Mary as Immaculate Conception

  • Thread starter Thread starter Randy_Carson
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Adam and Eve were created without sin.
Did that make them equal to God?..
I had the same or similar thoughts as Randy:

Leslie,

if Eve would not have sinned would she have been equal to her Creator?

Of course not!

Are the Angels who did not rebel against God, equal to God?

Of course not!
 
Yes, of course… What I meant was that from my experience of entering into the
Catholic church I was not required to “accept Mary as having anything to do
with being under the Grace of God”… Not that she has no value in the church.
Or that one can’t go to her as in the form of a petition prayer, which I do. But
that it seems there are so many non catholics who seem to believe that one
has to acknowledge her in some formal way in order to become a christian.

I personally think one of the main differences of fundelmental christians and
Catholics is that they are more an legalistic individual in their Christian
walk and Catholics lean more towards community from a family point of view
Where as Jesus, Mary and Joseph is considered the first family.

I feel that we should enter into a relationship with the first family and extent
that same idea to anyone around us. “The world will know you are of me when
they see how your love one another” Thus we need community to show we
are receiving the Grace of God by the love of our community"

But it seemed to me, that so many non-catholics here seem to really have
a deep hang up with what they “think” we feel towards her and her role.
and I was trying to just rid their minds of this false idea of what the
Church teaches in regards to her which seems to have really struck
some fear and excitment in some non catholics
I was thinking… maybe if we can just clear them of that idea we are taught she is divine and or that we pray to her from that perspective we might could ease their excitment down some and then we might be able to present her to them from what we really feel about her
and try to help them to find her in their christian walk of life…

I think I personally see her as even more then the four you mentioned as
what the church teaches… but that is my personal view and abstract as
it might be it has helped me many times with certain situations I have
endured in my life with Christ…

I really like what you write have written and I appreciate your interest and helpful comments.
I thank you for your kind words. I agree most polemicists against Marian doctrines seem to focus on her more than anyone. Even Dr. Mark Miravalle can’t keep up:)

I agree I don’t know of a formal requirement of specifically accepting Mary to become Catholic. But some of our separated brethren would choke on certain parts of the Mass if they think praying to Our Lady is idolatry.
 
Quote from
Life4seekers
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the role of Mary in the Catholic faith?

Catholics honour Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Mary is important because she points to Jesus and is the way God chose to come to us in Jesus. Indeed God made her ready to be Mother of his Son by making her uniquely free from the stain of Original Sin (the immaculate conception). Jesus is fully God and fully divine. This wonderful mystery comes about because God is the father of Jesus and Mary is his mother. Because Mary is his mother, Jesus is fully one of us, he is fully human. He takes to himself, through Mary, the fullness of our humanity so that all that is human may be redeemed. In Mary we see God loving us by choosing to come to us through a simple, young, poor woman.

Mary is also a model for how Christians act. She says “yes” to God and because of this, God does wonderful things through her. Mary doesn’t appear very much in the New Testament, but every time she does appear it is at a vital moment. She is there accepting the frightening message of the angel. (Lk 1: 26-38) She is there proclaiming God’s power in turning upside down the order of the world “putting down the mighty and raising up the humble”. (Lk 1:46-55) She is there at the wedding feast of Cana and right at the start of the ministry of Jesus she tells the servants at the wedding, and us, "do whatever he (Jesus) tells you. (Jn 2:1-12)She is there during the ministry of Jesus, and there we hear Jesus refusing to say “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that suckled you” but saying “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it” (Lk 11:27) or “My mother and brothers they are those who hear the word of God and act upon it” (Lk 8:21) – and that surely describes Mary. She is there at the cross, suffering with her Son (Jn 19:25-27). She is there after the resurrection, praying with the apostles (Acts 1:14)

There is danger of making Mary into a model of a submissive woman. In fact she is a strong woman: a woman who can face pain and suffering, a woman who can face social disgrace, a woman who can be a refugee. We see a woman who has the courage to hear the word of God and act upon it. A woman with the wisdom to say to the angel “I am the handmaid of the Lord, let it be to me according to what you say” (Lk 2:38) The strength to accept God’s will is strength indeed. Mary is not just a theological principle, Not just a model of how we should behave, she is a person we relate to. We come to her as a mother who loves us. At the foot of the Cross there is a wonderful moment when Jesus says to his disciple John “Behold your Mother” and to Mary “Behold your Son”. (Jn 19:27) Catholics have always found ourselves in this exchange. We, the followers of Jesus, have Mary as our mother, and Mary has us as her children. And it is in this personal relationship that we ask Mary, our Mother to help us. We’re not making her equal to God, but we’re asking her to pray for us, just as we might ask any trusted friend to help us.
Hope this helps
 
Being reasonable is a courtesy and there are some on this thread that could show one another a little more respect/
I find it best to report such posts and let the Moderators arbitrate the sour behaviors.

At any rate even if the posts are not reported, the rude posts speak for themselves. Perhaps letting others read them and judge for themselves the content is the best punishment for a sour disposition. 🤷
 
Adam and eve sinned and their sin was passed to us which was origninal sin so through them we have all sinned, but Christ.
You have a seriously deficient understanding of Original Sin, here is something to help you understand:
How did the sin of Adam become the sin of all his descendants? The whole human race is in Adam “as one body of one man”.[sup]293[/sup] By this “unity of the human race” all men are implicated in Adam’s sin, as all are implicated in Christ’s justice. Still, the transmission of original sin is a mystery that we cannot fully understand. But we do know by Revelation that Adam had received original holiness and justice not for himself alone, but for all human nature. By yielding to the tempter, Adam and Eve committed a personal sin, but this sin affected the human nature that they would then transmit in a fallen state.[sup]294[/sup] It is a sin which will be transmitted by propagation to all mankind, that is, by the transmission of a human nature deprived of original holiness and justice. And that is why original sin is called “sin” only in an analogical sense: it is a sin “contracted” and not “committed” - a state and not an act.

405
Although it is proper to each individual,[sup]295[/sup] original sin does not have the character of a personal fault in any of Adam’s descendants. It is a deprivation of original holiness and justice, but human nature has not been totally corrupted: it is wounded in the natural powers proper to it, subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin - an inclination to evil that is called concupiscence". Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ’s grace, erases original sin and turns a man back towards God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle.

. . .

[sup]293[/sup] St. Thomas Aquinas, De Malo 4,1.
[sup]294[/sup] Cf. Council of Trent: DS 1511-1512
[sup]295[/sup] Cf. Council of Trent: DS 1513.The above is the always held, orthodox, and true understanding of Original Sin.
Nowere dies it say that Mary was sinnless, and that she never commited a sin.
This is a non argument, there is nothing in the Bible that says she DID sin. I don’t see why this matters to you anyway. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we are saved by faith alone, or that the Bible is the only source of Christian truth and the only rule of faith, yet you believe those are true. PLUS, there is biblical evidence that says we are not saved by faith alone, and also that the Bible is not the only source of Christian truth, etc., etc. Since these are not in Bible (plus they were not believed by the early Church, where as the the Immaculate Conception [of Mary, not Jesus] was), why do you believe they are true?
I guess that is what us former C and Prostestants think…
And you are wrong.
She is not a perfect person or you are putting on the same level as Christ, and that is Blasphemy…
If by “perfect” you mean “sinless,” then yes, Mary was and is a perfect person. Now, if being without sin means you are on the same level as Christ, you would have to say that Adam and Eve were gods . . . so, yeah, being sinless is not limited to God; all people are sinless in heaven.
He was the sinnless sacrifice…Mary was not…
No Catholic has ever, nor will ever, claim that Mary was the “sinnless [sic] sacrifice,” it is absurd that you would say Catholics believe this; it is simply further evidence that you really do not know the Catholic faith. Then again, you really don’t care.
Mary WAS NOT PERFECT and she did sin or God would have made sure that it was clear in His word,
It is unclear to you, it is clear to us. This is yet another problem with Protestantism, Protestants seem to think that their perspective is the only perspective.
not in the extras that the CC somes up with,
Name one.
and this was not done. It was made VERy clear about Christ Jesus though.
Yes, it was made clear about Christ, and it was made clear about Mary too; we have different perspectives. What matters is which one holds up to scrutiny. Why does the dogma of the Immaculate Conception bother you so much?
As much you want her to be perfect she was not…ONLY CHRIST.
Prove it, show me one verse that says, “Christ Jesus alone is without sin.”
thats why was the blood sacrifice that set us all free uncluding Mary.
Christ’s sacrifice was not efficacious simply because He is sinless, it is because He is God. An infinite offense committed by a finite creature can only be atoned for by an infinite being, i.e. God, aka Jesus Christ.
You can talk until you are blue in the face and you can only say she was perfect by your writings…NOT Gods.
We’ve shown you how God’s and man’s writings prove that she is sinless plenty of times.
I go by Gods…
If you went completely by God’s words, and not you fallible interpretation of them, you would see that Mary lived a sinless life.
And as I said before…if she where perfect and never sinned SHE could have been the blood sacrifice…
This is false as I have shown you, Jesus’ sacrifice was not efficacious simply because He is sinless, it’s because He is God.
You ARE makiing her equal to God and you are WRONG.
If being sinless means you are God, then you would have to say there are at least three gods, our God and Adam and Eve. If you believe that souls are truly sinless when they get to heaven then you will have to believe that there are more gods than the ancient Greeks believed in . . .
 
In case you forget the most basic teaching in the Sunday School room,that would be the “Ten Commandments” and the very first one is"Thou shalt have no other Gods before me,I am a jealous God!"
Hmmm,what do you suppose God meant?Could he have meant unless you want to elevate someone right up there with me,as having the same respect that God has:eek:
“So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5, 48

When God created Mary’s soul, he sanctified it with his grace so that his Only-begotten Son would have the perfect mother he is entitled to by virtue of his divinity. To be perfect one must be in the state of sanctifying grace, which is a participation in the divine life. One remains in this state as long as she observes God’s commandments. To love God is to keep his commandments. God efficaciously willed that the Mother of his Son be a completely worthy mother, one whose love for her divine Son be faultless, and so she was created sinless and kept sinless by His efficacious grace throughout her entire life. At the Annunciation the archangel Gabriel venerably saluted Mary by addressing her as one who has been perfected by grace permanently (kecharitomene). St. Paul teaches us that divine grace is an antidote to sin. Thus, by the grace of God, Mary was fashioned and preserved pure and spotless in body and soul on account of her predestination to the divine maternity. She had no sinless nature to begin with, and by her cooperation with God’s grace she remained sinless. In Mary’s own words (Lk 1:46):* My soul does magnify the Lord*. God is glorified by his greatest creation: the perfect mother for His Incarnate Self. God could not be perfect if he intended something imperfect exclusively for himself. Creation is imperfect, but God did not intend it to be so. He simply allowed it for a greater good. Needless to say, creation does not belong to the hypostatic order of creation.

St. Luke compares Mary with the ark of the Covenant, thereby typifing her as a sacred vessel which must be kept free from putridity and corruption. We honour Mary and call her blessed because of the great things God has done for her, which she humbly and gratefully acknowledges in her canticle of praise. And by honouring the magnificent work of God’s hands, we honour and praise the Creator. Devotion to Mary rests on her unmerited gift of the divine maternity, the raison d’etre for her sinless perfection. All generations shall call Mary blessed because of whom her Son is, for whom she was created and preserved spotless like the unblemished lamb she bore.

“He was born of Mary the fair ewe.”
Melito de Sardo (A.D. 177)

Ignorance is no excuse for breaking the laws 😃
One can only be held morally responsible for breaking the law through full knowledge and consent. 😃

Pax Christu :harp:
 
I had the same or similar thoughts as Randy:

Leslie,

if Eve would not have sinned would she have been equal to her Creator?

Of course not!

Are the Angels who did not rebel against God, equal to God?

Of course not!
Of course not…she would have been sinnless however not commiting the sin Adan did, but then that is all water under the bridge isn’t it…they both did sin…at no time where wither one equal to God…Nothing created by God could ever be equal to Him…pretty simple
 
Of course not…she would have been sinnless however not commiting the sin Adan did, but then that is all water under the bridge isn’t it…they both did sin…at no time where wither one equal to God…Nothing created by God could ever be equal to Him…pretty simple
If you really have the truth of God’s word then you cannot contradict yourself. In post number 500, you said that by saying Mary was sinless, we make her equal to God. The logical implications are that you believe anyone/thing without sin is equal to God; therefore, by your own logic, you would have to say that either Adam and Eve were equal to God, or that being sinless does not make you equal to God.
 
If you really have the truth of God’s word then you cannot contradict yourself. In post number 500, you said that by saying Mary was sinless, we make her equal to God. The logical implications are that you believe anyone/thing without sin is equal to God; therefore, by your own logic, you would have to say that either Adam and Eve were equal to God, or that being sinless does not make you equal to God.
Excellent point, zach! :clapping:

There are many creatures that are sinless but unequal to God–Adam and Eve prior to the fall, cherubim, seraphim, St. Michael, St. Raphael…
 
Of course not…she would have been sinnless however not commiting the sin Adan did, but then that is all water under the bridge isn’t it…they both did sin…at no time where wither one equal to God…Nothing created by God could ever be equal to Him…pretty simple
But the serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.”
Genesis 3, 4-5

Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. Whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning.
1 John 3, 7-8

We presume to equate ourselves with God and take his place by judging for ourselves what is good and bad for us with complete indifference towards His commandments and an aversion towards His will. It is when we sin that we try to elevate ourselves to being gods by selfishly making ourselves the highest object of our love. It is because God is the highest object of our love that we refuse to give in to the serpent’s temptations and disobey Him who is the Supreme Good and thereby most worthy of our love. The Blessed Virgin Mary pronounced her* fiat* because of her love for God and her humble trust in His will. Our Lord regarded her more blessed for having observed the will of God and having kept His word in her heart than for bearing Him in her womb (Lk 11:28). Unlilke Eve, Mary, the new Eve, did not presume to make herself equal to God by disobeying His will. Mary’s sinless Yes undid Eve’s sinful No: Non serviam! Mary was humbly content to be an adopted child of God by conforming her will with His. And so the archangel Gabriel could assure Mary that* the Lord was with her* and had found her worthy to be the mother of His divine Son. No one who remains in him sins (1 Jn 3:6).

“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
Luke 1, 45

“This Virgin Mother of the Only-Begotten of God, is called Mary, worthy of God, immaculate of the immaculate, one of the one.”
Origen (A.D. 244)


PAX :heaven:
 
But the serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.”
Genesis 3, 4-5

Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. Whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning.
1 John 3, 7-8

We presume to equate ourselves with God and take his place by judging for ourselves what is good and bad for us with complete indifference towards His commandments and an aversion towards His will. It is when we sin that we try to elevate ourselves to being gods by selfishly making ourselves the highest object of our love. It is because God is the highest object of our love that we refuse to give in to the serpent’s temptations and disobey Him who is the Supreme Good and thereby most worthy of our love. The Blessed Virgin Mary pronounced her* fiat* because of her love for God and her humble trust in His will. Our Lord regarded her more blessed for having observed the will of God and having kept His word in her heart than for bearing Him in her womb (Lk 11:28). Unlilke Eve, Mary, the new Eve, did not presume to make herself equal to God by disobeying His will. Mary’s sinless Yes undid Eve’s sinful No: Non serviam! Mary was humbly content to be an adopted child of God by conforming her will with His. And so the archangel Gabriel could assure Mary that* the Lord was with her*.

“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
Luke 1, 45

“This Virgin Mother of the Only-Begotten of God, is called Mary, worthy of God, immaculate of the immaculate, one of the one.”
Origen (A.D. 244)


PAX :heaven:
Very insightful post! Very fine job, sir!
 
Of course not…she would have been sinnless however not commiting the sin Adan did, but then that is all water under the bridge isn’t it…they both did sin…at no time where wither one equal to God…Nothing created by God could ever be equal to Him…pretty simple
I was trying to get you to see that sinlessness doesn’t necessarily = God

although God is sinless.

can you at least give us Catholics this much?

that the teaching that Mary did not sin and was spared from the stain of original sin doesn’t elevate her to the status of God.
 
I was trying to get you to see that sinlessness doesn’t necessarily = God

although God is sinless.

can you at least give us Catholics this much?

that the teaching that Mary did not sin and was spared from the stain of original sin doesn’t elevate her to the status of God.
I doubt she’ll be able to LionHeart, her poor catechesis has firmly set a “Catholics are absolutely wrong all the time, no matter how logically correct their arguments are ( 😃 )” mentality within her. The only purpose I see in prolonging this thread is for the lurkers. That’s right, lurkers, we’re doing this for you! 😉 🙂
 
But the serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.”
Genesis 3, 4-5

Children, let no one deceive you. The person who acts in righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. Whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning.
1 John 3, 7-8

We presume to equate ourselves with God and take his place by judging for ourselves what is good and bad for us with complete indifference towards His commandments and an aversion towards His will. It is when we sin that we try to elevate ourselves to being gods by selfishly making ourselves the highest object of our love. It is because God is the highest object of our love that we refuse to give in to the serpent’s temptations and disobey Him who is the Supreme Good and thereby most worthy of our love. The Blessed Virgin Mary pronounced her* fiat* because of her love for God and her humble trust in His will. Our Lord regarded her more blessed for having observed the will of God and having kept His word in her heart than for bearing Him in her womb (Lk 11:28). Unlilke Eve, Mary, the new Eve, did not presume to make herself equal to God by disobeying His will. Mary’s sinless Yes undid Eve’s sinful No: Non serviam! Mary was humbly content to be an adopted child of God by conforming her will with His. And so the archangel Gabriel could assure Mary that* the Lord was with her* and had found her worthy to be the mother of His divine Son. No one who remains in him sins (1 Jn 3:6).

“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
Luke 1, 45

“This Virgin Mother of the Only-Begotten of God, is called Mary, worthy of God, immaculate of the immaculate, one of the one.”
Origen (A.D. 244)


PAX :heaven:
Excellent post.

For Leslie:
“For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” Gen. 3:5 (KJV).
Becoming a ‘little god’ is the foundation of your problem with the Blessed Mother.
Take the word of a former anti-Catholic preacher. She is your mother too. She loves you and wants you to come home to His Church.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top