Those who have accepted the faith of the Aposltes know for sure that Mary never had other Children.
Yes. Taking a vow of lifelong chastity then throwing it away is as bad as making any vow to God then trampling it underfoot.
Of course it was possible! They were legally married. Joseph accepted and supported her vow of chastity.
I found this gem on a website that is great for searching the Scripture; I’ve been using this sight for a short time upon discovery and is much simpler than BibleGateway.com or Biblios.com. I just noticed this section of the sight and lots of good stuff, but check out this letter. It confirms what you said about Mary needing a Savior and even more interesting is Ignatius asking Mary about listening to Johns testimony and its worthiness; which means that whatever John taught Ignatias it would be similar of not exactly as in His other letters.
Those who have accepted the faith of the Aposltes know for sure that Mary never had other Children.
Yes. Taking a vow of lifelong chastity then throwing it away is as bad as making any vow to God then trampling it underfoot.
Of course it was possible! They were legally married. Joseph accepted and supported her vow of chastity.
You have misunderstood the scriptures.
Amen to God honoring the marriage covenant. However, James was not an apostle except in the general sence of the word as referred to Mark and Barnabas. James was not a believer until after the resurrection and He appeared to James and then the apostles as noted in 1 Corinthians 15. The other two Jaes were part of the 12, which is why one James is referred to James the lesser to distinquish him from the other James of Zebadee (sons of thunder); with the less referring to age, he was the younger of the two James.
We all agree on that point, so it begs the question, why do you follow that which is contradictory of both God and the apostles concerning Jesus and His brothers?
So by default is it okay to add to Scripture? Which in effect is saying that God either said too much (subtracting) or God did not say enough (adding); therefore the burden on you is to show everyone what God said outside of the Bible and show it came form God. Good luck; no one has ever been able to do it, so it is unlikely you will fair any differently, but you are welcome to try as we sit back and learn.I am willing to accept this, but you might wish to consider coming in with a better attitude. You started posting false accusations and assumptions right away, instead of framing things as questions. That kid of approach seems aggressive to us, and you can be sure that you will get a quick and sure defense. Dialogue works much better, so instead of mounting baseless accusations, maybe you can bring the rumors you have heard one at a time, and we can address them. This thread is about Mary, and you have brought in all these other issues that have nothing to do with the topic (like holy water, etc). Stay on topic, and it will go better.
Your tone sounds judgemental, especially when you make condescending remarks like “try reading your bible once in a while” and things like that.
The Word of God is not limited to the Bible.
No, prochrist1, you have been misinformed. This verse does not apply to the Bible. The Bible did not exist when it was written.
prochrist1, please save yourself some embarrassement. Before accusing catholics, study yoru istory. If you really believe that it is easy to find the first emperor of Rome, then please go and do so, and don’t try to suggest that constantine, who came along 300 years LATER had anything to do with the early development of the Church founded by Christ.
The Bible was not created until some time after Constantine, so your speculation is baseless.
I do agree, however, that people definitely twist the meaning of scripture to meet their own ends.
No you did not answer and in fact intentionally avoided, which is par for ones that do not understand the Word. Foundation in contrast to support or ground are two entirely different concepts in the Biblical context or any other context.
Really? Do you actually believe that?
You are wrong; they cannot change doctrine; they just explain it further to increase understanding by further defining what was really meant. Yeah…that’s right further defining and it doesn’t matter if the meaning is totally changed either; it is just as written…further defining that which was originally meant but was only stated as clear as it needed to be at the time. Times have changed and more defintiontion needs to be clarified to adjust to the changing times and circumstances…do you see and understand the difference?
My brother has one child. She is his firstborn. Calling someone “firstborn” in no whay implies that there were others. It merely implies that they were, well, first. Jesus tells his discipes “I will be with you always, even until the end of the age” Does that mean at the end of the Church age Jesus will no linger be with us? No “until” only implies an action to a certain point of time. It does not imply any kind of change. It is implied that Mary lived a life of chastity. At the annunciation, and Mary learns she is to give birth to the Messiah, she says “How can this be, since I know not a man?” If she had not chosen to live chastely, she would not have been confused. Rather she would have figured out, being a bright girl, that it would happen after she and Joseph were officially married. They were betrothed at this time, after all. Isn’t it up to you to prove that Mary did have other children, as it is difficult, if not impossible, to prove a negative.
The following random quotes from the book Ten Series of Meditations on the Mystery of the Rosary, by John Ferraro, is intended to give an overview of Roman Catholic dogma concerning the Virgin Mary. Ferraro’s book was given the Nihil Obstat and the Imprimatur, which is an official statement by the Roman Catholic Church that the book “is free of doctrinal or moral error.” Therefore, we can take these quotes as official Roman Catholic doctrine: I know this is where you have a tiny bit of wiggle room, but semantics is not an argument nor the grave reality of the situation.
(b) The church and the saints greet her thus: "***You, O Mary, together with Jesus Christ, redeemed us***."
(c) ***God has ordained that no grace will be granted to us except through Mary***. It is a doctrine preached by all the saints that no grace will come to us from heaven without passing through Mary's hands. ***No one will be saved nor obtain mercy ***except through You, O' heavenly lady. Remember this well, no one will enter heaven without passing through Mary as one would pass through a door. ***O' Mary, our salvation is in your hands.***
(d) During His passion, ***Mary suffered in her heart all the pains that Jesus suffered ***in His body. For this reason, God exalted her so greatly.
(e) ***Mary is our co-Redemptrix because she gave us Jesus*** pledge of our salvation. Furthermore,*** she is co-Redemptrix of the human race***, because with Christ she ransomed mankind from the power of Satan.
(f) Jesus redeemed us with the blood of His body, ***Mary with the agonies of her heart***.
(g) We were condemned through the fault of one woman; ***we are saved through the merits of another woman***. Just as Eve was the root of death for everyone, so ***Mary was the source of life ***for everyone.
(h) Mary is our co-Redemptrix because she suffered in her heart whatever was lacking in the passion of Christ. Are we obligated to Jesus for His passions? -- so we are indebted to Mary for her participation in His passions. She gave birth to Jesus with joy; she gave birth to us, brothers of Jesus, in anguish and sorrow.
(i) ***Mary, Queen of the Apostles***: She is queen of apostles because she formed them and directed them in their preaching. Mary is Queen of Apostles because by herself she routed all the heresies. ***Mary is Queen of Apostles because she is mother of grace and channel of mercy***. She is Queen of Apostles because in her every hope is life and virtue. She is Queen of Apostles because she is conqueror of the Infernal Dragon. (Emphasis added.)
(j) ***If we spread devotion to Mary, we will gain heaven ***-- "Who explains me will have life everlasting."
(k) ***God shared His power with her*** [Mary]. "My mother, ask, for I must not turn away your face." Christ speaking to Mary: "Without your command, no one shall move hand or foot in the whole land."
(l) ***All grace is passed ***from God to Jesus, ***from Jesus to Mary, and from Mary to us***. The grace of God, cure for our ills, comes to us through Mary like water through an aqueduct.
(m) ***Mary*** is the compliment of the Holy Spirit. Before God she asks not -- ***she commands!***
(n) ***No true devotee of Mary will be damned ***because she is the terrible conqueror of the devil.
(o) Because she believed in Christ's mission of salvation, ***she became the co-Redemptrix of the whole human race.***
(p) ***Mary is holier than the saints***, ***loftier than the heavens***, ***more glorious than the cherubim***, more venerable than any other creature.
(q) No one can acquire an intimate union with Jesus and a perfect fidelity to the Holy Spirit ***without being greatly united with Mary.***
(r) ***It is necessary for us to have a mediator besides Jesus ***as mediator, and we will never find one ***more qualified than Mary***. (Emphasis added.)
(s) It was never written of anyone that he became a saint without having a special devotion to Mary.
(t) When God deeply loves a soul, and finds it stained with sin, He covers it with a beautiful mantle that makes it precious to Him -- ***that mantle is Mary***.
(u) ***Mary is the ark of salvation built by God ***on the deluge of our faults so that ***whoever desires may enter and be saved***.
(v) ***Whoever is enamored of Ma***ry, attaches his soul to a steadfast anchor that ***will draw him to the port of happiness***.
(w) ***It is important to be devoted to Mary as it is to enter heaven, because no one can enter Paradise who is not devoted to Mary.***
(x) In reward for humility, God gave to Mary the power of filling with blessed souls the thrones left empty by the rebellious angels.
(y) Mary is secretary of the King of Heaven. ***It is she who writes in the Book of Life the names of the predestined, and signs them with the emblem of God. She herself is the Book of Life from which God will read the names of the elect on the day of judgment.***
(z) To be devoted to you, O' Mary, is a weapon of salvation which God gave to those whom He positively wants to save.We don’t which site you are referring to since you did not specify, but volumes of books written to explain misrepresentation. Would you like to see 2 or 3 sites that contain soo many volumes of writings to rationalize their own errors of Scripture that even the rationalizers cannot understand what is written nor have enough lifetimes to read, much less study and understand what was written?
You quoted an anti-Catholic site I am familiar with. It would take volumes of work to explain all the misrepresentations you quoted. It just shows the lengths some people go to to discredit the True faith.
I am done with you. All this stuff has been explained to you many times. The simple truth is this:YOU ABSOLUTELY REFUSE TO ADMIT THAT THE CHURCH COULD ACTUALLY BE RIGHT! THIS IS NOT ABOUT MARY, OR ANYTHING ELSE. IT IS YOUR PATHETIC HATRED OF THE ONE TRUE CHURCH! NOTHING MORE, NOTHING LESS!
Jesus was in fact the second Adam; Undermining the works of Adam did while with Eve in the garden. However, being Catholic myself I am having a hard time with the Marian Ideology. Not in malice or disrespectful way but to challenge this belief scripturaly. Note That in ALL the O.T the book was comprised of many teachings about God but also, a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ himself. The Ark of the Covenant that many assert to as being Mary personified can’t be the case. The ark was not only to house the rod of mosses and the commandments but was also to “house” the glory of the living God so that God can walk and be with his people. Similarly, when David wanted to build God the temple because God built him (David) a glorious house God told him that it was a nice jesture but that 1. David was not going to build the temple and 2. what building or structure could contain God? Obviously, no building or structure on this earth could contain God. For God is uncontainable; The ark and the tabernacle were a “veil” if you were or a copy of the heavenly taberncale not made with hands that were learned in the NT.
So you have no valid answer.