Subject: When did the catholic church go wrong? |
Bible Note: You wrote: "And just how much of Revelation and especially Revelation 12 do you take 'literally'? Am I to suppose you do no interpretation at all?" Of course I do, but you are the one claiming that it is undoubtedly Mary. You cited Revelation 12 as proof positive that Mary is somehow the "queen of heaven" or whatever you want to call her. Is it really a lamb opening seals in Rev. 4? No. Is Satan actually and literally a dragon? No. Then why must we conclude that the woman in Revelation 12 is literally a woman? I am not stating unequivocally that you MUST be wrong, but your argument needs a lot more support than citing verse 1. Show us how the rest of the narrative reflects that the woman is Mary. You also wrote: "Jesus is the central figure in the biblical narrative and all history for that matter. It is just that Mary was literally wrapped around Him body and soul. He was flesh of her flesh and bone of her bone. Is there any better example of complete dedication to God?" Sur ethere is....Christ's sinless life, obedience to God the Father in all things. While I certainly do not despise Mary, and agree that God chose her, I would not say that being the biological mother of anyone in itself makes one dedicated. I teach public high school, and I see lots of biological mothers who are anything but dedicated. Not saying that Mary wasn't, but Mary was blessed BECAUSE God chose her, and not the other way around. You wrote: "I did not say Mary 'prodded' Jesus, I said Eve prodded Adam and Mary instigated the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Webster’s defines instigate as 'to urge on'." I quote your last post: "Mary instigates the beginning of the saving ministry of Jesus by her prodding at Cana." Prodding. You wrote: "I did not say Romans 5:19 referred to Mary. I was using it to draw the parallel analogy of Eve and Mary." It doesn't talk about Eve or Mary at all. Please elaborate how Romans 5:19 supports your argument. You wrote: "And there is no Calvinist tradition that influences your understanding of scripture?" Of course I am influenced by it, because it is actually SCRIPTURAL. Sola Scriptura, not riding sidesaddle with man-man doctrine which has no support in the Bible. Any Reformed doctrine does not come from Church pronouncements or fallible men, but solely from the word of God. That is the difference between searching like crazy to find support for veneration of Mary and building a confession of faith from the Word alone. --Joe! |