacred Tradition" being handed down from the Apostles.
In this comparison we will see that Roman Catholicsm has elevated Mary to positions equal to that of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
This is sheer blasphemy to do so as this means that for Mary to be able to accomplish any of these she has to be divine.
Not one NT writer ever ascribed any such condition to her.
Second Vatican Council (Lumen gentium ## 61-62) For this reason, the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of: | New Testament |
Advocate | My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. 1 John 2:1-2 NASB |
Auxiliatrix [Latin for helper, aide] | "But the Helper [paraklétos, GR, (a) an advocate, intercessor, (b) a consoler, comforter, helper, (c) Paraclete.], the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. John 14:26 NASB |
Mediatrix [earliest reference is 4th century as applied to Mary] | 5For there is one God, and one mediator [mesités, GR, properly, an arbitrator ("mediator"), guaranteeing the performance of all the terms stipulated in a covenant (agreement). In the NT this is only applied to Christ] also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 NASB |
Bible quotes from NASB
RCC position on Mary from https://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/marya4.htm
In August 1996, a Mariological Congress was held in Częstochowa, Poland, where a commission was established in response to a request of the Holy See. The congress sought the opinion of scholars present there regarding the possibility of proposing a fifth Marian dogma on Mary as Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix, and Advocate.
The commission unanimously declared that it was not opportune, voting 23-0 against the proposed dogma.[23][24] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-Redemptrix
Just give it a little more time and it will be thus completing the total apostasy of the Roman Catholic Church.
I call on all Roman Catholics to abandon their idolatry and blasphemous practices regarding Mary and follow Christ and Christ only.