Protestants, were the founders of Protestantism wrong about Mary?
The great protestant reformers affirmed their belief in Mary's perpetual virginity:
German reformer Martin Luther's (1483-1546) writings often address the subject of Mary: On the Divine Motherhood of Mary, he wrote:
In this work whereby she was made the Mother of God, so many and such great good things were given her that no one can grasp them. ... Not only was Mary the mother of him who is born [in Bethlehem], but of him who, before the world, was eternally born of the Father, from a Mother in time and at the same time man and God. (Weimer's The Works of Luther, English translation by Pelikan, Concordia, St. Louis, v. 7, p. 572.)
Luther, true to Catholic tradition, wrote on the Virginity of Mary:
It is an article of faith that Mary is Mother of the Lord and still a virgin. ... Christ, we believe, came forth from a womb left perfectly intact. (Weimer's The Works of Luther, English translation by Pelikan, Concordia, St. Louis, v.11, pp. 319-320; v. 6. p. 510.)
The French reformer John Calvin (1509-1564) also held that Mary was the Mother of God
It cannot be denied that God in choosing and destining Mary to be the Mother of his Son, granted her the highest honor. ... Elizabeth called Mary Mother of the Lord, because the unity of the person in the two natures of Christ was such that she could have said that the mortal man engendered in the womb of Mary was at the same time the eternal God. (Calvini Opera, Corpus Reformatorum, Braunschweig-Berlin, 1863-1900, v. 45, p. 348, 35.)
On the perpetual virginity of Mary, "Calvin routinely brushes aside the difficulties sometimes raised from "first born" and "brothers of the Lord."" (O'Carroll, M., 1983, Theotokos, M Glazier, Inc.: Wilmington, DE, p. 94.)
The Swiss reformer, Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531), wrote, on the divine motherhood of Mary:
It was given to her what belongs to no creature, that in the flesh she should bring forth the Son of God. (Zwingli Opera, Corpus Reformatorum, Berlin, 1905, v. 6, I, p. 639.)
On the perpetual virginity of Mary, Zwingli wrote,
I firmly believe that Mary, according to the words of the gospel as a pure Virgin brought forth for us the Son of God and in childbirth and after childbirth forever remained a pure, intact Virgin. (Zwingli Opera, Corpus Reformatorum, Berlin, 1905, v. 1, p. 424.)
In another place Zwingli professed
I esteem immensely the Mother of God, the ever chaste, immaculate Virgin Mary ...; Christ ... was born of a most undefiled Virgin. (Stakemeier, E. in De Mariologia et Oecumenismo, Balic, K., ed., Rome, 1962, p. 456.)
The more the honor and love for Christ grows among men, the more esteem and honor for Mary grows, for she brought forth for us so great, but so compassionate a Lord and Redeemer. (Zwingli Opera, Corpus Reformatorum, Berlin, 1905, v. 1)
No, I think they were correct. I have no issue with the idea that Mary was a virgin all of her life.
Unless my information is incorrect, I have heard that the Greek word for "brother" and "male cousin" are the same, so the Greek Gospel could be interpreted either way.
Peace!
To the people above me who keep mentioning that Luther was anti-Semetic - pretty much everyone was anti-Semetic in Luther's time. He wasn't the only one. Don't judge Luther by one tract he wrote. Luther was a man of many demons yes - he experienced many times of severe depression and fits of rage. But he was also a devoted follower of God and sincere in his beliefs. Call me biased because I am a Lutheran, but I have read a few biographies on Luther.
Yes, the Protestants as re mistaken as well. Since they were once part of the catholic organization, they are heavily influenced by her. Revelation refers to Catholicism as a harlot and protestantism as the harlot's daughters.
By the way, the Baptists and Church of Christ are not protestants. They were NEVER part of Th Catholic cult.
Fine and dandy, but Mary was no longer a virgin, and Jesus even called her "woman", NOT "Mother"!! (John 19: 26-28). You must also remember The Second Commandment, oh, also The First One as well!! <')))><
The Protestant reformers had very few differences with the Catholic Church. It was only years and years later that some forms of Protestants began to reject the teachings of the Church.
Mary was a virgin until after she gave birth to Jesus. Then she consummated her marriage to Joseph. In the Gospels, Jesus says that anyone who believes in Him is His mother, brother, or sister. Mary was a sinner saved by God's grace alone.
No, they were right -- Mary had no other children except Jesus.
After all, no one except Jesus is referred to as "son of Mary" in the Bible. No one is referred to as "daughter of Mary."
The Bible speaks of Jesus' "brothers" and "sisters," but those words have a very wide meaning in the Bible -- they are used at least 100 times to describe relationships that are clearly not sibling ones.
Also, remember that when Gabriel told Mary that she would conceive and bear a son, she was engaged at the time.
Surely, most engaged women would assume that Gabriel meant, "After you get married, you will have sex with your husband and you will get pregnant with a son."
But Mary's response -- "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" -- means that she did not assume this is what Gabriel meant.
Why else would a soon-to-be married woman say such a thing -- unless she had taken a lifelong vow of virginity?
And yes, women did do that and still get married -- typically to older widowers who married them to look after them, not to raise families with them.
There is significant non-Scriptural evidence to suggest that Joseph was quite a lot older than Mary was.
I am afraid we are lost in the mists of time. Those who, from this far away from the actual events (mind you even at the time, I'm sure Mary had her detractors), still adhere to the original precepts and teachings of the Church, are indeed mightily blessed by the One Living God.
If I could share with you something I was reading yesterday, which has become glued to my mind:
Consider this: (Of the Lourdes apparitions)
Bernadette described Our Lady as being very young and very beautiful - In her own words:
"so lovely that, when you have seen her once, you would willingly die to see her again!"
http://www.biographyonline.net/spiritual/bernadette-soubirious.html
I would not say anything bad about this wonderful lady, no matter what her condition of her earthly life, and as a Catholic, I believe strongly in her perpetual purity while she lived among us.
Thanks for this wonderful opportunity to answer your questions. I am happy to be in touch with you.
''The recourse we have to Mary in prayer follows upon the office she continuously fills by the side of the throne of God as Mediatrix of Divine grace''
Yes, Mary is held up as Mediatrix. That is a woman mediator. As well as this she is stated as being at the side of God in heaven.
This is NOT so , and NOT taught in the Bible.
1 Timothy 2:5 ". . .For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus,"
Rather the teaching of Mary being in a high position hark ens back once again to mother worship , a clearly pagan teaching.
Besides this, you only need common sense and the faith of a toddler to know that it is a false tradition:
When the idea that Mary was sinless is preached- then yes, that is worship. When I see bumper stickers that say "can't find Jesus, look for his mother" that is worship. When Mary is touted as the 'mother of God' yes that is worship. When the umbilical idea that Mary ascended into heaven much like Jesus did - that is worship
Any idea that Mary is equal to or above God, that Mary is a mediator above Jesus between God and man, any idea preached that Mary did not need and look forward to her savior because she was a sinner is idol worship.
Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the soul of Mary or anyone else that is dead for that matter can pray for us, as a matter of fact we are instructed NOT to speak to the dead and as far as I can tell in the Bible the only person that has died and is yet alive is Jesus!
Mary is dead and will be raised up along with the rest of us on judgment day- she will be counted righteous for her faith and rewarded according to her faithful obedience. She cannot and is not 'praying for our souls'. There is not one scripture to support this idea and way too many to count to refute it.
A little bit of study will show that Mary worship comes directly from the pagan worship of female deities- rather than give up their false 'mother goddesses' when converting to Christianity, they were just renamed.
Jesus is the only mediator between God and man! Mary has no authority in that realm. And THAT is Biblical!
Remember this from the bible?
When some of his disciples tell Jesus that his family is outside looking for him, he responds, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" Then, looking at his followers, Jesus declares, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." (Mark 3:31-35)
Jesus also said in Mathew 11:11 I tell you the truth among those born of women there has not arisen anyone who is greater than John the Baptist; yet he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Mary was among those born of women yet he is Sang John the Baptist was greater.
Mary's virginity was not perpetual. She had children by her husband Joseph.
Mark 6:3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us? And they were offended at Him.
Mary held an honored position being chosen as the bearer of the Savior of the world but NEVER should she be exalted above the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Father or God the Holy Spirit.
Exodus 20:3-5 You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself any carved image (take a look around any Catholic church), or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them (Catholics pray to and worship Mary as they would God). For I, the LORD your God , am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me.
If anyone can give me Scripture to back up what they say contrary to what I have said above, please send it to me. I'd be anxious to read it.
A very nice collection of descriptions of Our Blessed Mother.
And nice to hear Protestants speaking as Catholics and Orthodoxy do with reverence toward Theotokos
God the Father, from whom comes every perfect gift and every grace, himself gave Mary every grace when he gave her his Son. -St. Louis DeMontfort
Perhaps the Protestants are due for a reformation of their own, one can only pray.
It a shame so many Protestants have fallen so far away from the Church and from their own forefathers intentions.
God knows what works He's doing with this particular part of the Body of Christ.
You omitted the fact that Luther also defended (St. Augustine's version of) the Immaculate Conception, The title of Mary as Queen of Heaven, and he preached sermons commemorating her Assumption. On the wall behind Luther's tomb in Wittenburg is a large bronze relief sculpture depicting the Coronation of the Virgin as Queen of Heaven. That being said, Lutherans today regard these beliefs as pious opinions, as they derive more from Church Tradition than scriptural evidence. They cannot be enforced as doctrine. (Other than Mater Dei and Semper Virgo, which are found in the Lutheran Confessions).
Protestants, were the founders of Protestantism wrong about Mary?
