Why Don’t Fundamentalists Call Mary “Blessed”?

[hurst]

Daniel Marsh:

Ok, to expand that thought.

In our view, Jesus Christ is the centerpiece of God’s table. And, anyone who is made to look like Jesus ( sinless, assumption, typology ) is ignored as someone’s imagination running wild.

Given that God calls us to be sinless and be made into His image, you seem to be preventing the accomplishment of His Will.

For I am sure that He wishes and calls all of us to be sinless

1 Corinthians 15:34 Awake, ye just, and sin not.

2 Peter 1:10 Wherefore, brethren, labour the more, that by good works you may make sure your calling and election. For doing these things, you shall not sin at any time.

1 John 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin.

Romans 14:23 … For all that is not of faith is sin.

John 5:14 Afterwards, Jesus findeth him in the temple, and saith to him: Behold thou art made whole: sin no more, lest some worse thing happen to thee.

He wishes and calls us to be like Himself.

John 10:33 The Jews answered him: For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, maketh thyself God. 34 Jesus answered them: Is it not written in your law: I said you are gods? 35 If he called them gods, to whom to word of God was spoken, and the scripture cannot be broken; 36 Do you say of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world: Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God?

Romans 8:29 For whom he foreknew, he also predestinated to be made conformable to the image of his Son; that he might be the firstborn amongst many brethren.

Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death

Galatians 2:20 And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me

Galatians 4:6 And because you are sons, God hath sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying: Abba, Father.

Apocalypse 21:7 He that shall overcome shall possess these things, and I will be his God; and he shall be my son.

Romans 8:14 For whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God… 16 For the Spirit himself giveth testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God.

1 Peter 4:11 If any man speak, let him speak, as the words of God. If any man minister, let him do it, as of the power, which God administereth: that in all things God may be honoured through Jesus Christ: to whom is glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.

John 14:12 Otherwise believe for the very works’ sake. Amen, amen I say to you, he that believeth in me, the works that I do, he also shall do; and greater than these shall he do.

Thus, we hope to find people like Jesus, and we honor them. And this brings glory to God, for we are called unto this.

John 15:8 In this is my Father glorified; that you bring forth very much fruit, and become my disciples… 16 You have not chosen me: but I have chosen you; and have appointed you, that you should go, and should bring forth fruit; and your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

Philippians 4:17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that may abound to your account.

Romans 9:23 That he might shew the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he hath prepared unto glory?

1 Corinthians 12:26 And if one member suffer any thing, all the members suffer with it; or if one member glory, all the members rejoice with it.

Ephesians 1:18 The eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know what the hope is of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.

In other words, it is not Christian to ignore everyone except Jesus. We should rather rejoice in the Jesus we see in others, and give more honor to those who deserve it.

For example, priests that rule well

1 Timothy 5:17 Let the priests that rule well, be esteemed worthy of double honour: especially they who labour in the word and doctrine

hurst

 

[hurst]

Daniel Marsh:

Some protestants have gone as far as seeing Mary as an anti-christ. Where anti-christ is defined as “taking the place of Christ himself”.

We are all supposed to take the place of Christ, and be Christ to others.

Galatians 2:20 And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me

If you want to truly honor Christ, then abide in Him and bear fruit. And in doing so you will be another Christ.

John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me.

The anti-Christ is one who denies that Christ came in the flesh

1 John 4:3 And every spirit that dissolveth Jesus, is not of God: and this is Antichrist, of whom you have heard that he cometh, and he is now already in the world.

2 John 1:7 For many seducers are gone out into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh: this is a seducer and an antichrist.

If you think about it, those who deny that Christ lives in the flesh of the saints is a kind of anti-Christ by denying His presence in His saints! So those who deny the glory of the saints are the ones who are more accurately labeled as antichrists.

To deny Mary her God-given role and glory, is to deny Christ in her.

hurst

 

[Writer]

Jeanette L:

I just had this conversation with my parents a few weeks ago. I am converting to Catholicism and they are freaking out. But there was no reasonable response to this question. Because reason is not an issue when dealing with Marian Doctrine. Reason gets thrown out the window. It’s all gut level fear of offending God by giving any attention to any creature. Of course, I give love and attention to my friends, my family, even my pets! But to love and honor the woman who gave birth and loved and nurtured our Lord until his death, heaven forbid!

Now I have to be honest, those gut level reactions still get me on occasion, it’s kind of like slowly coming out of a phobia or something. When you’ve been programmed from birth to believe something, even if it is irrational, it takes a long time to come out from under it.

Jeanette

Well said! We also have family members who were not happy about our conversion to the Catholic Church. My grandfather, a wonderful and God-fearing pastor, has put forth the most silly arguments opposing the Church’s teachings. It is almosts as if they have blinders on and work hard at not seeing the big picture which is staring them straight in the face. The most inteligent and wonderful Protestants will sometimes say the most foolish things regarding our church home. Best wishes on your spritual journey, Jeanette…

 

[hurst]

Daniel Marsh:

We are use to praying to Jesus. Prayers to Mary or the saints is viewed as taking Jesus place thus the one mediator quotes from scripture.

Jesus always teaches us only to pray to the Father (Mat 6:6,7:11,18:19; Luke 11:2,11:13; John 4:23,15:16,16:23), and Paul also always blessed, thanked, and prayed to the Father through Jesus, not directly to Jesus (Rom 1:8,15:6,16:27; 1 Cor 1:4,15:57; 2 Cor 1:3,2:14; Eph 1:3,1:17,3:14,5:20; Philipp 4:19; Col 1:3,3:17). The only exception to this that I can find is where Paul adds thanks to Jesus for counting him faithful (1 Tim 1:11).

For we are all to give glory to God the Father, which even Jesus did.

You being “use to praying to Jesus” is simply your tradition. I don’t say it is wrong. But I say to claim we must only pray to Jesus is wrong. If you claim that we must only pray to the one mediator, then that is false. We pray through the mediator to God the Father.

Jesus mediates for our sins to the Father, but there is nothing wrong with having a mediator with Jesus, or with having someone else intercede for us. Paul himself worked hard to bring others to Christ, and called them his children, and wanted us to offer intercession for others

1 Corinthians 4:15 For if you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet not many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, by the gospel, I have begotten you.

1 Timothy 2:1 I desire therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men

Praying to Mary to offer her our gratitude and love, or to ask a favor or for intercession, is most proper and even desirable. It goes without saying that this is all done based on Christ, even as the love of children towards their mother on earth is not to the detriment of the earthly father.

Let us be united with the saints, and not separate them from Christ or the glory they have in God the Father.

hurst

 

[hurst]

Daniel Marsh:

Jesus was taken up to heaven, thus Mary’s assumption is viewed as trying to be a female Jesus.

Would that all females be so holy as to be taken into heaven.

But by your standards, men such as Henoch and Elias are competing with Jesus, since they were also taken up.

Genesis 5:23 And all the days of Henoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And he walked with God, and was seen no more: because God took him.

2 Kings 2:11 And as they went on, walking and talking together, behold a fiery chariot, and fiery horses parted them both asunder: and Elias went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

See, it just doesn’t make sense that God is minimized by such things. Rather, He is glorified in them.
Daniel Marsh:

Jesus was sinless, thus making Mary sinless is viewed as making Mary take Christ’s place.

Being sinless is not enough to accomplish the redemption. If you think redemption was accomplished solely by Jesus dying as a sinless man, then you are mistaken.

In any case, others were born sinless. Scripture tells us the prophet Jeremiah and John the Baptist were both sanctified in the womb and thus born without original sin.

hurst

 

[hurst]

Daniel Marsh:

Basically, each of the doctrines, teachings applied to Mary are compared to Jesus Christ and his Work. When the teachings comcerning Mary line up with what Jesus is or has done, then those are viewed as trying to take Jesus place.

It is too bad they are doing this. Jesus said we are all sons of God if we do His Will. Jesus Himself said we would do what He did, and even greater things.

John 10:34 Jesus answered them: Is it not written in your law: I said you are gods? 35 If he called them gods, to whom to word of God was spoken, and the scripture cannot be broken; …

John 14:12 Otherwise believe for the very works’ sake. Amen, amen I say to you, he that believeth in me, the works that I do, he also shall do; and greater than these shall he do.

One would hope that they would praise anyone who came close to doing the things Jesus did.

The test should be to see whether they are done “in Christ”, to show the glory of the Father in His Name. You shouldn’t limit God by not allowing Jesus to glorify God in His saints.
Daniel Marsh:

Many protestants think of John the Baptist example of the creature becoming less so that Jesus may become more.

So why not praise those men and women who denied themselves and let Jesus become more in them?
Daniel Marsh:

Catholics who have gone too far are viewed as Making Mary ( the creature ) more and thus making Jesus less important.

To change this understanding my Catholic brothern need to talk alot more about Jesus and sometimes speak about people like Mary.

The children are the glory of the parents. Jesus glorified His Father. We are also called to glorify His Father as children. And we honor others besides Jesus who, in Jesus, have brought glory to His Father.

We need to speak more about our Father as His children. But we need to become like children, and going to Mary helps us in that because she is so central to everything about God and our salvation.

How can you say you love God, Whom you don’t see, when you don’t love Mary, nor even want to see much of her? To love Jesus, we must obey His commands. We are commanded to love one another as He loved us. I think starting with Mary is the easiest way to start loving our fellow man, because she is so amiable and welcoming and has proven her love for us by giving us her Son, no matter how much it hurt. And she shows us how to be as Christians. She magnifies the Lord.

This is not about loving Jesus directly, it is about pleasing Him by loving others directly, because what pleases Him is not our calling Him “Lord, Lord”, but our keeping of His commandment and doing the Will of the Father to forgive others and have charity. This justice requires obedience to faith.

hurst

 

[IanS]

hurst:

Being sinless is not enough to accomplish the redemption. If you think redemption was accomplished solely by Jesus dying as a sinless man, then you are mistaken.

In any case, others were born sinless. Scripture tells us the prophet Jeremiah and John the Baptist were both sanctified in the womb and thus born without original sin.
hurst

Although they weren’t born, Adam and Eve were also “created” without sin. God also created His own Blessed Mother. He would not have created her any less than Eve. Also, there is no account by anyone who knew Mary of her being any less than perfect.