This question is for Protestants only. What do you have against Mary?

Non-Catholic Religions
#1

This is a very serious question, and not meant to be an attack in any way. Catholics can engage in this forum if they wish, but they won’t be able to help me with my question, because I want to hear from Protestants.

First of all, the asking of this question comes from my constant fellowship with my Protestant brothers and sisters. I am a Catholic, but I consider both Catholics and Protestants to be Christian. My question, though, stems from the somewhat hostile feelings Protestants have regarding the Virgin Mary. Many of my Protestant brothers and sisters will come to me for spiritual advice and bible reflection, and often I will post bible verses or pictures of Jesus on facebook. I have many pictures of Jesus in my arsenal of inspirational pictures, but I also have a few pictures of Mary that I enjoy looking at and will sometimes post. In response to posts/pictures of Jesus, they respond with things like “Hallelujah!” and “Amen!” but when a picture of Mary is shown, it is met with only scorns and cries of idolatry.

I’ll be honest, this greatly saddens and confuses me. When I see a picture of Mary, I say to myself “Behold, the beloved Mother of Christ Himself. How happy am I to see a picture of my dear Savior’s mother.” When seeing these pictures of Mary, my Protestant friends seemed to be filled with feelings that are almost exactly opposite. They often respond with words such as “Idolatry!” and “You worship Mary!” and other hostile remarks about Catholics or the Virgin herself. I’m sorry, but I don’t see the reasoning behind this. Keep in mind, my Protestant brethren who are kindly taking the time to read this, that I know not all Protestants are like this. But when my friends and followers who are Protestant see pictures of Mary, instead of filling them with love for Our Lord, it seemingly fills them with hatred of Catholics and resentment.

It saddens me; I don’t understand why this hatred comes out like this. I know what idolatry is, and I try to explain to them that I’m not in any way in my own mind raising Mary above God by looking joyfully at a few pictures of her. I explain to them that when I see a picture of Mary, I say to myself what I already stated as above. I do not say to myself “Behold, the Virgin Mary who is Divine and Greater than Our Lord Jesus Christ and ought to be worshipped as God!”

Yet still, even after I explain this, some of my Protestant brethren (not all of them, however) will claim that loving Mary is not loving Jesus, and that honoring her is against scripture. How saddening and confusing this is! Jesus Himself said that we are to “Love one another”, but somehow, according to them, this excludes the Virgin Mary, who was God’s most faithful and blessed servant. If someone loves Mary, do they not also love Jesus? If someone loves Jesus, should they not also love Mary? Anyone who loves Jesus obeys His commandments (John 14:21). Let’s apply this to Blessed Mary. If somebody loves Mary, they will obey her commandments also, correct? What are Mary’s commandments? “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5). So whoever loves Mary must also love Jesus.

So my question is, if there are Protestants here who feel this way that Mary ought to not be shown any love or honor whatsoever, and that seeing pictures of her only ignites resentment of Catholics, why do you feel this way? Keep in mind, my Protestant brethren, that I know full well that this does not apply to all of you. My best friend, and perhaps the most righteous and holy person I have ever known, was my grandfather, who was Lutheran. Unfortunately we never got to talk about Mary before his death, but I’m sure that the mention of Mary the beloved servant did not induce any hatred or resentment in him. This is not in any way an attack on all Protestants, only a question out of confusion for the ones who are seemingly, at least in my experiences, hostile towards the Virgin Mary. Oh, and by the way, I fully understand the desire by Protestants, or even instead of desire, the fear, to not raise Mary to a level above God, what I don’t understand is the apparent hatred that she instills in some, and the almost defiant refusal to show her any love or honor whatsoever, which in my opinion is very offensive to God.

Thank you, and God Bless

#2

Protestants don’t have anything against Mary.

Good grief. (Edited)

#3

I’ve never known a Protestant who had anything “against” Mary. Nor any who were “filled with hatred of Catholics” upon seeing a picture of her (and that includes a large number of Southern Baptists). They just don’t have the Catholic understanding of her importance.

#4

cdn-images.hollywood.com/cms/300x375/7236163.jpg
Apparently someone didn’t read the post :stuck_out_tongue:

The title is a reflection of the general question, “why does Mary seem to ignite resentment?”

#5

Keep in mind that I explicitly state that many Protestants I know, this does not apply to. But to the fundamentalists, there is no exaggeration in the post of how they react

#6

BECAUSE too many people have been steam-rolled by the Blue Army or one of its modern day affiliates, that’s why.

#7

I used to be a fundamentalist protestant. They are appreciative of Mary, but you do not see the wild excesses over Mary there that you sometimes see in the Catholic church.

Protestants are not as wary of paganism as they used to be, but some Catholics are not wary of it at all.

#8

Paganism is the worship of false Gods. I have never seen Mary worshipped, and she is not a false God. She’s a beloved creature who deserves to be honored

#9

She’s not God at all. She’s not a co-redemptor. She’s not a divine being. She’s not the 4th person of the Trinity.

There are a lot of people in the Catholic Church that need basic lessons in what Christianity consists of.

#10

I have never met anyone in the Catholic Church who believes her to be the 4th person in the Trinity, or God, or Divine.

#11

I’ve met many people who won’t come right out and admit that, but Mary gets all the worship and that’s their hot button. Get in the way of their Marian devotion and you’re toast. It’s all you can do to escape in one piece. It’s completely unbalanced. There are very few things in the Church that will send me running like that.

Between that and the general ignorance of Christianity in the Church, we’re in bad shape.

#12

But like here are some misperceptions that seem to be prevailing. You said the whole thing about 4th person in the trinity, God, Divine, etc. yet no one actually believes that. You only said that because people are devoted to her passionately and fervently. Are you saying that there should be balance between other devotions and Marian devotions? I almost get the sense that you feel that you can be “too devoted to Mary” and that you are thus worshipping her. But I don’t see how people can mistake Mary for the God who created the universe, even if they are very devoted to her. They’re devoted to her for the sake of knowing Him better.

#13

I beg to differ. Some people do believe that.

The “passionately and fervently” part is the problem when it comes to running over everyone else in the room. It gets completely out of hand. If I go somewhere Catholic, and this obsession over Mary starts up, I leave.

And anonymously accosting Protestants over it? That’s just out of bounds. What did they do to you?

#14

Im Anglican and therefore don’t know if this makes me protestant enough or not…because I was one who wanted to take the Pope out of our intercessions and move away from the Missal last year and doing away with the Angelus and happy with the result

I am not against Mary as Jesus’ Mother.
I objected to doing the Angelus every Sunday Morning because I am not Roman Catholic and we weren’t really using it that correct but mainly because I am not RC and we do still have Hail Mary which I largely sit quiet through because again I am not RC and understand it as belonging to you guys and we didnt used to say it and it got slipped in along the lines and that hasn’t gone. But my main reason for not saying it or the Angelus is because it belongs to RC’s and thats about it.

But am not objecting to Mary at all. I don’t pray to her or use her in my prayers etc but I don’t with any of the Saints because I go straight to God. I don’t have this understanding by asking all the saints or pecific saints means our prayer be actioned on or something. I am not knocking it. Just that I don’t personally see how it carries more weight. I don’t do worded prayer and ask for anything anyway anymore but that a different thing.

People are shocked year in year out when we get how Mary was 14 etc because 14 today is of a child per se though I can hear all 14 year olds screaming at that and their parents but you get my drift. We have that sermon every year and people respond every year in that shocked reality of it all and I don’t get that either because we hear it in some form most years so if going to church all ones life its nowt new so why they feel offended that it could so possibly be like that… It may be why some protestants are confused about Mary because they haven’t gotten over those shocking bits or they see it as shocking bits, the stark reality of what is said. Is not what we like to think about biblical people is it? Somehow they have to be saintly and perfect and etc rather than people in their real terms. Of which that sermon is due to come up in Advent on the Mary Service isn’t with that theme in store along the way for some of us…

Not against Mary but she is predominatly of Roman Catholic source in my ‘book’ opinon… and her place is an odd one in the main Eucharist and Joseph isn’t there at all. A lot on Mary and hardly anything on Joseph who gets swallowed up in it all. Joseph hardly has any telling in the story of it all really. It all to Mary and that balance is a bit… but well,
Nothing against her though at all. Just don’t figure in my own life much if at all. just in church…:smiley:

#15

Now, OP, she was nice enough to give you her opinion. Don’t pile into her now with a mega-boatload of blinking pink pictures, quotes from God-only-knows-where and a big Marian sledge hammer.

You asked a question and you have a nice answer. :thumbsup:

#16

^^This, exactly.

I was raised Protestant, and never had anything at all “against” Mother Mary or Catholics or Catholicism in general. Still don’t.

Any woman who gives birth in a barn with no painkillers is my hero! :thumbsup: And although that statement is rather “light-hearted,” I do mean it seriously. I think almost every Christian respects Mother Mary as the Mother of our Lord, but thinking of her as a actual person with real-life hardships makes her more “real” to me.

Jala

#17

She most certainly isn’t the 4th person in the Trinity because then it wouldn’t be the Trinity would it because Tri means as good as three and Mary would make it Four so it would have to be whatever four is in latin or greek whatever. So its impossible for Mary to be the fourth part of the Trinity since Tri = three.

No one has ever said anything about trinity being 4 parts.

Its only and ever has been God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Plus You can’t have God the Mary can you into that? :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

#18

Yea, I know, englishredrose, but that doesn’t stop some people. I agree with you, it’s a pretty big clue. :thumbsup:

#19

and I have done just that with my explanation of the Trinity… oops so i deserve it back I guess here :thumbsup: :blush: :blush:

#20

I have met some people over my 54 years that SEEMED to put Mary in a place that was near the Trinity. That may not have been their intent or what their hearts truly felt. But outwardly others saw in them something that clouded the separation of the Mother of God from the Holy Trinity.

I think that if one takes the time to study the Church teaching and the Scriptures, it become a more black-and-white issue. People that engage this site are more apt to do so; others, not so much. Since we all have our own human lens perception, this is an issue that is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon. Pray for better understanding.