Arc of the Covenant

[AlegreFe]

Then Moses’ mother was an ark. Eve was an ark. Sara was an Ark. They all preserved God’s divine plan. However, if I were to really view such people as “arks”, I could only do so metaphorically.

oy…

None of these people were arks because they were all sinners.
They could’ve done the Will of God to keep His Divine plan but they were stained and wounded. No one that has ever been stained and not pure even for one second could have ever been an ark in the way that God designed the Ark; OT and NT.

The Ark had to be of pure gold and made of the finest materials. Mary was pure gold in her innocence because God wanted her to be perfectly graced so that she could hold the High Priest who is the Word and our Bread of Life.

 

[Valke2]

oy…

None of these people were arks because they were all sinners.
They could’ve done the Will of God to keep His Divine plan but they were stained and wounded. No one that has ever been stained and not pure even for one second could have ever been an ark in the way that God designed the Ark; OT and NT.

The Ark had to be of pure gold and made of the finest materials. Mary was pure gold in her innocence because God wanted her to be perfectly graced so that she could hold the High Priest who is the Word and our Bread of Life.

the Ark was made bysinners. Anyway, everything you posted in your explanation sounds pretty metaphrocial to me. After all, Mary was not made of pure gold and the finest wood.

I understand that Catholoics believe Mary never sinned, (why they believe this is another question, given that the Bible says no one is without sin and it does not say “Mary was without sin.” I don’t even have to confine myself the Torah and prophets (and proverbs and psalms) to support this. Romans 3:9, 3:10 and 3:23 agree that we sin or are born in sin. As well as Romans 5:12, 18.

We also know that Mary as a Jew, was required to obey the commands and that. The Christian bible acknowledges that she was unlcean after the birth and that that she, she offered the proper sacrifice for the first born, etc. One of the sacrfices she offered, according to Luke, were a pair of doves. Doves are a sin offering that were used, in this case, as an offering to attone for the mother’s sins (the unintenitoinal sins, I believe).

I have no doubt that after 2000 years the Church has come up with its best explanation to explain away these arguments. And it is probably better to put this all on another thread.

But I can’t see how anyone can argue that Mary is an actual ark.

 

[Texas_Roofer]

There is a whole theory of all the NT is the OT. The logic is people to not change, so the NT is another set of instructions from God to people. Thus the earlier and later instructions would really be the same only delivered to different people at different times. In that theory Mary is the new Ark and yes she was made from sinners too (her parents), no she was not made of wood and gold. Mary did not sin, the doves are symbolic. The real sacrifice was her son. Mary was not unclean, that would be considered a minor misunderstanding of the OT (blood). Mary and Jesus suffered even in the absence of sin, humble suffering to improve mankind and follow God’s plan is one of the primary messages from Jesus.

No one knows where or what happen to the Ark of the OT, I for one hope it no longer exists because it would be easily idol worshiped, ironic huh.

 

[patrick457]

The fact that the Priest who guards the Ethiopians “ark” lives and dies without ever leaving the very small grounds on which it is supposedly located makes me think they definitely believe they have the ark, whether they do or not… it’s an interesting thought…

Here’s an article I found about the Ark in Ethiopia:

crisismagazine.com/julaug2002/feature2.htm

According to the Ethiopians, It is said that the Ark stayed in an Island named Tana Cherkos in Elephantine for 800 years. Legend also has it that Mary, the Mother of God (The Ark who carried the Bread of Life in Her womb) , visited the Island and stayed there for three months and ten days. Then after that, the Ark was then moved from there to Axum by King Ezana.

The Ethiopians cite as evidence that the Ark protects them the fact that Ethiopia is the only African country never to be colonized and when the Italians tried to they were repelled by the poorly-equipped Ethiopian soldiers.

But of course, whatever happened to the Ark is not dogma. You are free to believe whatever you want to.

 

[Valke2]

There is a whole theory of all the NT is the OT. The logic is people to not change, so the NT is another set of instructions from God to people. Thus the earlier and later instructions would really be the same only delivered to different people at different times. In that theory Mary is the new Ark and yes she was made from sinners too (her parents), no she was not made of wood and gold. Mary did not sin, the doves are symbolic. The real sacrifice was her son. Mary was not unclean, that would be considered a minor misunderstanding of the OT (blood). Mary and Jesus suffered even in the absence of sin, humble suffering to improve mankind and follow God’s plan is one of the primary messages from Jesus.

No one knows where or what happen to the Ark of the OT, I for one hope it no longer exists because it would be easily idol worshiped, ironic huh.

wait a second. the doves are symbolic??? They were the usual sacrifice for unintentional sins. How do you arrive at the conclusion that they were symbolic??

unclean does not mean she is in a state of sin. But her offering the sacrifices that one normally offered certainly seems to point to the conclusion that she was at least “guilty” of unintentional sins. If the old ark could be easily idol worshipped, then could not the “new ark” of Mary also be easily idol worshipped?

 

[NotWorthy]

wait a second. the doves are symbolic??? They were the usual sacrifice for unintentional sins. How do you arrive at the conclusion that they were symbolic??

unclean does not mean she is in a state of sin. But her offering the sacrifices that one normally offered certainly seems to point to the conclusion that she was at least “guilty” of unintentional sins. If the old ark could be easily idol worshipped, then could not the “new ark” of Mary also be easily idol worshipped?

You’re correct. The doves are not symbolic. They are just proof that Joseph and Mary were good and loyal Jews. They don’t point to her being sinful, just dutiful.

The Mosaic laws demand an offering of the doves after a woman’s blood-letting. Not “after a sinful woman’s blood-letting”. Unless you feel that the blood-letting in and of itself is sinful, which of course is a whole other thread.

 

[Texas_Roofer]

wait a second. the doves are symbolic??? They were the usual sacrifice for unintentional sins. How do you arrive at the conclusion that they were symbolic?? unclean does not mean she is in a state of sin. But her offering the sacrifices that one normally offered certainly seems to point to the conclusion that she was at least “guilty” of unintentional sins.

OT - Leviticus 14- 2 birds, Jesus is being cleansed of disease(sin)
NT - baptism the cleansing of humans from sin (hereditary disease from Adam & Eve)
Mary was “filled with Grace” which by divine revelation is free of sin.

If the old ark could be easily idol worshipped, then could not the “new ark” of Mary also be easily idol worshipped?

Idol worship would require an idol, Mary was human not an idol. The church teaches Mary is human not a deity. Prayers to Mary are prayers of intercession not worship. This issue of prayers to Mary being worship is a common misconception.

 

[Valke2]

You’re correct. The doves are not symbolic. They are just proof that Joseph and Mary were good and loyal Jews. They don’t point to her being sinful, just dutiful.

The Mosaic laws demand an offering of the doves after a woman’s blood-letting. Not “after a sinful woman’s blood-letting”. Unless you feel that the blood-letting in and of itself is sinful, which of course is a whole other thread.

The purpose of the sacrifce of the doves was to atone for sins. Not to atone for being unclean after childbirth.

 

[Valke2]

OT - Leviticus 14- 2 birds, Jesus is being cleansed of disease(sin)
NT - baptism the cleansing of humans from sin (hereditary disease from Adam & Eve)
Mary was “filled with Grace” which by divine revelation is free of sin.

Idol worship would require an idol, Mary was human not an idol. The church teaches Mary is human not a deity. Prayers to Mary are prayers of intercession not worship. This issue of prayers to Mary being worship is a common misconception.

Worshipping a human as God/Divine is a form of idol worship. Idolatry does not require a statue to be idolatry.