EDITED: Response to non-Catholic Queen of Heaven argument

[watermommie]

My Protestant neighbor was asking about Mary’s title of Queen of Heaven. She has an objection to the title. Where is that in the bible or how did we get to calling Mary by that title?

 

[suko]

My Protestant neighbor was asking about Mary’s title of Queen of Heaven. She has an objection to the title. Where is that in the bible or how did we get to calling Mary by that title?

I just did a quick search and came up with this answer by Michelle Arnold (one of the CAF apologists here): forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=37077.

Also, just for future reference, your question is the kind that would probably be best suited in another sub-forum, probably in the Apologetics sub-forum.

Anyway, welcome to CAF!

 

[Michael_Francis]

Moved and edited title accordingly. http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h244/corona_stellarum/Smilies/sign0011.gif

 

[Church_Militant]

We’ve seen this many times and it’s weak on its best days. Here’s my response.

There is no tie in whatsoever between the idol in the OT and the Blessed Virgin Mary aside from the title. That is no problem any more than the title King of Kings for Christ Himself. Unless of course one is willing to assert that that title is also heretical since it was used in the OT for idolatrous kings.

***Ezra 7:12 Artaxerxes king of kings to Esdras the priest, the most learned scribe of the law of the God of heaven, greeting.

Ezechiel 26:7 For thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will bring against Tyre Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, the king of kings, from the north, with horses, and chariots, and horsemen, and companies, and much people.

Daniel 2:37 Thou art a king of kings: and the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, and strength, and power, and glory:

2nd Machabees 13:4 But the King of kings stirred up the mind of Antiochus against the sinner, and upon Lysias suggesting that he was the cause of all the evils, he commanded (as the custom is with them) that he should be apprehended and put to death in the same place.

1st Timothy 6:15 Which in his times he shall shew who is the Blessed and only Mighty, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

Revelation 17:14 These shall fight with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, because he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and they that are with him

Revelation 19:16 And he hath on his garment, and on his thigh written: KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.***

 

[JonNC]

My Protestant neighbor was asking about Mary’s title of Queen of Heaven. She has an objection to the title. Where is that in the bible or how did we get to calling Mary by that title?

Luther referred to her by that title , so calling her that started before him.

Jon

 

[Della]

My Protestant neighbor was asking about Mary’s title of Queen of Heaven. She has an objection to the title. Where is that in the bible or how did we get to calling Mary by that title?

Two biblical references: Rev. 12:1 and 1 Kngs. 2:19-20. In the first reference St. John saw a vision of Mary/Israel/the Church as a queen “clothed with the sun” (Christ) crowned with 12 stars (sign of her authority) with the moon under her feet (showing that she is constant in virtue unlike the inconstant moon which represents sinful man). Biblical interpretation is multi-faceted. It can mean more than one thing without being contradictory.

In the second reference, King Solomon receives his mother Bathsheba, bows to her, gives her a seat beside him. None of his wives were given that privilege only his mother. In the Davidic line the mothers were considered the queen not a wife. This prefigured Jesus and his Mother. Since Jesus is the King of Heaven, it naturally follows that Mary is the Queen of Heaven.

To understand the full significance of this, though, your Protestant neighbor also has to understand the Communion of Saints. If she doesn’t you may want to explain that to her first.

 

[Randy_Carson]

My Protestant neighbor was asking about Mary’s title of Queen of Heaven. She has an objection to the title. Where is that in the bible or how did we get to calling Mary by that title?

Mary as Gebirah and Queen Mother
Taken from The Crucified Rabbi: Judaism and the Origins of Catholic Christianity
By Taylor R. Marshall

The royal and messianic Kingdom of David held its capital in Jerusalem, beginning with King David ca. 1004 B.C. and was eclipsed in 586 B.C. with the capture of King Zedekiah and the forced exile of those Jews who were still alive. Prior to the tragic Babylonian exile, the true King of Judah and heir of David sat enthroned in Jerusalem. Moreover, there were two other important figures alongside the Davidic king in the messianic court of Jerusalem. Next to the king, the second most important person in the Kingdom of Judah was the Gebirah. This Hebrew title translates literally, “Mighty Woman” and refers to the mother of the Jewish king. Most translators render Gebirah as “Queen Mother.”

This Jewish Gebirah possessed a powerful influence over the kingdom. This power and authority flowed from her status as the mother of the Davidic king, not from her own personal importance. Rightly understood, the Queen Mother held a political office and signified the legitimate genealogy of the king. King Solomon the Wise instituted the formal place of the Queen Mother when he ascended to the throne of his father, King David. One of the first things King Solomon did after his enthronement was to place a throne at his right hand and enthrone his mother as the Gebirah:

12 So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established. 13 Then Adonijah son of Haggith came to Bathsheba, Solomon’s mother. She asked, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably.” 14 Then he said, “May I have a word with you?” She said, “Go on.” 15 He said, “You know that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel expected me to reign; however, the kingdom has turned about and become my brother’s, for it was his from the LORD. 16 And now I have one request to make of you; do not refuse me.” She said to him, “Go on.” 17 He said, “Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife.” 18 Bathsheba said, “Very well; I will speak to the king on your behalf.” 19 So Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak to him on behalf of Adonijah. The king rose to meet her, and bowed down to her; then he sat on his throne, and had a throne brought for the king’s mother, and she sat on his right (1 Kings 2:12-19).

King Solomon rose to greet his mother and bowed down before her—not because he worshipped her as a goddess, but rather because as King he understood the honor due to the Queen Mother. Her presence in the court signified that Solomon was the legitimate heir of King David because she literally served as the flesh and blood link between father and son. Give the importance of genealogical dynasties, the office and role of the Queen Mother existed in many other cultures, as well. A similar office of a Gebirah was also honored in the northern kingdom of Israel. “We are going down to visit the princes and the family of the queen mother” (2 Kings 10:13).

Jeremiah highlighted the place of preeminence held by the Queen Mother by the end of the Davidic Kingdom when he wrote: “Say to the king and to the queen mother: Come down from your throne” (Jer 13:18). The end of the Davidic reign from Jerusalem is signaled by the dethronement of the Davidic king and his mother. The Queen Mother was so important that the end of the kingdom meant that she must also be deposed.

We see here that it is quite natural for Catholic Christians to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her son is the true Davidic King and she is rightly enthroned at his right hand as the Gebirah and Queen Mother of the Kingdom of God (The Crucified Rabbi, Marshall, Taylor R., p.53-54).

 

[Randy_Carson]

Mary: Queen Mother

Luke 1:31–33
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there will be no end.

Jesus inherits David’s throne, and Mary becomes Queen Mother. Support for the principle of the Queen Mother in the House of David is found clearly in the following passages:

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 king’s mother, and she sat down at his right hand.

Since Solomon had MANY wives, none of them would be queen. In fact, it was his mother that sat on the throne. This idea is also evident in the book of Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 13:18
18 Say to the king and to the queen mother, “Come down from your thrones, for your glorious crowns will fall from your heads.”

From these two passages, we can see that the mother of the king held the title of Queen in the Davidic kingdom. We also know that Mary is the Queen of Heaven from the following:

Revelation 12:1-2
1A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.

Since the writer goes on to say that the woman gave birth to a son who would rule the nations, we can conclude that the woman wearing the crown in heaven is the Mother of Jesus, Mary.

Additionally, Jesus establishes Peter as His royal steward for He gives to Peter “the keys of the kingdom of heaven”. This alludes to the prophecy of Isaiah that reads,

Isaiah 22:20-22
"In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.”

In ancient times, the king would choose a Royal Steward or prime minister who literally wore a large key as a symbol of his office and who spoke with the authority of the king. Jesus gives Peter the authority to speak in His name and extends his authority beyond the earthly realm when he gives Peter the “keys to the kingdom of heaven.”

 

[steve_b]

My Protestant neighbor was asking about Mary’s title of Queen of Heaven. She has an objection to the title. Where is that in the bible or how did we get to calling Mary by that title?

If you’ve never seen this video, it’s a good one. Only 12 minutes.
100% scriptural. Mary starts around 2minutes into the video. At 6 minutes, describes more names for Mary. At 9 min 55 sec, you see how Mary is called queen.
youtube.com/watch?v=xg2OQ_iPTv8

 

[Isaiah45_9]

My Protestant neighbor was asking about Mary’s title of Queen of Heaven. She has an objection to the title. Where is that in the bible or how did we get to calling Mary by that title?

Where is it in the bible that it has to be in the bible?

Where is the name bible in the bible?

Where are the lists of books to be included in the bible in the bible?

 

[BiffRuffle]

Somewhere in scripture, it is written that at one time, certain people worshipped a false goddess they called “Queen of Heaven.” Non-Catholics claim that by called Mary the Queen of Heaven, we are joining the pagans in their worship. Of course, that’s ridiculous - pagans and other non-Christians also call their gods God, yet we obviously use that title for the true God. Likewise, just because pagans call their goddess something, doesn’t mean the true Queen of Heaven isn’t a queen (as we see in Revelation, there is a woman, in heaven, with a crown… and I doubt she’s the cleaning lady!)