OBJECTION: Why do Catholics consider Mary so important?
REFUTATION:
Luke 1: 41:42
"And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!'"[/color]
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth singled out Mary as God's most blessed woman. In verse 48, Mary says that all generations will call her blessed. Why don't Protestants? Even Martin Luther (the founder of Protestantism) had the highest regard for Mary. It's only within the last couple of hundred years that such a disregard and disdain for Mary has emerged. This was not the attitude of the early church or of Christians before or immediately after the Protestant reformation.
OBJECTION: Why do Catholics call Mary "The Mother of God"?
REFUTATION:
Matthew 1:23
"Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel" (which means, God with us).
Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14 which foretold of the birth of Christ. The verse states that the child's name means "God is with us". The mother of this child must be the mother of the God who is with us; Jesus. Mary is the mother of Jesus and therefore the mother of God. Catholics honor Mary in the same way Jesus honors her. Jesus kept the fourth commandment (honor your father and mother) and we as members of the Body of Christ imitate Christ in honoring His mother Mary.
Galatians 4:4
"But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law.."
In Paul's writing to the Galatians, he points out that God's Son was born of a woman. Jesus, the son of the Father, is God the Son. Therfore Mary is the Mother of God (the Son). Some people misunderstand the Catholic title for Mary as "The Mother of God" thinking that we beleive that Mary gave birth to the Creator and therefore pre-existed God. This is not the Catholic Church's teaching regarding Mary.
Luke 1:43
"And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"
Elizabeth refers to Mary as the "Mother of my Lord". "Lord" to the Jєωιѕн people and in the New Testament refers only to God. This does not imply that Mary was the mother of the Father; only of Jesus; True God and True Man. To deny that Mary is the Mother of God, is to deny that Jesus is God.
OBJECTION: Mary was not born sinless for the Bible says "all have sinned".
REFUTATION:
Genesis 3:15
"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."
If the woman who was going to have the seed (Jesus) who would crush the head of Satan was going to be with sin, then she would have been the seed of the devil. The verse in that case would have read, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and your seed's (woman) seed. Notice that the woman is not associated as being the seed of the devil.
Luke 1:28
"And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!"
The angel Gabriel states that Mary is full of grace (kecharitomene [Gk]= perfected in grace). Some translations use "highly favored" which is a poor translation from the Greek. "Full of grace" means there's no room for sin. This verse indicates that she was very special. Lk 1:37 "For with God nothing shall be impossible". While Rm 3:23 states "all have sinned". This does not include Mary just as it does not include Christ, babies or Adam and Eve before the fall. "All" in this case (Rm 3:23) is used in a general sense.
OBJECTION: Those in heaven can't hear our prayers.
REFUTATION"
Mark 12:26-27
"And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?' He is not God of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong."[/color]
The saints in heaven are more alive and aware of what's going on than we are. They're not separated from the Body of Christ but more united to it and therefore more united to us. Their love for us is now unblemished and through the love of God, they desire God's blessings for us. Asking them to pray for us is similar to asking a friend to pray for us. It doesn't take away from the mediation of Christ that is still required but contributes to our prayers to Christ on our behalf.
Revelation 5:8
"And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, adn with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints;"[/color]
The prayers of the saints are being offered to God. What petitions would saints in heaven have to offer God if it weren't for the petitions we give them? Those in heaven have no needs. If the saints in heaven couldn't hear our prayers then this would imply that thy are separated or cutoff from the Body of Christ. In fact, they are more closely united to Christ than we are.