Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving me your opinion on this piece.

Please forgive me if I am tardy in replying fully to your comment as these few days are a little crazy at work. I promise that I’ll definitely respond once things clear up a little toward the end of the week.

God bless you, and Shalom!

That said, I noticed a few discrepencies in this post and the comments. I’d like to help clear a few points up so your understanding of the Bible is enhanced. To do this, I’ll quote from the original post to help with my clarification.

Sicarii said:
“So what is it about the Roman Catholic Church and her teachings about Mary that I disagree with?

“First and foremost, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that Mary is the “Queen of Heaven” and is Co-Redeemer with our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I am not sure if you know this, but the Bible does mention a “Queen of Heaven” as well! Wait, you mean there’s Biblical evidence for Mary as Queen of Heaven so what is my problem?

“Let me show you where this reference to a “Queen of Heaven” appears:

“But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, etc…” (Jeremiah 44:18-23)

I respond:
Jeremiah was an Old Testament profit that lived from approximately 627 b.c. to 585 b.c., and his writings refer entirely to the Babylonian captivity. In other words, the Book of Jeremiah is historical fact, and as such, can be verified. The “queen of heaven” referred to here is the Babylonian high-mother goddess Ishtar, a mythical being, who the people were offering their sacrifices to. She is the mythical goddess of love, fertility, nature, sex and war, and was invoked as queen of heaven by the Babylonians. In fact, her symbols were the star and lion.

God was mad because these people were practicing idolatry, as you correctly but inaccurately pointed out.

Did you know that In the Old Testament kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the King might, like David or Solomon, have many wives. The title of Queen, therefore went not to any wife of the king, but to the mother of the king. (1 Kings 2 17-21, 1 Kings 15:13, Jeremiah 13:18) The Queen Mother was known in Hebrew as the gebirah. Since Jesus is the Heavenly King, of the lineage of David and Solomon, Mary becomes Queen Mother. The Roman Catholic Church also sees Mary crowned as Queen of Heaven in Revelations 12:1-5. There many references to Marian doctrine in the Old Testament that the Roman Catholic Church uses, so if you’d like them I’d be happy to provide them.

Sicarii said:
I think that basically just about squashes the Roman Catholic Church’s teachings, doesn’t it?

uh, not exactly. Sorry.

Sicarii said:
Secondly, its the statues of Mary that make me very uncomfortable, etc…

I respond:
Roman Catholics do many things that people think are strange, the Rosary being one example. 3 sets of 50 beads for a total of 150 beads that represent the Psalter of David. 150 beads, 150 Psalms. King David’s Psalms, by the way, are the Old Testament reflection of the Passion of the Christ in the New. Regardless of what you have been told, Catholics do NOT pray “to” Mary. We pray “through” Her. In other words, we offer our prayers to Her, so that She may present them to Her Son - Jesus - the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. By honoring Her, we honor Him. This is exactly the same thing that was done in the Old Testament. (See previous references.)

Just remember, the next time you stand, take off your hat, place your hand over your heart and face the American flag when the national anthem plays… or put a cross around your neck… you, too, could be accused of idolatry for honoring a symbol. That is, of course, if you were to apply the same reasoning you apply to Catholics and your understanding of “graven images”.

Sicarii said:
And doesn’t our Lord Jesus Christ specifically say

“And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” – Luke 4:8 (KJV)

I respond:
That’s an inappropriate quote to prove your point. Satan (the word means “adversary”) is tempting Jesus in the desert. Jesus was offered the “fruits” of the material world, and rulership over it, and He declined. I wonder why?… Simple as that.

Sicarii said:
And Mary certainly wasn’t a perpetual virgin. The Bible is very clear on this, so let’s refer to two specific instances where the Gospels tell us very directly that Mary had sexual relations with her husband Joseph and had other children besides our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.” – Matthew 1:24-25 (KJV)

I respond:
Rather than provide an answer, I’d like to ask 3 questions, using the following biblical passages for reference:

1. “Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no children until the day of her death.” (2 Sam 6:23). Are we to assume that she had children after her death?

2. Of the raven that Noah released from the ark, we are told that the bird “went forth and did not return till the waters were dried up upon the earth.” (Gen 8:7). Can you provide me the scripture passage that shows this raven as ever retuning to Noah?

3. The pagan king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzer, is called the king of kings by Daniel (Daniel 2:37). Are we to assume that this pagan king was a precursor to Jesus since he was given the same title?

Thinkest thou that thou understandest what thou readest? Acts 8:30 Understanding this first, that no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation. 2 Peter 1:20

Let me show you what I mean…

Sicarii said:
…we can conclude without a doubt that Joseph and Mary had sexual relations after Jesus Christ was born. Besides, just think how frustrating and disastrous it would have been for Joseph to marry a woman and not enjoy conjugal rights with her.

If Joseph and Mary had sexual relations, it follows that our Lord Jesus Christ would have earthly siblings as His neighbors told us:

“Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?” – Matthew 13:55-56 (KJV)

The Roman Catholic Church insists that these aren’t our Lord’s siblings, etc…

I respond:
Without doubt? None whatsoever? OK. Open your KJV and follow along…

Mk 15:40 - “There were also women looking on afar off: among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of JAMES the less, and of JO’SES, and Salome.” These people were at the crucifixion.

Jn 19:25 - “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother (Mary) and His mothers sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.”

Mt 10:2-3 - “…’JAMES’ the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddeus.” Alphaeus is an alternate translation of Cleophas (Clophas) and so he is the same person.

Acts 1:13 - “…JAMES, the son of Alphaeus, and SIMON Zelo’tes, and JUDE the brother of JAMES.”

From these four passages, we see we have another ‘Mary’, who was the wife of Cleophas (Alphaeus), and the mother of three of Jesus’s ‘brethren’, JAMES (the less), and JO’SES, and JUDE. This clearly shows that Mary, the mother
of Jesus, was NOT the mother of JAMES, JO’SES, and JUDE of Mk 6:3.

To keep Mk 6:3 in harmony, since three are not children of Mary, the mother of Jesus, then SIMON cannot be either. SIMON is the Canaanite Mk 3:18, also called the ‘Zealot’ (Zelo’tes), Mt 10:4, Lk 6:15, Acts 1:13.

Jude, who authored the Epistle of Jude, says he is the brother of James in Jude 1:1. Jude was also called ‘Thaddeus’ in Mt 10:3, and in Mk 3:18. This was to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot. Lk 6:16 further distinguishes the two by saying, “And Judas (Jude) the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor.”

Not convinced? Read on!

Jn 19:26-27 - “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He loved…” The disciple was John, the author of the Gospel of John. “Then He said to the disciple, BEHOLD THY MOTHER.” Was John a child of Mary and blood brother of Jesus?

Read the following verses to see…

Mk 1:19 - “…He saw James, the son of Zebedee, and ‘JOHN’, his brother.”
Mk 3:17 - “And James the son of Zebedee, and ‘JOHN’ the brother of James.”
Mt 27:56 - “Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James (the less) and Jo’ses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children.” (Salome)
Mt 20:20 - “Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedee with her sons, adoring and asking something of him.”
Mk 15:40 - “…among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James (the less), and Salome (mother of Zebedee’s children).”
Lk 24:10 - “It was Mary Magdalene…and Mary (’the other Mary’) the mother of James (the less)…”

A comparison of Mt 27:56, and Mk 15:40, clearly shows that Zebedee had a wife whose name was Salome. She is called the ‘mother of Zebedee’s children’ in Mt 27:56, and ‘Salome’ in Mk 15:40. They had two children, JOHN and JAMES, Mk 3:17.

JOHN at the foot of the cross to whom Jesus gave His mother, was not a child of Mary, the mother of Jesus, but of Zebedee and Salome. If Jesus had blood brothers, why then did He not give His mother to them? Jewish law would have demanded it…

Look at it this way:

1. Zebedee and Salome begat James and John (aka the “Sons of Thunder” Mark 3:17)
2. Cleophas-(Alphaeus) and “the third” Mary (Mt 27:56,61, 28:1, Jn 19:25) begat James (the less), Jo’ses, and Jude
3. The Holy Ghost and the Virgin Mary begat JESUS The CHRIST.

I sincerely apologize for the length of this reply, but as you can see, the Roman Catholic Church has every reason to teach what She does in regard to these matters. You see, when you combine logic, reason and fact with faith, you have something that nobody can take away from you - TRUTH.

ciao,

KarlOS

That’s where I am wary when God warns of the Apostate Church and her daughters, who are the daughters but those that come from the ‘mother church’, i.e. Protestant churches that still have strong ties to the Roman church?

Yes, we must realize that these daughters include our Protestant churches today! I am actually trying to find out how much Protestantism has deviated from the ideals of Martin Luther.

More importantly, I don’t think we should look at ourselves as Protestants, but define ourselves as a body of believers in Christ. For God has no denomination.

The video series is really great! It’s the first time I’ve watched one that has sign language in it — how very interesting. There’s another dimension to the message when it’s spoken through the hands.

Thank you for the link. Most of all I hope people who come across your post read this as well, so that they might know the Truth.

God bless you and your family!

The video series was such a blessing to find! I found the last two clips the most profound! It’s funny because the 10th clip mentions the RCC and “Queen of Heaven” so I was just thrilled to have found this post! As a matter of fact, I will link that clip to this post. So God bless you!

I remember my mother-in-law chiding my wife for eating meat on Fridays with me when we first got married. I am not sure if she has given up on that point, but perhaps so as I hear little of it nowadays.

Regarding marriage, the Apostle Paul said that it is good for a man to get married, and marriage is an institution ordained by God.

God already knows that there would be a powerful apostate Church, and warned all believers way beforehand. Unfortunately many do not seek the truth for themselves, but choose to believe in the traditions of men.

Thank you for the kind words again, I’m now watching the video series on your blog, but it’s coming in slowly (YouTube is getting quite slow on our networks here)…

Most of all, I like your blog’s tagline “Confessions of an unchurched Believer. Purposefully unchurched from institutional church. Purposefully churched in the Body of Christ.”

How really interesting that it describes me too, lol!