Was Mary really anything special?

[888theGreat]

Idol of Mary

The facts
1) She was just a Jewish woman God favored to use her womb to bring Christ into world
2) She was a sinner like all other women
3) She is not a God even if Catholics pray to her
4) The Trinity is God , Jesus , and Holy Spirit , and not Mary
5) She was no Saint. You can't be a Saint with any sin
6) There is no Mother of God like there is No father of God

Some other facts
Peter was not first Pope and was never a Pope
Catholics believe you can bribe God with money and get people out of Hell. Wrong
Catholics thinks you give the poor money you can get to heaven. Wrong Works will not get you into heaven.
Catholics worship Mary , Mostly statues of her. God said have no idols before me.
Catholics to seek forgiveness tell a priest, who tells bishop, who tells Pope, and Pope tells Jesus/God.
Catholics worship cross with someone that doesn't even look like Jesus.

This is more like what Jesus looked like

NOt this

Jewish guys hair is curly and does not grow long.

No, just a womb for God to send Jesus into the world

No, just earthly mother of Jesus that sinned like all women do

Yes , she is holy like a God as Catholics believe

Updates

1 y

The only Catholics that will make it to heaven are the older ones that get home bound and can't make it to their weekly cult meetings. They probably are sick from licking from each other using the same cup during communion. Talk about covid. I guess that was why Gov't shut down religion , because they knew how Catholics run services. Well Baptists don't drink out of same cup, or molest little boys , so we could have had our services.

Updates

1 y

Again , the subject is Mary not religion. There is God , Jesus , as 1,000's of witnesses witnesses his healing of people , which is documented in bible by saved and unsaved people, including Romans. If you all want to live in denial and go to Hell , that is your business. So, no more anti God exists , No Jesus, No Hell, No Heaven quotes.

Updates

10 mo

No, she was just a womb needed to bring Jesus into the world as a physical God. She doesn't look out for you and can't do anything for you. If she would have said no, God would have found someone else.

[XXblack88]

I think it's both a and b

[ChloeStarlight]

I don’t know

[BCRanger10]

Yes. Here's why, and I'll take these one at a time.

"She was just a Jewish woman God favored to use her womb to bring Christ into world." Not "just a Jewish woman." She is the fulfillment of what is known as the "queen mother" of the Davidic kingdom in the Old Testament. According to Jewish tradition, the queen mother was the flesh link between the king and the king's father. The queen mother would bow to her son, addressed him as "lord", and would essentially be an intercessor for other family members and the people to the king.

And as Luke 1:32 reports, the Archangel Gabriel tells Mary that "the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David His Father..." Therefore, in the New Kingdom, Jesus Christ is King and Mary is the Queen Mother.

"She was a sinner like all other women." Based on what?
"She is not a God even if Catholics pray to her" Correct; she is not a god and no Catholic claims that she is. Incorrect; we do not pray "to" her. We honor her, we revere her, and we beg her intercession for us, as we rightly should (see my first point).

"The Trinity is God , Jesus , and Holy Spirit , and not Mary" Correct. Who says otherwise?

"She was no Saint. You can't be a Saint with any sin." The word "saint" comes from the Latin "sanctus", which means "holy". Did you not say at the beginning of this post that God favored her to bring Christ into the world? After all, the Archangel Gabriel did acknowledge her as "full of grace".

"There is no Mother of God like there is No father of God." If you read the first chapter of John's Gospel, you read that "... the Word was with God, and the Word was God...and the Word was made flesh..." Jesus Christ IS God from all Eternity in the flesh and received His Flesh from Mary. God, in taking on human flesh, became man without ceasing to be God. Therefore, Mary is the Mother of God.

At the end of the day though, Mary still delivered Our Lord Jesus Christ into the world. She played an integral role in the redemption of mankind and is therefore due consideration from those who call themselves Christians.

[888theGreat]

but God could have used others. Mary was not a must. Just a womb. Mary was like all women that sinned.

[BCRanger10]

Again, based on what? And does the fact that God favored Mary to deliver Christ not mean anything?

[rocksongwriter]

Let me address your claims and show why you're wrong...

"She is not a God even if Catholics pray to her." Catholics pray that she intercede to Jesus on their behalf, the same way that Protestants pray to each other ("pray" just means "ask") to intercede on their behalf to Christ through prayer requests. Catholics do NOT worship Mary as God. That's just a myth that Protestants spread. The Nicene Creed, which is recited at every Catholic Mass makes it very clear that there is one God and that God is made up of three persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is central to the Catholic faith. What Protestants believe about God originally came from Catholicism as Protestantism branched off of Catholicism in the 1500s. The idea of God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit... that was first a Catholic idea and was taught within the Catholic church well over 1,000 years before Protestantism even existed.

"The Trinity is God , Jesus , and Holy Spirit , and not Mary" - Every Catholic would agree.

"You can't be a Saint with any sin" Says who? Every saint is human and the Bible says every human is a sinner.

"There is no Mother of God like there is No father of God" Clearly, the phrase "the Mother of God" refers to Mary being the earthly mother of God the Son (Jesus). If you deny that Mary was Jesus's earthly mother, then I recommend that you consult your Bible as the Bible says in numerous places that Mary gave birth to Jesus.

"Peter was not first Pope and was never a Pope"

The "pope" is merely the leader of the church. Jesus clearly put Peter put charge of the church in Matthew's Gospel...

"And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.' ”
-Matthew 16:18-19

In other words, what Peter says, goes. Peter is in charge. I once heard a Protestant minister say that "the rock" that Jesus was referring to building His church on was not Peter himself but rather Peter's statement that Jesus is the Messiah in verse 16 of that chapter. However, I think the strong evidence that by "rock" Jesus was referring to Peter the person was that fact that Peter's name literally means "rock". Trivia time! As you'll recall, the Bible says that Peter's name was originally Simon. Then Jesus changed Simon's name to Cephas (often pronounced "Kephas") which is the Aramaic word for "stone". The name "Peter" comes from "Petros", the Greek word for "rock". As the Bible story began being told in Greek, the Aramaic "Cephas" became the Greek "Petros". More trivia: in Latin, "petros" is "petra" and is the root of the word "petroleum" due to oil being found in rock as you drill down.

"Catholics believe you can bribe God with money and get people out of Hell. Wrong"

I would say that your statement that Catholics believe you can bribe God with money and get people out of Hell is wrong since Catholics don't actually believe that. Yes, there was one bad pope during the middle ages that said people could pay the church in order to get loved ones into Heaven. No pope since then has taught what you claim. Yet, Protestants still attack the Catholic Church today based on what one dude said during the middle ages even though the church's official stance since that time is that one can't pay their way into Heaven or pay for someone else's way into Heaven.

[rocksongwriter]

"Catholics thinks you give the poor money you can get to heaven. Wrong Works will not get you into heaven."

I'd say that the Catholic stance is that faith alone saves, but that "works" are evidence that you have faith. So if you don't have works, then you don't have the faith you think you do. For THAT reason, you need faith AND works. But let's look at what the Bible says...

"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did."
-James 2:14-22

Protestants say that to be saved, one must simply call on the Lord and that "works" don't factor in. Let's see what Jesus says on the matter...

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
-Matthew 7:21 (NIV)

So only those WHO DO the will of God will enter Heaven. That sounds like "works"!

[rocksongwriter]

"Catholics worship Mary , Mostly statues of her. God said have no idols before me."

False. Catholics do not worship Mary. Catholics do not worship statues. Catholics do not worship statues of Mary. Statues are simply meant remind folks of the great Christians who came before. That's all. Why Protestants think Catholics worship statues I have no idea.

"Catholics to seek forgiveness tell a priest, who tells bishop, who tells Pope, and Pope tells Jesus/God."

Is that actually your understanding of confession? Ha! If all confessions had to ultimately go through the pope, then the pope would hear probably millions of confessions a week. You actually think that's possible? In reality, confessions don't make it past the priest. If a priest divulged to anyone what he heard in the confessional, he could be barred from being a priest by the Catholic Church. So, no, priests don't take confessions to the bishops.

Naturally, confession is rooted Scripture. Jesus gave the power to forgive sins to the clergy (His apostles) in the Bible...

"If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
-John 20:23 (NIV)

The clergy are the successors to the original apostles, and so they also have the power to forgive sins on Christ's behalf.

"Catholics worship cross with someone that doesn't even look like Jesus."

Um... I'm really curious about this one. How do you know what Jesus looked like given that there are no photographs of Him or drawings/paintings of Him from that time?

[rocksongwriter]

"Jewish guys hair is curly and does not grow long."

Jewish guys can't grow long hair? Does their hair stop growing after a certain length? When I was in high school, I knew a Jewish guy who had a pony tail. His hair was down his shoulders. Also, are all Jewish guys's hair curly? What about former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu? He's clearly Jewish and his hair is as straight as a tack. Look up a picture of him. Therefore, it's clear that Jewish guys can have straight hair.

So in summary, your information is all wrong. But I can't blame you because it's quite possible that you simply heard bad information about Catholics all these years. But now you know the truth! :)

[888theGreat]

because they do , like the Jews of Israel worshiped the Golden Calf. OK make a video and destroy your mary statue if they have no meaning or value. Post video on here.

[rocksongwriter]

I don't have any statues of Mary. Nor do I own any statues of anyone else.

[Julie_TS]

The facts:
1. She was and He did. You don't think He chose just anyone to bore His son, do you?
2. Actually she was not, Mary was spared original sin at the moment of her conception by God. But, yes, all women are sinners, as are all men.
3. She is prayed to by Catholics, but she is venerated as a saint not worshipped as a god.
4. See #3.
5. Actually, she is. Criteria for sainthood include: becoming a servant of God, a life led of 'heroic virtue' & performing miracles. One can see that She has easily checked all those boxes. Also, being free of sin is NOT a prerequisite for sainthood.
6. Probably the only thing you've gotten right so. God is not dependent, He has always existed. He is self sufficient & self existent. However, the Son of God has a mother, it happens to be Mary.

Regarding 'Some other facts' or should I say 'Some other nonsense'...
The Bishop of Rome is the Pope. Peter was the first bishop of Rome, the term Pope was not used until centuries later.

[888theGreat]

Mary never performed one miracle

[Julie_TS]

Lol, from everything listed, that's what you come back with? Nevermind, the Immaculate Conception, the Virginia birth of God's son, etc... all good, I accept the win.

[Julie_TS]

Should be virgin birth (stupid auto correct).

[888theGreat]

you are Catholic?

[Julie_TS]

I am

[888theGreat]

I figured so. Too bad

[Julie_TS]

Not really, I'm good thanks

[rocksongwriter]

Which one of the 2,000+ Protestant denominations are you, 888theGreat? Also, does it ever bother you that none of the Protestant denominations can agree with each other on what to believe? I mean... the Calvinists (and related denominations such as the Presbyterians) believe whether or not you are saved is predeternmined and outside of your control... denominations like the Pentecostals are Unitarian and therefore reject the Trinity,... the Amish think electricity and technology are sinful... and the Mormons believe a bunch of things that would be rejected by many other Protestant denominations. And we're just getting started. And Protestantism is expected to get yet another denomination this year as the United Methodist Church is expected to vote on a proposal to split the denomination over the inclusion of LGBTQ members. Interestingly, as far as I know, all Protestant denominations claim that the Holy Spirit is their guide on interpreting Scripture. Why would the Holy Spirit tell some Protestant denominations that homosexuality is sinful and tell other denominations that it's not? Why would the Holy Spirit tell some Protestant denominations that people are saved through grace... and then tell Calvinist and Presbyterians that salvation is predetermined?

Meanwhile, the Catholic branch of Christianity has just one denomination... Catholicism. All churches in Catholicism are on the same page with each other and have believed the same principles for 2,000 years.

[Anonymous]

Laughing to myself here...
"Facts" : 1) She was just a Jewish woman God favored to use her womb to bring Christ into world

That's not a fact. That's a religious belief.

Just like your belief that she has idols made of her.

And your C vote is dogshit. Not even the Catholics think she is holy like a god.

You must be protestant to hate the catholics this much and to lie about them this much. One of those protestants who insists on calling themselves "Christian".

Lol... such nonsense...

[888theGreat]

glad you can laught now, because there will be no laughter in Hell

[Opinion Owner]

There is no hell.

[3QOOs]

1. She was not just any Jewish woman. God the Father planned her to be the mother of Jesus before she even existed.
2. No she wasn't. Who says that she was a sinner like all other women? And how do you know that? She was created perfect because Jesus is perfect. Jesus could not be carried by a sinful woman.
3. Who says she's a god? We Catholics honor her and ask her to pray for us, we don't PRAY to her.
4. Yes, who said otherwise?
5. She is a saint but above all the other saints. And who are you to say you can't be a saint without sin? How do you know?
6. She isn't mother of the God Father, she is mother of the God Son Jesus. She is the mother of His Human nature. Jesus wasn't human before He became created in Mary.

[jshm2]

You're not the brightest, kiddo and your facts are mere assertions.

1) She was just a chaste Jewish woman God favoured with children. Jesus was just the first one
2) She was not a sinner like all other women
3) No one considers her God not even Catholics pray to her
4) There is no trinity - its not in the bible and not something taught by Jesus or his half brothers
5) Sainthood is not in the bible, but something invented by the church.
6) There is no son of God either. God had many "sons" in the bible. Much like a priest is called "father" doesn't mean he is your father - its a title.

The rest of your assertion is just laughable diatribe that you've misunderstood.

[888theGreat]

7) You are heading for Hell. Just because you don't want to believe there is Hell , doesn't mean you are not going

[MCheetah]

She had a little lamb. It's fleece was as white as snow. Unlike the "Son of God" Jesús Christ, who was darker than a crack whore's panties. Darker than an ex-marine's coffee. Darker than ghetto homemade fried chicken.

What Jesús legitimately would've looked like at age 28 (if he was real).

I think Mary Mag was just the vag queen. If she was real. She was going to have a real baby, but then Yahweh stole her womb and sh*t. Hijacked it. (Does that count as rape or what?) She would've been no more special than the mailman who sends you your Amazon delivery package.

[hahahmm]

The King James version of the bible -- highly respected by non-Catholic Christian for eons - clearly says: "And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women." Also, "and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said [to Mary], Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb".

If you say Mary wasn't special then you are directly contradicting the accepted scripture & word of God.

[Daniela1982]

1st Timothy 2:5 "There is only one intercessor between man and God, that is Jesus Christ."
What Catholics believe:

[888theGreat]

Very good, where you find that? Oh and I watched Dawn of the Dead 1978 yesterday. Want to take a mall over with me? butter popcorn, salami, loaves of bread, and steak. 80 inch TV's. They blew that good deal.

[Daniela1982]

I know, I would have lived it up until things blew over.

[888theGreat]

If they let the crazy bikers take a few things and let the dumb biker worried about his blood pressure , they good have been good to go. Talking about great dates , wow , no waiting in line. anything you want. That was when Malls were the kings of shop until you drop.

[888theGreat]

I had great times in malls in 1970's. Too bad you weren't here yet.

[888theGreat]

I used to ride the big Turtle , they don't have the turtles anymore.

[rocksongwriter]

#1 Did Jesus mean "call no man father" literally? If so, what am I supposed to call my male parent whom my mother is married to? Besides, the apostle Paul calls himself the spiritual father of Christians in the Bible..

"For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you."
-1 Corinthians 4:15 (NLT)

#2 Jesus gave the power to forgive sins to his apostles in the Bible...

"If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
-John 20:23 (NIV)

The Catholic church's clergy are the successors to the original apostles, therefore they too have the power to forgive sins on Christ's behalf.

#3 "prayers to dead saints" Are saints dead in Christ or are they alive in Christ?

#4 & #5 Protestants like to say that Christ alone is the mediator between God and man, but at every protestant Bible study I've been to (and I've probably been to hundreds) they ask if anyone has any prayer requests. Well, when one submits a prayer request they're asking the Bible study members to intercede with God on their behalf. So what's the difference submitting a prayer request to Mary the mother of God and submitting a prayer request Kevin the Bible study leader? Mary is probably closer to God than Kevin is.

#6 Catholics don't worship idols. The purpose of statues is to call to mind the saints whose lives and virtues we ought to imitate. Why does the US have statue of Abraham Lincoln in Washington D. C? To get people to remember the life and virtues of Abraham Lincoln. It's the same thing with statues in Catholic churches. Catholics don't pray to statues.

[888theGreat]

Their setup upstairs was like a tree house

[888theGreat]

Are you Baptist or Methodist?

[Lillie_xo]

im not gonna go over the same stuff 2 people have already but the short of it is that you are totally wrong with your 'facts'
i dont believe jesus was the messiah and i dont think she carried god's child
how she got pregnant? plenty of possibilities that i dont care to get into
but regardless of all of that, she was special
i mean she's the woman who gave birth to the man who founded the largest religion in the world
you can't tell me seriously that that counts for nothing

[888theGreat]

you are 15 and know nothing about anything. So, don't comment on my posts.

[bean2k21]

I'll never understand people who disrespect another's religion.

And the whole 'You're stupid because Jesus didn't have long hair' argument is totally dumb. If the faith believes that Jesus was the son of God, then what did Jesus look like? Does God have curly hair?

[888theGreat]

You are stupid because you apparently can't read. That is what I didn't say. I said he had a big nose and curly kinky hair. a Jew. He certainly was not black. Very few Jews were black.

[888theGreat]

There are wrong religions , just like there are wrong answers. You think everyone should get an A on a test because to say they had a wrong answer would hurt their feelings?

[bean2k21]

I don't judge or grade people based on their religious beliefs, but I guess I'm not an all knowing God like you are, or a fuckwit one of the two.

[888theGreat]

I understand that you are a liberal enough said

[Honestguyopen]

I would add to this that the way in which she was special was not only that she was chosen for this unique task, but that her record of faith in raising Jesus afterward showed that she was a sincere lover of God. They observed the mosaic law and traditions to the best of their ability.

[BillyBalls]

Ever hear of the Immaculate Conception (not the same as the virgin birth)?

It is the notion that Mary upon conception did not have the stain of original sin on her soul.

According to Christians , everyone is born with the stain of original sin thus the need for Baptism.

[FýrdracaDócincel]

She was born without the Original Sin for.. some fucking reason.

If you're gonna be a christian the least you could do is your fucking homework.

[888theGreat]

I know history and what is right.

[FýrdracaDócincel]

This isn't about history, it's about a storybook.

Mind you, I think people who press inward about the bible essentially being a fantasy novel that took WAY too long to write are obnoxious as hell but come on. Let's be honest.

[888theGreat]

Again , this is about Mary , not bible or religion. You people apparently can't read or comprehend or follow instructions.

[RichardoStyle]

New Eve (Mary)

[oddwaffle]

My story? Some guy banged her. She got pregnant. Blamed supernatural. Details got fuzzy with the coverup.

[HeartFullOfGlue]

I don't know, but if Mary was my mom I'd hype her up

[Anonymous]

D (I made one here) Don't you think she could at least be respected for having God's choice for his son? Shame on u. Mary was no sinner. Or God would never have chosen her? Sinned how? Like Mary Mag did?

[888theGreat]

She was human. Only Jesus never sinned

[Daniela1982]

That is true. Mary was a normal human and she sinned too. Since all have sinned and come short of the glory of God there was no one else. Even the Bible says that None are perfect, no not one. Romans 3:10.

[888theGreat]

@Daniela1982 what I said too

[MrTaboo]

She the virgin on the line of David God picked. Other than that, only God knows.

[888theGreat]

there were many females in david's family.

[MrTaboo]

Yes, but he choose her. Only He knows

[AndrésC64]

Who says that she existed?

[888theGreat]

The bible, the human encyclopedia for the times and history journals. Deal with it.