Illogical Arguments of Marian Fanatics Towards the Born Again Christian Stand on Mary
One of the many big and not to mention unsubstantiated accusations that any Marian fanatic can cook up is, "You Protestants do not value the mother of Jesus at all. You hate her. You downplay her importance. She's the mother of God and she deserves all the honor that Jesus has. If you dare deny she is the Queen of Heaven and that she can hear our prayers, you are a blasphemer." This of course results in me getting a series of migraines that no matter how I try to defend my biblical stance on Mary, they just refuse to listen because they have their tendency to think that they are usually right. No matter how I try to explain from the pages of the Bible, they do not want to listen to reason. This is actually the logical fallacy of false dilemma when they say, "Unless you believe in the Roman Catholic stand on Mary then you diminish her importance and you are against her."
Born again Christians do not have a problem with Mary as a person. The problem they have is with the unbiblical teachings that Roman Catholicism has put into Mary. As a born again Christian, I do not deny that Mary was important to fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 which says that a virgin shall give birth to a child, that Jesus was humanly speaking the Seed of David (Mary's lineage came from David's son Nathan, Joseph's lineage came from David's son Solomon and both came from Bathsheba), that Mary's lineage was indeed from David so she was necessary to fulfill prophecy and her marriage to Joseph would fulfill both the bloodline and legal rights of Jesus' claim to David's dynasty. Yes, Mary in important in fulfilling the role of prophecy but that does not make believing in her necessary for salvation or that Christians must pray to her to become "worthy of the promises of Christ".
If they insist on using the Wedding Feast in Cana to justify their heresy, I beg them to reconsider reading the same passages concerning Mary and Jesus. The interaction is written in John 2:3-5 we have this interaction:
Taking the meaning of the account of the Wedding at Cana, it is obvious that Jesus did not even call Mary as "mother' but instead, He politely told her, "You must not tell me what to do. My time has not yet come." The Douay Bible says "And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is that to me and to thee? My hour is not yet come." To understand that further, the whole idea that Jesus said, "My time has not yet come." was that it was not yet the time to reveal that He was the Messiah. Although He did not call Mary as "mother" but "woman", the Greek word is "gune" which refers to any woman of respect. Mary was called woman and not mother in Jesus' respect for Mary. By not calling her woman, the whole idea would have been offensive by the Jewish community. But nobody in the right mind calls their mother as "woman" instead of "mother".
Now it's time to see Mary's only command is, "Do whatever He tells you." and not "Do whatever I tell you." Mary knew for sure that she was just another sinner saved by grace. She knew that she was Jesus' mother only in His humanity but not His divinity as God has no mother. When Mary gave that order, it can be easily seen as, "Look, don't look to me. Look to Jesus. I cannot mediate between you and Him. Go to Him directly." She gave no other command except, "Do whatever He tells you." I find it strange that many Marian devotees say they believe that verse but they are not even really do what Jesus is telling them. Nowhere in the Bible did Jesus even give any command that we are to ever pray to Mary if we need anything. Instead, He said in John 14:13 saying and I will be quoting from the Good News Bible again saying, "And I will do whatever you ask for in My Name so that the Father's glory will be shown."
We also read of another passage where Jesus rebuked a person for putting too much importance on Mary's role as Jesus' earthly mother. In Luke 11:27-28 we read:
While my old copy of "The Children's Bible" (which has gone through wear and tear) has the commentator say that, "Jesus wants us to pray to His mother." that is so dead wrong. Whoever wrote that passage needs to realize the word "but" before "Jesus answered" when it was said, "Rather, how happy are those who hear the Word of God and obey it." Jesus did not exalt His mother as somebody far more important than other women, instead, He said that what was important was not about physical relationships but spiritual relationships. It was about being His follower, not His family member. If Mary had so much value to mediating then Jesus or the Apostles would have said it. But instead, everything points directly to Jesus and none to Mary when it comes to believing in somebody to get saved. If Mary could save, she would have not said in Luke 1:47, "My heart praises the LORD, my soul is glad because of God my Savior."
1 Timothy 2:5 says in the Good News Translation, "For there is one God and there is one who brings God and human beings together, the man Christ Jesus." Mary is not a mediator between Jesus and humans. She had no such role. She was important but not that important to the point that nobody could get to Jesus without her. All men must come directly to Jesus Christ. A pastor can pray on behalf of a church member but he is not the one who brings God and human beings together. The Greek word isμεσίτης (mesitēs) meaning one who intervenes between the two. Intercession is all about intervening on behalf of another but a mediator is someone who intervenes between the two in order to restore peace and friendship. In short, a pastor can intercede on behalf of another but he cannot mediate between God and man. Only the Lord Jesus Christ could do that. The Good News' translation is even easier to understand than the King James Versions when it comes to the use of words. Yet it's good to ask why do many Roman Catholic Marian fanatics still remain stubborn to the fact that Mary is no co-Mediator or co-Redeemer. All those teachings are not Biblical at all!
See also:
Born again Christians do not have a problem with Mary as a person. The problem they have is with the unbiblical teachings that Roman Catholicism has put into Mary. As a born again Christian, I do not deny that Mary was important to fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 which says that a virgin shall give birth to a child, that Jesus was humanly speaking the Seed of David (Mary's lineage came from David's son Nathan, Joseph's lineage came from David's son Solomon and both came from Bathsheba), that Mary's lineage was indeed from David so she was necessary to fulfill prophecy and her marriage to Joseph would fulfill both the bloodline and legal rights of Jesus' claim to David's dynasty. Yes, Mary in important in fulfilling the role of prophecy but that does not make believing in her necessary for salvation or that Christians must pray to her to become "worthy of the promises of Christ".
If they insist on using the Wedding Feast in Cana to justify their heresy, I beg them to reconsider reading the same passages concerning Mary and Jesus. The interaction is written in John 2:3-5 we have this interaction:
When the wine had given out, Jesus' mother said to Him, "They are out of wine." "You must not tell me what to do." Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come." Jesus' mother then told the servants, "Do whatever He tells you."
Taking the meaning of the account of the Wedding at Cana, it is obvious that Jesus did not even call Mary as "mother' but instead, He politely told her, "You must not tell me what to do. My time has not yet come." The Douay Bible says "And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is that to me and to thee? My hour is not yet come." To understand that further, the whole idea that Jesus said, "My time has not yet come." was that it was not yet the time to reveal that He was the Messiah. Although He did not call Mary as "mother" but "woman", the Greek word is "gune" which refers to any woman of respect. Mary was called woman and not mother in Jesus' respect for Mary. By not calling her woman, the whole idea would have been offensive by the Jewish community. But nobody in the right mind calls their mother as "woman" instead of "mother".
Now it's time to see Mary's only command is, "Do whatever He tells you." and not "Do whatever I tell you." Mary knew for sure that she was just another sinner saved by grace. She knew that she was Jesus' mother only in His humanity but not His divinity as God has no mother. When Mary gave that order, it can be easily seen as, "Look, don't look to me. Look to Jesus. I cannot mediate between you and Him. Go to Him directly." She gave no other command except, "Do whatever He tells you." I find it strange that many Marian devotees say they believe that verse but they are not even really do what Jesus is telling them. Nowhere in the Bible did Jesus even give any command that we are to ever pray to Mary if we need anything. Instead, He said in John 14:13 saying and I will be quoting from the Good News Bible again saying, "And I will do whatever you ask for in My Name so that the Father's glory will be shown."
We also read of another passage where Jesus rebuked a person for putting too much importance on Mary's role as Jesus' earthly mother. In Luke 11:27-28 we read:
When Jesus had said this a woman spoke up from the crowd and said to Him, "How happy is the woman who bore you and nursed you." But Jesus answered, "Rather, how happy are those who hear the Word of God and obey it."
While my old copy of "The Children's Bible" (which has gone through wear and tear) has the commentator say that, "Jesus wants us to pray to His mother." that is so dead wrong. Whoever wrote that passage needs to realize the word "but" before "Jesus answered" when it was said, "Rather, how happy are those who hear the Word of God and obey it." Jesus did not exalt His mother as somebody far more important than other women, instead, He said that what was important was not about physical relationships but spiritual relationships. It was about being His follower, not His family member. If Mary had so much value to mediating then Jesus or the Apostles would have said it. But instead, everything points directly to Jesus and none to Mary when it comes to believing in somebody to get saved. If Mary could save, she would have not said in Luke 1:47, "My heart praises the LORD, my soul is glad because of God my Savior."
1 Timothy 2:5 says in the Good News Translation, "For there is one God and there is one who brings God and human beings together, the man Christ Jesus." Mary is not a mediator between Jesus and humans. She had no such role. She was important but not that important to the point that nobody could get to Jesus without her. All men must come directly to Jesus Christ. A pastor can pray on behalf of a church member but he is not the one who brings God and human beings together. The Greek word isμεσίτης (mesitēs) meaning one who intervenes between the two. Intercession is all about intervening on behalf of another but a mediator is someone who intervenes between the two in order to restore peace and friendship. In short, a pastor can intercede on behalf of another but he cannot mediate between God and man. Only the Lord Jesus Christ could do that. The Good News' translation is even easier to understand than the King James Versions when it comes to the use of words. Yet it's good to ask why do many Roman Catholic Marian fanatics still remain stubborn to the fact that Mary is no co-Mediator or co-Redeemer. All those teachings are not Biblical at all!
See also: