Taken from "Mary and Roman Catholic teaching"
by David Wolfinger, Baptist Bulletin, Dec. 1995 (Vol 61,no
6) pages 14-17. (Republished by The Church,
March 1996, #10963 p.22) "Bible-believing Christians
need to understand where Roman Catholic teachings
about Mary originated, what doctrines are currently
held, and where they lead.
History. Female deities were worshiped in the pagan world (e.g.,
Diana in Ephesus, Aphrodite in Corinth). After Constantine
made Christianity the state of religion, worship of
female fertility goddesses was transferred to
Mary. Apocryphal writings fueled Mary-worship with
their claims of her sinlessness and perpetual virginity.
In 431 A.D., the Council of Ephesus dubbed Mary the
"mother of God." Fifth- and sixth- century veneration
of Mary can be traced directly to Ephesus. By the 13th and 14th
centuries the medieval Church saw Mary as a source of grace and
power, a mediator who could keep God, the vengeful judge,
from striking down sinful mankind.
At the Council of Trent in 1546, the veneration
of Mary became official Catholic doctrine. She was
declared sinless, and in 1854 Pope Pius IX added that her
conception was immaculate as well, preserving her
from original sin. The Vatican Council of 1870 ratified
Mary's immaculate conception and further stated
that the popes were infallible.
Current doctrine. In 1950 Pope Pius XII decreed that
Mary had been "assumed body and soul into
heavenly glory." Vatican II calls Mary
the "Mother of the Church" and partially credits her
for the new birth. She is considered the "second Eve"
in the same manner that Scripture calls Jesus the second Adam.
New directions, Because Mary "shared her Son's suffering
on the cross," some Catholic theologians see
her as fulfilling the Old Testament priestly role in offering
sacrifice. Vatican II hinted at Mary's role in Pentecost.
Catholics involved in the charismatic movement call her the "The
Spouse of the Holy Spirit."
Clearly the Church's trend has been to "substitute devotion
to Mary for devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ." The view
of Mary as a singular being to whom all perfection and privilege
must be attributed, and her elevation with Christ,
give some indication of where Catholic doctrine is headed.
Virgin Mary sightings heighten Egyptian tensions in Shentena
El-Hagar, Egypt. The Virgin herself alighted atop the steeple,
a vision to the faithful. Muslims, angered by tens of thousands
of pilgrims packing the village, attacked Christian homes and
shops. For three nights Islamic militants smashed windows and
chanted slogans praising Islam and cursing Christianity.
Abdel-Nour said town youths saw the first sign of the Virgin in
the red lights and silver-white objects swirling around the church
steeple.. he saw "a dove and a strong white light."
"And then illuminated objects flew above the church.. spiritual
images." We wanted very much to see the Virgin," the
priest said. "God granted our wish, and she came."
Newsweek Magazine, August 15, 1997. "40,383 signatures attached
to a petition asking the pope to exercise the power of papal infallibility
to proclaim a new dogma of Roman Catholic faith: that the Virgin
Mary is "Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix of All Graces and Advocate
for the People of God.. In the last four years, the pope has received
4,340,429 signatures from 157 countries - an average of 100,000
a month - supporting proposed dogma. Among notable supporters
are Mother Teresa of Calcutta, nearly 500 bishops and 42 cardinals,
including John O'Connor of New York.. If the drive succeeds, Catholics
would be obliged as a matter of faith to accept three extraordinary
doctrines: that Mary participates in the redemption achieved by
her son, that all graces that flow from the suffering and death
of Jesus Christ are granted only through Mary's intercession with
her son, and that all prayers and petitions from the faithful
on earth must likewise flow through Mary, who then brings them
to the attention of Jesus." [No wonder Mary is busy all over
the world appearing to admirers]
"This is what theologians call high Mariology, and it seems
to contradict the basic New Testament belief that "there
is one God and one mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus."
(1 Timothy 2:5) [Interesting, the media is even taking a stand
and quoting Scripture]. In place of the Holy Trinity, it would
appear, there would be a kind of Holy Quartet, with Mary playing
the multiple roles of daughter of the Father, mother of the Son
and spouse of the Holy Spirit.. the leader of the petition drive
and a lay theologian at Franciscan University in Steubenville,
Ohio.. Last June the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano,
reported that the Holy See had asked a commission of 23 Mariologists
to study the proposal.. by a vote of 23 - 0, the commission advised
against promulgating the new dogma.. Here, old-fashioned Catholicism
blends easily into New Age hunger for the supernatural. "It
seems like everybody and his brother is having visions, and I
try to keep my distance," says conference regular Wayne Weibel,
who converted to Catholicism after making a pilgrimage to Medjugorje.
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