Protestants and Mary. What is their beef?

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Hello all. I am currently reading the amazing “True Devotion to Mary” and it is wonderful:)

As I went to look up more Mariology, I came across a lot of Protestant jibber jabber about us being Pagans and what have you.

landoverbaptist.org/sermons/dangcatholics.html

The link above is staggering to say the least. I knew Protestants/Baptists were… out there but wow.

“Did you know that Catholics are so darn stupid they believe that Mary was a virgin until the day she died? I guess they never read about what happened when Jesus visited his home town in Matthew 13:55-56 and all his old neighbors proclaimed, “Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?” You see! Mary had a whole litter of kids! Everyone in Nazareth knew it. But them Pope-lovin’, candle-lighting, ring-kissin’ Catholics deny it!”

A wee excerpt from it. I was curious. Are we as Catholics, stupid for “worshiping” Mary?
 
OH and another excerpt from from the article.

“Something that should clue the world in is the fact that Catholics insist on getting ALL their information about the Bible from old men who like to play with little boys’ penises.”

It truly seems Protestants have a massive disdain for our affinity to the Holy Mother.
 
what i can’t understand is why they are so hell-bent to prove that Mary wasn’t a virgin for the rest of her life? i mean, they don’t care about her anyway so why the necessity to probe more into her life for someone they don’t have any regard for? of course the biggest reason i can see is the, “we’re right, the Catholics are wrong,” mentality they have that they just have to win every argument against us
 
but Mark, the fact is a lot of Protestant denominations are bent on teaching that Mary had other children and that she didn’t remain a virgin

since they don’t have a high regard for Our Lord’s mother, the only other purpose i can see is that they want to use it as an anti-Catholic argument. if we’re wrong on Mary, then we’re wrong in our entire faith, therefore people should join their church
 
Not all Protestants. Some (especially Lutherans and Episcopalians) have a great devotion to the Virgin Mary. Indeed I know an episcopal church which is named St. Mary the Virgin (and yes, they mean the mother of Jesus). And even some “Bible believing” Christians, while they obviously don’t accept teachings like the Immaculate Conception, still think that Mary was a blessed woman. While they don’t necessarily think she stayed a virgin they also (if shown that Scripture shows the people mentioned as ‘brothers’ are not the sons of Mary) also amenable to the idea that she did not necessarily have to have children other than Jesus. So I think it safe to say only that SOME Protestants may be indifferent to Mary, and only a vocal FEW actually display dislike and that is usually based on their own flawed interpretations and what has been taught (mistakenly) to them.
 
choy said:
what i can’t understand is why they are so hell-bent to prove that Mary wasn’t a virgin for the rest of her life? i mean, they don’t care about her anyway so why the necessity to probe more into her life for someone they don’t have any regard for? of course the biggest reason i can see is the, “we’re right, the Catholics are wrong,” mentality they have that they just have to win every argument against us
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That seems about right. I have seen a few Protestant and Catholic debates.

The Protestant is almost entirely stuck in the Bible. It seems like they are more like worker bees then humans. For that, I am scared, original thought seems to be frowned upon and questioning the Bible, no matter how innocent, just seems to fuel their anger. It almost seems they have an authoritative need to be dominated. Basically they remind me of Muslims but a wee bit water downed.
 
Mary represents perfect Chastity…

The majority of Protestants reject the premise that perfect Chastity is possible.
(dunghills covered in snow, God cannot see our sin, etc)

The solution is to not focus on Mary but to focus on Chastity and the possibility that with God we can be Chaste. This is difficult as you will notice when you talk to non-catholics about Chastity most will insist that it is not possible, some deep down inside know it is possible but do not want to admit it as this means they are quite sinful and are not accepting God’s Grace in rejecting the sin.

The point to drive home is to ask if being Chaste is possible with God’s Grace. Can God help someone not sin. Catholics actually believe in a God that cares about us and wants us to be Holy. Since this is logical you can lead everyone who is honest to a greater acceptance of the true image of God as good and Holiness as possible.

Many former Catholics after rejecting Catholicism and seeking a way not to have to confess will then use their misunderstanding of Catholicism to accuse Catholics of Mary worship… Just focus on Chastity and how Catholics worship God, Mary is our model of Holiness and either they will come closer to just stop wanting to talk to you.

Pray and allow God to bring you to greater Chastity, be a model to others and over time some will change their hearts.

In Christ
Scylla
 
Tantum_ergo said:
Not all Protestants. Some (especially Lutherans and Episcopalians) have a great devotion to the Virgin Mary. Indeed I know an episcopal church which is named St. Mary the Virgin (and yes, they mean the mother of Jesus). And even some “Bible believing” Christians, while they obviously don’t accept teachings like the Immaculate Conception, still think that Mary was a blessed woman. While they don’t necessarily think she stayed a virgin they also (if shown that Scripture shows the people mentioned as ‘brothers’ are not the sons of Mary) also amenable to the idea that she did not necessarily have to have children other than Jesus. So I think it safe to say only that SOME Protestants may be indifferent to Mary, and only a vocal FEW actually display dislike and that is usually based on their own flawed interpretations and what has been taught (mistakenly) to them.
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Fair enough. I may have been to quick to rush to make such a statement. Still new to the faith. Pardon me:o:p
 
not just pefect chastity but Mary represents perfect Christianity

her devotion to her Son and pefect submission to God’s will. even the Apostles faltered in their faith, but Mary didn’t.
 
I love True Devotion:thumbsup:

that website is a fake… but I can see a very similar attitude in some Protestants (usually evangelicals, not so much Lutherans or others who are more traditional). I think it’s really sad but it’s based on misunderstanding. 😦
 
The beef results in the inability to answer a variety of questions so it becomes a chance to name call, etc. In answer to questions like, “What happened to all the early Christians?” Answer: “We really don’t know.” “If the Bible says, ‘This is my body and this is my blood’, why isn’t the verse taken literally when you insist on taking Bible verses literally?” Answer: “We don’t believe that” I could go on and on about things and, yes, they do believe that we worship statues and Mary. They do not see the difference between worship and honor. If those “pastors” are half as intelligent as they purport themselves to be or half as “spirit filled” they do know where information is concerning early Christians, and do pick and choose which Bible verses to take literally and which ones they choose to avoid because it opens up the reality of transubstantiation. The “pastors” really do teach things like the ones cited above and in the previous posts. How can protestant people possibly have a chance of knowing the truth if that’s what they are taught three times a week, which is the “required” church attendance (to be a “good, Godly, Bible-reading one”, that is) along with no drinking, dressing “modestly” (read your hair must not be cut, worn a certain way, and you need to look just like us) in some denominations and a host of other things, such as the rosary being bad because it’s just “repetitious prayers that God condemns”? Their beef is that they are taught to be scared of Mary as “the probable (at best) whore of Babylon”, taught that we worship Mary rather than honor her, taught that our priests are all pedophiles and power hungry making you think that they hold heaven and hell over you, that all priests are after is money - “look at the churches they have all full of expensive things that could be better put to use.” The beef orginates from the universities and colleges where these men and/or women are taught - after all the “seminaries” need to teach that or they’d be out of a job, the “pastors” teach that because they’d be out of a job and the money that would ordinarily be spent beautifying the place where God literally resides in the tabernacle - it needs to go into their pockets or for a “soul winning crusade” so they can add to the numbers in the church. They must provide scare tactics in order to keep the money flowing toward them. If a “pastor” actually honestly answered the above questions there is no way that the person would not immediately explore Catholicism and convert. The truth cannot be ignored. The average protestant believes what they are told and parrot it to the world. The focus is more on “looking right, carrying your Bible, soul winning, saying the right catch phrases, etc.” than on working on their interior life. Anything that questions this is immediately condemned as “traditions of men or against something in the Bible.” This then becomes a “beef.” I know I rambled on as I’m rather tired today but, hopefully, some priest or brother will come along and put it more succinctly.
 
choy said:
not just pefect chastity but Mary represents perfect Christianity

her devotion to her Son and pefect submission to God’s will. even the Apostles faltered in their faith, but Mary didn’t.
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I agree…

The biggest aspect of perfect Christianity is in Chastity that people have these days which is why there is such a focus on Mary and her being sinless.

She is the model for all of Christianity, but then you end up being Catholic and many people look for reasons not to be Catholic because they are misinformed or have a problem with their own personal sin.

In Christ
Scylla
 
I was a Protestant Pastor for over 45 years. Mary was held in great respect by most of the Protestants I personally knew. When Catholic people say “most Protestants” and “the majority of Protestants,” they need to make very sure they know what they are talking about. Protestant Churches, like the Catholic Church, have radical fringe that do not reflect the teachings and beliefs of the majority.
 
If they accept just “one” truth, i.e. The Virgin Birth, The Immaculate Conception, The Authority of the the Pope, then their row of dominoes starting tipping and the foundation of their faith - ignorance - vanishes.

Who wants to declare their life effort was wrong headed and start all over again?

Saints, that is who. Most of the Saints found themselves in similar circumstances, but allowed the dominoes to tip, declared their foolishness and falsehoods, and embraced the truth of the Catholic Church, Jesus and Mary.

The Baptist Church is filled with a lot of potential Saints, and after listening to Steve Rays CD’s , I sincerely hope they find their way home.
 
scylla:

That is exactly how I viewed Mary, a role model and even more so when Saint Louis de Montfort, very clearly and readily explains Mary’s position within Christendom and indeed our salvation. If we are more Chaste like she before us was. Then we too stand an ever greater chance to meet Jesus and God in a more holy setting.

Why anyone, regardless of faith, would say I or anyone else worships Mary, is both confusing and insulting to not only myself, Catholicism/Christianity but also for the Blessed Virgin Mary, for her deep humility allows her to know exactly where she belongs in the Kingdom of Heaven and in turn this blasphemer works to stain the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jane11:

One of the best responses I read about Protestants.

Julian0404:

Based on ignorance indeed. I understand not all Protestants are as whacky as the Evangelicals or Baptists or whatever denomination of Protestantism one chooses.
 
Do I know you from somewhere, Mist? 😉

As for Protestant disdain for the Blessed Mother and the dogmas the Catholic Church teaches about her, oftentimes it also seems like a matter of ego. They can’t dare to tolerate their version of Jesus being in any way lessened or threatened. Essentially, they’re doing what they ought to be doing as Catholics - defending dogma.

Chesterton described Protestantism (I think, or else he may have meant it about all non-Catholic religions and philosophies) as taking one element of Catholicism, magnifying and distorting it, and minimizing the rest accordingly. Most Protestant sects have one such example of that in common: Sola Scriptura. Essentially, the Catholic version of a healthy approach towards the Scriptures is taken out of context with the rest of Church teaching, magnified and distorted into the concept known as the “Bible alone”, and everything else about Catholicism is pushed aside. Thus, when something like the Blessed Mother is mentioned, hysterics can ensue (depending on the sect or individual) because most Marian dogma is found outside the Bible. In the twisted world of Sola Scriptura, if it’s not in the Bible (and by this we mean a Protestant version, not the authentic version used by the Church) it’s wicked and insane. Never mind the fact that Sola Scriptura isn’t in the Bible, but that’s another problem.

There is a thread somewhere else on this forum where a Bible-thumper indeed has a “hate on” for Catholic teaching regarding the Blessed Mother and refuses to admit that Sola Scriptura isn’t found in the Bible. That’s why so many Protestants get so upset about Catholic teaching - they hamstring themselves from the get-go.
 
Sola Scriptura? Are you saying that the Protestants follow the false word of God?

I can’t understand this whole “Bible alone” insanity:confused: That is just blind faith, exemplified by their unwillingness to look outside and see God’s glory and not just his word.

Thanks for the replies:)
 
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