Millardo:
then how different is that from Mary, as mother of our Lord can carry Jesus, whose divinity comes from the Father alone? I do not see any difference at all.
The difference is quite dramatic if you look at the actual Biblical account, which is what really matters. The annunciation states, “Hail, favored one” (or, “woman richly blessed”) which, btw, has everything to do with her becoming the mother of the Messiah and nothing to do with her being “immaculately conceived.” The reason she’s called “favored,” or, “richly blessed” is made obvious by Gabriel. She was chosen to conceive the Messiah, which was the hope of all orthodox, Jewish women. That’s why for an orthodox Jewish woman it was a disgrace to be barren. She had no hope of being so highly favored.
“
And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.”
She would “
conceive.” That means become pregnant with a human child. Mary would be the point of entrance for the eternal Son, the second Person of the Godhead, to come into this world system and assume true humanity. Mary would conceive a truly, human child. The text explicitly states that she will bear “
a son,” not “
the Son.” She bearing a son is in the context of His humanity, not His divinity. This distinction is VERY important and reveals much about the incarnation.
It is theologically incorrect to say Mary is the “God bearer” (“theotokos”) because the son to whom she gave birth did not take on divinity, but it was the Son who assumed true humanity. This theological distinction is important to understand. So think about it before responding with a knee-jerk reaction.
And as I stated above, Mary is that point of entrance by which the Son entered humanity. Mary truly
conceived. Her conception was truly miraculous, but nevertheless a true conception like any other woman’s conception. She gave birth to a child no differently than any other woman would give birth to a child. That’s what the incarnation is all about, that’s the miracle of it all. And per the instruction of Gabriel, that human child she conceived and gave birth to was to be named Jesus. The man “Jesus” did not exist before the incarnation. Certainly God the Son did, but not the man-child “Jesus.” At a definite point in time, in the history of mankind, the Son was “born” into this world system as a true man. It is this true humanity to which Mary was connected. She became the mother of the man Jesus, the long expected Messiah. The truth is she bears no connection to His Divinity - neither then, now, or ever.
The rationale for Mary to be called “God-bearer” because the son she bore was God, crosses the theological distinction between humanity and divinity, and beclouds, if not totally distorts, the wondrous, doctrinal truth that the Son assumed true humanity - the true miracle of the incarnation.
The Council that assigned her that title certainly meant well, based on the Christological opposition of the time but, nonetheless, erred. The extra-biblical doctrines that subsequently developed around Mary are certainly proof of their error.
However, prayers to the saints is done because in the pleasure of God; meaning He allows it as it is talking to a fellow believer in Christ, who is ahead of us and is more alive now in Christ.
There is no Scriptural example of any of the Apostles ever petitioning any deceased believers through the medium of prayer. You have no Scriptural authority or any divine revelation to say that “
God allows it.” To simply say that it is “Catholic doctrine” is not sufficient. Yours is a totally assumptive statement based solely on the teachings of Catholicism, but not Divine revelation…
Being able to hear the prayers of fellow believers on earth while now existing in heaven has nothing to do with being “
more alive.” No matter how much “
more alive” one might be in the presence of Christ, being able to hear the prayers of believers on earth requires not “
more life” (putting it in your terminology), but the Divine attribute of
omniscience, if not even
omnipresence. And these attributes no creature will ever possess, whether angelic or human. They belong to Divinity alone. The false idea that fellow believers in heaven can hear the petitions of their brethren on earth opposes, nay, destroys, the infinite distinction between the creature and the Creator.
Jesus taught His disciples to whom they were to pray in Luke chapter eleven. And in the Epistles never is prayer directed to deceased “saints” now in heaven. The reasons are obvious.
Blessings,
Bene
reappearing . (Sigh…).:nope: