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An email from a reader:
Great blog; enjoyed the dissection of the Jack Chick pamphlets.
We’re having a discussion about Mary at Catholic Answers and a fundamentalist has just asserted that there are no Protestants who “hate Mary”.
I used to attend a Pentecostal Church of God prior to converting to Catholicism, and the pastor used to cross the line regularly in denigrating Mary as though she were disposable, saying on many occasions that if she’d said no God would have simply chosen someone else. This led, as one can imagine, several of the congregation to go further, and to disparage Mary in various vulgar ways.
Now, I know this, and I suspect there are other examples of people crossing the line from attacking Marian devotion to attacking Mary (a line Chick toes but does not cross). Do you have any handy examples of the latter? Links are always helpful, since people can then see for themselves.
Any help would be appreciated, and thank you for your devotion to our Blessed Mother.
J.V.
My response:
J.V.,
I think it would be rare to encounter a Protestant who truly hates Mary. I’ve heard of Protestants calling Mary a devil, but usually they mean that the “Catholic Mary” is a devil (see http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/mary.htm for an example). This is the Mary that they hate. Of course, this Mary is the Mary of history and of the Bible, so in that sense they do hate Mary. But their attitude towards the person is not one of hate, but rather to what they believe to be false ideas about her. That being said, I believe that even though they don’t hate her, they do show a lack of love towards her. Jesus gave Mary as a mother to us, and as such, we are to honor her. God didn’t say, “Don’t hate your father and mother” but “Honor your father and mother.” Honor involves a positive action on our part. Thus by failing to honor Mary, even if they don’t “hate” her, they are still breaking the 4th commandment.
God bless,
Cody
Final response:
Cody-
Thanks for your quick response. I certainly do see a lot of misconceptions about Mary and Marian devotion within the Catholic Church; I also have heard Protestant pastors and laity speak in astonishingly derogatory terms toward the Blessed Virgin, claiming that she was simply a vessel used by God and the like.
Thanks,
J.V.
Filed under: Blessed Virgin Mary, Christianity, Devotions & Prayers, Jesus Christ, Religion | Tagged: anti-Catholics, Jack Chick
As a protestant, albeit a young protestant, I haven’t done much research on Mary.
Here is my standing: sure she was blessed. We are all given many blessings. She was given a very amazing blessing.
However, I can’t why Catholics give her SO MUCH reverence.
The verse I assume you folks get this idea from:
JOHN 19:26-27
When Jesus saw His mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
How is it possible to read into ONE VERSE so much that now you see Mary as a mother to every Christian, and from what I’ve heard Catholics pray TO HER?
If I’m wrong, please explain. Or just explain either way.
Rebecca,
In short, John represents all of us. That is one reason he did not use his own name in his own Gospel. If he represents us all, then Mary is a mother to us all.
Second, in the book of revelation we see the angels offering prayers “of the saints” (i.e. Christians on earth) to God. Where did these prayers come from? Us. (I have more on this topic here)
Visit my apologetics section for more information. Also visit Catholic.com, too.
Rebecca and Cody,
I also like the twelfth chapter of Revelations. In the beginning of the chapter it speaks of “woman” who is giving birth to a child– Jesus. Because of the context of the chapter, Catholics interpret the woman to be Mary and the Church. There’s a lot of serious imagery and allusions going on. But in any case, the end of the chapter is very interesting. At the end, the dragon “went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus” (Rev 12:17). The offspring of the woman are “those who keep God’s commandments and bear witness to Jesus,” that is, Christians. So the double meaning, of the woman as Mary or as the Church, allows this to lend credence to Mary as the Mother of Christians.
“and from what I’ve heard Catholics pray TO HER?”
And not only to Mary, but to all the saints. This is universal in the great tradition of the Church, from the very earliest times. Prayer to the saints is something unusual in the Protestant tradition, but it has the most ancient pedigree in Christianity. Cody has some excellent examples of early Marian prayers on this website, like the Sub Tuum Praesidium, which is a Marian prayer from the 3rd century.
If you are interested in learning about the history of Christianity, I highly recommend that you look deeper into things such as this– you’d be surprised what you’ll find.
You know, I was raised in English church tradition (both Methodist and Anglican) and have to say that I never heard anyone in that tradtion every disparage Our Lady. In fact, there are some hymns in the English tradition that make high mention of the Blessed Virgin. (FYI…I became Catholic, however, many years ago.)
However, I have heard and often hear now terrible things about Our Lady from fundamentalist Christians, usually Baptists of some ilk and Pentecostals. Many of these remarks DO cross over into downright vulgarity. I think, frankly, it comes from prejudices taught from childhood (based on half truths and lies) AND on fear…fear that maybe, just maybe, Catholics (and Orthodox and others) might just be correct in our veneration for the Mother of God.
Hey
I am a Lutheran and have a few questions and comments. First, when you talk about Mary being the mother of all Roman Catholics, and perhaps christians for that matter, why is Sara no held in such esteem? There are many old testament women who deserve to be held in so much esteem as mary, for being the great great great etc. grandmothers of Jesus. Also, it says the angels hold up the prayers of the saints to god. If the angel John is referring to is Mary or and important saint, shouldn’t he have mentioned it? The reason why he did not is almost certainly because it was just one of the many unnamed angels. Unless many Catholics pray to unnamed angels, those are probably the prayers of any early Christians to God, handed to him by an angel.
Also, you said “Because of the context of the chapter, Catholics interpret the woman to be Mary and the Church.” What are those context clues?
indecisivenerd
PS We Lutherans still believe Mary is an important figure and blessed. We just pray to God instead of any saints. I do not mean to attack Mary or praying to her, I am just pointing out the flaws in praying to her more than any other saint
I agree with much of what Burke has said above. Being the opposite of many people here (a Catholic who “converted” to protestantism) I have a different view than a Protestant converting to the RCC. I have nothing aginst Mary nor have I ever come across hostility to Mary in most Protestants (except in some fundamentalists as noted above). I honor her for her role in salvation history. However, the protestant view is simply too simple and clear to argue with. Fact: Christ is the sole source of salvation. Fact: No one is saved unless through Christ. Fact: Christ came to this earth, not to place yet another barrier between God and man, but to destroy all such barriers. There is simply no need for mediation to Christ. In fact, I think it is horrifically disrespectful of the enormous sacrifice and gift of the life of Jesus. When at one point in his life, Luther struggled with a dark and profound sense of sinfulness, it was Christ he called upon to save him. It was in Christ that he found peace. And, although I am no where near the holieness of a man like Luther, I also find that it is not Mary I seek when confronted with my own sinfulness, but Jesus. And because he has already assured us he is there for us I go right to him. I need go to no one else. Nor, would I want to. God is there for us directly in Christ. Why waste time with less than God, when you can have the real thing?
Wow, you’re a Christian. From your previous comments, I thought you were of the “All roads lead to God” type. My apologies.
You criticized the Catholic Church for being elitist, now you’re affirming that Christ is the only way. Do you know that non-Christians call Christians elitists for teaching this? The real difference in this regard between Catholics and Protestants is what it means to follow Christ. We say “Christ is the only way. Christ founded a Church which He wants us to be a part of. Thus, if we are going to truly follow Christ, we must be part of that Church which He established.” Protestants, obviously, do not believe this. Most, however, would still be restrictive towards others who say they follow Christ but whom many Protestants consider to be a false Christ, e.g.: Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
ok, everyone, i just want to tell you something, about catholics, i am a catholic, and we do not, i mean , DO NOT, WORSHIP MARY, WE VENERATE HER,, venerate means deeply respect, our prayers to her basically ask for her to ask jesus wat we need, example , the hail mary
hail mary , ful of grace( meaning =greeting one with grace),
the lord is with thee(how a mother and child are connected)
blessed art thou amongst women(u r given highest blessings)
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb ,jesus(blessed is jesus ),
holy mary, mother of God(calling mary with her title),
pray for us sinners[meaning=pray to God for us ,(sinners=us)],
now and at the hour of our death, amen(always pray for us at all times)
now, in this prayer, is there anywhere, or any verse that refers to worship(to mary), the answers no, so plz all u catholic bashers, stop hatin mary and telling people that we worship her , coz we dont, we venerate her, its like praying through her to jesus, but the prayer is still to Jesus, its like askin ur mom to tell ur bro not to beat u up(not like jesus is beatin us up or anything lol), so yeah, thats wat i got to say….i conclude by saying, that we catholics venerate her because she the the mother of our saviour, and she has recievd the highest blessing that is to be the mother of jesus(the others are mothers of or prophtes)(but mary is the mother of our messiah, the saviour, the son of God.) so we must give deep respect .
I would just like to commment on this topic and i agree with joseph. catholics do not worship mary we worship god. we ask mary to intercede to god when we pray to her. the protestant religions are based on their hate and fear of catholism nothing more nothing less. the country i live in is a prime example of so called members of a christian church and the openly display their hatred for our pope and anything catholic. they live in the dark ages. its sad really
Dear Joseph,
I am a Catholic and I can back every word you said. Your translation of the Hail Mary for the people looking at your comments is very clever, I must say, and I wish I had thought of that when I was writing my Apologetics report defending Mary. I heartily approve of what you are doing, and I appreciate your intelligent input.
As for all of the arguers against Mary, I almost pity you because Mary is the Mother of God, Theotokos, and the Queen of Heaven; I really wouldn’t go up against her if I were you. Then again, I’m not.
Gratefully, God Bless,
Michelle