God used Mary in a unique way when he made her the mother of Christ. She was also a faithful Jewish believer. But calling her "Our Lady" is putting her in the same category as "Our Lord" Jesus. He is Lord (ruler) because he is God, and because all authority has been given to him. Mary is not our ruler. Grandiose titles for Mary lend themselves to Mariolatry. As Protestants, we should avoid this.
Simply referring to Mary as "Our Lady", is not putting her into the same category as Our Lord, Jesus Christ. For starters, Christ Himself referred to her as simply "Woman" (John 2:4) as in- the Woman prophesied in Genesis to crush the head of Satan through her seed. If Christ at the Wedding in Cana was okay with giving her such a "grandiose" title that singled her out as a special, unique woman, then we Christians can take His lead on that. After all, she's a totally unique woman who is "clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars. (Revelation 12:1). Singling her out is ok, because Christ, Heaven, and Sacred Scripture clearly do the same.
Secondly, good thing that I'm a Catholic and not Protestant, so your concern doesn't apply to me. There's no such thing as Mariolotry. This is a misunderstanding of what Catholics do. We adore and worship God in the Unbloody Representation of Christ's Holy Sacrifice at the Mass. What is given to Mary is "hyper dulia"- it's a higher form of veneration than any other holy man or woman receives, but it is NOT worship. Catholics, more than anyone else, understand that sacrifice and worship are for the Blessed Trinity alone. They are never offered to Our Lady. I invite you to examine what you view as worship and compare it to what Catholics claim is their form of worship- it's probably vastly different.
Thirdly, let's not worry about giving Mary too much honor and respect- that's just a sin of pride. St. Maximilian Kolbe put it best when he said, "Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did."
I can recommend some further reading for you to look into Marian DEVOTION- not worship- and see that it ultimately draws us closer to Christ. We as Christians are called to make ourselves as Christ-like as possible. Maybe entrust yourself to the only woman who could claim that she formed the Body of Christ in her womb.
"Lord of the manor--lady of the manor," "lords and ladies," etc. They sure seem equivalent to me. Saying that Christ at Cana used "Woman" to allude to Genesis 3 is quite the reach--where is there evidence in John 2 for this idea? The "woman" in Genesis 3 is Eve, not Mary. The "woman" in Revelation 12 is the people of God, not Mary. This is a Lutheran (LCMS) website, so I was addressing my fellow Lutherans. If Protestant teaching offends you, visit other websites. I think the hyperdulia/latria distinction is bogus. As far as what is worship, let's not split hairs. Mary has an official cult, people pray to her, they build altars to her, people trust in her for all kinds of blessings--it's worship. "If it quacks like a duck..." People don't just love or honor Mary--they pray to her, expect miracles from her, and trust in her for salvation. That is idolatry. Frankly, why should I pretend to love anyone who's been dead for 2,000 years? I love God, my family, and friends. I don't really "love" historical figures. Other than who her Son was (and being a virgin when that happened), what did Mary do that was truly extraordinary?
You're Lutheran, so you follow a religion started by Martin Luther.... The guy who publicly claimed that he had a devotion to Our Lady. . . The only one showing any offense to Lutheran teaching in this case is you.
Your ignorance of Scripture and typology is quite apparent from your post. I could give you a list of early Church Fathers who drew a connection between Cana and Genesis 3. For now, I'll leave it at the bare minimum- Woman, as it was spoken by Christ, is the same word that was used to name Eve. In Hebrew/Aramaic, they're the same word. So, Christ makes that connection explicit. Also, did Eve give birth to the seed that crushes the head of Satan? Cain, Abel, Seth.... No, they didn't do that. It was Mary that gave birth to Christ.
The woman of Revelation 12 has multiple meanings, which includes Mary, just like the dragon not only represents Satan but also sin, evil, the persecutors of the Christians, etc. Again, clearly the woman also represents Our Lady because she, in verse 5, gives birth to "a male child, destined to rule the nations with an iron rod" (Revelation 12:5). That's clearly an allusion to Psalm 2, which is a prophecy of the Messiah.
Now, how many women in Scripture give birth to the Messiah that's destined to rule all the nations? I can only think of one! It's Mary. "Our Lady" if you will.
The difference being "bogus" in your opinion is just that- your opinion. Quite measly compared to Sacred Scriptures and Church Tradition.
Lastly, we know from Revelation 12, which we now know alludes to Our Lady, that Mary is in Heaven. Christ Himself said that God is "the God of the living, not the dead" (Matthew 22:32). We pray to someone who is very much alive. And according to Scripture, again Revelation 12, she's a queen- crowned with stars! Clearly, Christ viewed her as doing some pretty remarkable things in her life.
It's not worship to ask someone to pray for you or do you a favor. Worship involves sacrifice, something that Catholics exclusively offer to the Trinity. It's not splitting hairs, because it is the sacrifice of Christ that is represented at the Mass- hardly a small matter or a case of "splitting hairs". We would never offer that to Our Lady.
I recommend more study of Scripture and Church History. You'll gain a worthy, wonderful intercessor in Mary by doing so. Sorry for stepping on your toes by interacting with a Lutheran post. I saw a post about my mother and got enthusiastic enough to comment.
By directly addressing my comment in a way that was also directed towards me?
I can tell that you have no better arguments because you're resorting to a low-hanging fruit insult. Maybe chew on the Scriptural references that I gave you- they'll take you a lot further than relying on your own opinion and one-liners.
Waiting for publication!
Gotta love Our Lady!
God used Mary in a unique way when he made her the mother of Christ. She was also a faithful Jewish believer. But calling her "Our Lady" is putting her in the same category as "Our Lord" Jesus. He is Lord (ruler) because he is God, and because all authority has been given to him. Mary is not our ruler. Grandiose titles for Mary lend themselves to Mariolatry. As Protestants, we should avoid this.
Simply referring to Mary as "Our Lady", is not putting her into the same category as Our Lord, Jesus Christ. For starters, Christ Himself referred to her as simply "Woman" (John 2:4) as in- the Woman prophesied in Genesis to crush the head of Satan through her seed. If Christ at the Wedding in Cana was okay with giving her such a "grandiose" title that singled her out as a special, unique woman, then we Christians can take His lead on that. After all, she's a totally unique woman who is "clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of 12 stars. (Revelation 12:1). Singling her out is ok, because Christ, Heaven, and Sacred Scripture clearly do the same.
Secondly, good thing that I'm a Catholic and not Protestant, so your concern doesn't apply to me. There's no such thing as Mariolotry. This is a misunderstanding of what Catholics do. We adore and worship God in the Unbloody Representation of Christ's Holy Sacrifice at the Mass. What is given to Mary is "hyper dulia"- it's a higher form of veneration than any other holy man or woman receives, but it is NOT worship. Catholics, more than anyone else, understand that sacrifice and worship are for the Blessed Trinity alone. They are never offered to Our Lady. I invite you to examine what you view as worship and compare it to what Catholics claim is their form of worship- it's probably vastly different.
Thirdly, let's not worry about giving Mary too much honor and respect- that's just a sin of pride. St. Maximilian Kolbe put it best when he said, "Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did."
I can recommend some further reading for you to look into Marian DEVOTION- not worship- and see that it ultimately draws us closer to Christ. We as Christians are called to make ourselves as Christ-like as possible. Maybe entrust yourself to the only woman who could claim that she formed the Body of Christ in her womb.
"Lord of the manor--lady of the manor," "lords and ladies," etc. They sure seem equivalent to me. Saying that Christ at Cana used "Woman" to allude to Genesis 3 is quite the reach--where is there evidence in John 2 for this idea? The "woman" in Genesis 3 is Eve, not Mary. The "woman" in Revelation 12 is the people of God, not Mary. This is a Lutheran (LCMS) website, so I was addressing my fellow Lutherans. If Protestant teaching offends you, visit other websites. I think the hyperdulia/latria distinction is bogus. As far as what is worship, let's not split hairs. Mary has an official cult, people pray to her, they build altars to her, people trust in her for all kinds of blessings--it's worship. "If it quacks like a duck..." People don't just love or honor Mary--they pray to her, expect miracles from her, and trust in her for salvation. That is idolatry. Frankly, why should I pretend to love anyone who's been dead for 2,000 years? I love God, my family, and friends. I don't really "love" historical figures. Other than who her Son was (and being a virgin when that happened), what did Mary do that was truly extraordinary?
You're Lutheran, so you follow a religion started by Martin Luther.... The guy who publicly claimed that he had a devotion to Our Lady. . . The only one showing any offense to Lutheran teaching in this case is you.
Your ignorance of Scripture and typology is quite apparent from your post. I could give you a list of early Church Fathers who drew a connection between Cana and Genesis 3. For now, I'll leave it at the bare minimum- Woman, as it was spoken by Christ, is the same word that was used to name Eve. In Hebrew/Aramaic, they're the same word. So, Christ makes that connection explicit. Also, did Eve give birth to the seed that crushes the head of Satan? Cain, Abel, Seth.... No, they didn't do that. It was Mary that gave birth to Christ.
The woman of Revelation 12 has multiple meanings, which includes Mary, just like the dragon not only represents Satan but also sin, evil, the persecutors of the Christians, etc. Again, clearly the woman also represents Our Lady because she, in verse 5, gives birth to "a male child, destined to rule the nations with an iron rod" (Revelation 12:5). That's clearly an allusion to Psalm 2, which is a prophecy of the Messiah.
Now, how many women in Scripture give birth to the Messiah that's destined to rule all the nations? I can only think of one! It's Mary. "Our Lady" if you will.
The difference being "bogus" in your opinion is just that- your opinion. Quite measly compared to Sacred Scriptures and Church Tradition.
Lastly, we know from Revelation 12, which we now know alludes to Our Lady, that Mary is in Heaven. Christ Himself said that God is "the God of the living, not the dead" (Matthew 22:32). We pray to someone who is very much alive. And according to Scripture, again Revelation 12, she's a queen- crowned with stars! Clearly, Christ viewed her as doing some pretty remarkable things in her life.
It's not worship to ask someone to pray for you or do you a favor. Worship involves sacrifice, something that Catholics exclusively offer to the Trinity. It's not splitting hairs, because it is the sacrifice of Christ that is represented at the Mass- hardly a small matter or a case of "splitting hairs". We would never offer that to Our Lady.
I recommend more study of Scripture and Church History. You'll gain a worthy, wonderful intercessor in Mary by doing so. Sorry for stepping on your toes by interacting with a Lutheran post. I saw a post about my mother and got enthusiastic enough to comment.
As I said, I was urging my fellow Protestants to avoid giving Mary idolatrous titles. You go on and worship your goddess...I'll stick to Christ.
By directly addressing my comment in a way that was also directed towards me?
I can tell that you have no better arguments because you're resorting to a low-hanging fruit insult. Maybe chew on the Scriptural references that I gave you- they'll take you a lot further than relying on your own opinion and one-liners.