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I didn't read the article, but I love the Virgin Mary and do pray to her. My mom gave me a little statue of her, and whenever there is bad weather she told me to put her in the window for protection.
God bless you Ashleynj and your faith IMHO, no one who sincerely loves Mary BECAUSE of her part in the Divine plan of Salvation by giving birth to and loving and caring for her Son, Jesus can help but love, worship, and wish to serve that Son the Savior the ultimate source of all help and salvation. FWIW, the official doctrine of the Catholic Church is that the Blessed Virgin Mary (one of her titles is "help of Christians" and the "hail Mary" prayer asks her to "PRAY for us (to God)---now, and at the hour of death.") cannot grant favors of her own power but instead joins with our own prayers to her Divine Son so He will answer your prayers and give you all necessary help and graces. again, God bless you and please keep on praying to God thru Jesus and loving Mary and asking her to help by joining in your prayers to her Son---please consider saying a prayer for this unworthy sinner and all who need God's help if you will (and I will do the same for you).
Last edited by georgeinbandonoregon; 02-05-2015 at 01:59 PM..
Reason: more information.
Actually the queen of heaven, would be a major player in the pagan hierarchy. She was simply incorporated into the "Christian" religion by means of the feast of Astarte, which is the "Christian" event called Easter.
I think you mean the Northern European goddess of Spring Eostre as the source of Easter. Astarte was an ancient Mid-East goddess of sex and war and had nothing to do with Spring. And Mary has essentially nothing to do with Easter. If you are relying on the title of Queen of Heaven being associated with Astarte, be aware that this title has been applied to many important female deities.
Can you show me the verse that says that she will crush Satan's head? I'm not aware of any such verse.
traditionally, Genesis 3 : 15 is supposed to refer to the serpent (the devil) striking at the heel of the seed (children) of Eve and ultimately being crushed under the feet of that seed (according to Christian belief) in the person of Christ who is the child (according to the flesh) of Mary who is a "child" of Eve). thus a case can be made for images that show Mary standing on the defeated serpent THROUGH the "fruit of her womb", Jesus and it is His power that is the true and final cause of Satan's defeat. in a similar way, Mary has been poetically called the "new Eve" whose obedience to God's command ("do with me according to Your will") brought salvation and new life into the world through Jesus Christ in opposition to the "old Eve" who through disobedience to God's commands ("the serpent tempted me and I did eat") brought death into the world through sin.
Last edited by georgeinbandonoregon; 02-05-2015 at 02:24 PM..
Reason: more information
the emperor Constantine was baptized on his deathbed so can just on that count be truly called a "Christian" in least as far as we can tell things on earth---the final determination is of course God's. the official date of the celebration of Christ's Resurrection was determined by the (ecumenical) council of Nicea a meeting of Christian bishops and theologians called by the emperor to help bring unity to Christian practice on this and other matters including the very nature of Christ and His relationship to God (expressed in the Nicene Creed which many still profess). AFAIK, he did not propose any details on theology or practice and the participants made their deliberations free of his explicit or otherwise directions. FWIW, traditionally this and similar councils of the early Church were regarded as under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (which many Christians believe was part of Christ's promise to preserve His Church "in all truth") and thus free from error when determining the Christian Faith. there are many on-line resources about this council including Wikipedia that can give you much more info if you are interested.
Syncretistically, it brought confusion, not unity.
And, I don't see it as being free from error?
obviously you may believe what you want to believe (and luckily I too can believe what I want or feel I must as well)--the ultimate proof of this (and most anything else) is what tangible "fruits" result from that belief--and I think that's God's call and not ours. OTOH, can you point to ONE specific thing directly repugnant to God or Sacred Scripture that the Nicene Creed specifically teaches on the nature of Christ and of God for that matter----just one important thing that is ALSO attested as false by the majority of Christians of all denominations through time as well? please lets not bother ourselves with if either of us have problems (or not) with exactly which day a particular "holy day" (Christmas or Easter) is or is not observed and how---with such things is much time wasted and little light shed---even here, LOL). BTW, the word of God has always brought "division" into the world-setting brother against brother (see Luke 12:51 I think) so likely any thing associated with it like all those seemingly crazy doctrines---the Trinity for example, also defined and taught at Nicea because of much confusion, turmoil, and even bloodshed (see the "arian" heresy) will be a "stumbling block" to someone, sad to say. may God bless us both and help us not only know the truth but truly live it (and not beat each other up too badly while trying to find it). don't know if at the end of the day anybody (including ourselves) will be convinced of much except that we are both "fools in Christ" and that hope of both being "in Christ" fool or otherwise(or at least giving it our best shot with God's grace) will be a very good thing in and of itself.
Last edited by georgeinbandonoregon; 02-05-2015 at 03:40 PM..
Reason: more info.
(Prov 18:13)He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
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IMHO, no one who sincerely loves Mary BECAUSE of her part in the Divine plan of Salvation by giving birth to and loving and caring for her Son, Jesus can help but love, worship, and wish to serve that Son the Savior the ultimate source of all help and salvation. FWIW, the official doctrine of the Catholic Church is that the Blessed Virgin Mary (one of her titles is "help of Christians" and the "hail Mary" prayer asks her to "PRAY for us (to God)---now, and at the hour of death.") cannot grant favors of her own power but instead joins with our own prayers to her Divine Son so He will answer your prayers and give you all necessary help and graces. again, God bless you and please keep on praying to God thru Jesus and loving Mary and asking her to help by joining in your prayers to her Son---please consider saying a prayer for this unworthy sinner and all who need God's help if you will (and I will do the same for you).
). don't know if at the end of the day anybody (including ourselves) will be convinced of much except that we are both "fools in Christ" and that hope of both being "in Christ" fool or otherwise(or at least giving it our best shot with God's grace) will be a very good thing in and of itself.
