Mary's Consent

Mary's Consent -???

Pages 15-17

Titles that have been given to Mary over the centuries are indicative of power and authority. Such titles as: Mary, the queen of heaven; the queen of saints and angels; the ark of the covenant; advocate; helper; intercessor; the new Eve; Mediatrix; co-Redemptrix; mother of the church; etc. The Catechism makes it perfectly clear that these titles of power and authority are the direct result of the erroneous teaching that Mary gave her consent to be the mother of Christ.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, p. 252
967 In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace. This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation. 

Immediately after Gabriel announced to Mary that she was chosen by God to be the mother of the Christ child, and that Elisabeth had conceived a son in her old age, and that “with God nothing shall be impossible,” Mary responded, saying, “Be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).

The Roman Catholic Church’s teaching that Mary gave her consent to be the mother of the Christ child is based entirely upon this single verse of scripture. Mary was not giving her consent in Luke 1:38. She was affirming her belief in all of what Gabriel had just told her. The erroneous doctrine of Mary’s submission, her bowing her will and cooperating with God by consenting to be the mother of the Christ child, is the foundation from which all erroneous Marian doctrines have developed through the centuries, via the living tradition of the Roman Catholic Church.

On page sixteen of the book “The Thunder of Justice”, the Catholic author wrote:

“Although Marian theology has developed over the centuries, the underlying concepts are seen in many writings of the church Fathers that date from the second century, according to the famous Nineteenth Century theologian, John Cardinal Newman.”

On page forty-two, John Cardinal Newman is quoted again as saying: “Though I hold, as you know, a process of development in apostolic truth as time goes on; such development does not supersede the Fathers, but explains and completes them… And, in particular, as regards our teaching concerning the Blessed Virgin, with the Fathers I am content… The Fathers are enough for me … I fully grant that devotion toward the Blessed Virgin has increased among Catholics with the progress of the centuries…”

This so-called ongoing process of development in Apostolic truth is precisely what the Apostle Paul warned the earliest church fathers against, in 63 AD. He told them that even of themselves men would arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

The Apostle Paul’s WARNING to the earliest church fathers of the first century:

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn everyone night and day with tears.

Contrary to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (p. 127, #506) it was not Mary’s faith, but God’s predetermined will that enabled Mary to become the mother of the Savior.. Zacharia’s doubting Gabriel, when he was told that he would have a son, did not prevent his becoming the father of John the Baptist. Zacharias temporarily lost his ability to speak because of his unbelief, but nevertheless, God’s predetermined will was accomplished. [Luke 1:13, 18-20]

In the Knights of Columbus booklet The Rosary (volume eighty-four), it is stated that “Mary bows her will in loving submission to all that God may ‘ask’ of her. She offers herself with Jesus for the world’s salvation.” The salvation of the world did not come through Mary’s alleged obedience to God but “by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23; 4:27-28).

Mary, at the annunciation, did not “bow her will in loving submission;” she did not cooperate with what God had asked of her. God’s message to Mary was not a request but a proclamation of glad tidings. She did not “assent” to a request but affirmed her belief in those things which Gabriel had told her.

It was God who worked in Mary “both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13; Hebrews 13:21); “according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will”(Ephesians 1:5,11; Isaiah 46:9-13). Man was created with a free will, but only insofar as it does not interfere with God’s predetermined purpose, as is evident in the following scriptures.

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 7:14, emphasis added

Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

Isaiah 46:9-11

Him [Jesus], being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain…

Acts 2:23

For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Acts 4:27-28

For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

Revelation 17:17

Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

Romans 9:19-21

Page 22

The Apostle Paul said, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction … ” (2 Timothy 3:16). The magisterium, the teaching office of the Roman Catholic Church, obviously does not follow Paul’s criteria. … In the following pages, notice the many statements about Mary in acclaimed Catholic writings, including the Catechism, that contradict the inspired Word of God.

Page 26

Catechism of the Catholic Church (P. 26):

82 … the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.

On page twenty-nine, paragraph ninety-five, of the Catechism, it is stated that “Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others.” In other words, regardless of the fact that Marian doctrines contradict Scripture, they must be accepted as truth because they are backed up by the others; namely, tradition and the magisterium. TRUTH CANNOT CONTRADICT TRUTH! …

Sacred living tradition, for the most part, is based upon the teaching and/or writings of church fathers, and every erroneous Marian doctrine and dogma taught in the Roman Catholic Church stems from living tradition. Those of the church fathers whom the Apostle Paul said would “arise speaking perverse things” started a living tradition of false doctrines. The Bible is totally void of any mention of the many erroneous Marian doctrines and dogmas. …
Acts 20:28-31, emphasis added

Did The Virgin Mary Have Other Children?

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #499, p. 126, "The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the church to confess Mary's real and perpetual virginity, even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man...."  Acording to the the inspired Word of God, the Bible, Mary's virginity was not perpetual; she did have other children.

There are literally dozens of New Testament Scriptures concerning Jesus that say it is written of him, much of which is written in the Psalms. Jesus said, "All things that are written in the law, the prophets and in the Psalms, concerning me, must be fulfilled". (Luke 24:44). When Jesus drove the moneychangers out of thetemple, "his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up" (John 2:15-17.

The very scriptures that came to the disciples' minds also speak of Jesus's siblings, Mary's other children (Psalm 69:8-9). Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren and an alien unto my mother's children. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. (Psalm 69:7-9).

According to Abingdon's Strong's Hebrew Concordance, the words brethren and children in Psalm 69:8, are translated from two entirely different Hebrew words, thus indicating two entirely different types of rlationships. The Hebrew word for brethren (*ach-#251), in Psalm 69:8, is the same word Cain used in Genesis 4:9 in reference to his sibling Able, saying, "Am I my brother's keeper? The Hebrew word for children (ben-#1121) is the same word that is used in Genesis 3:16, when God told Eve: "in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children".

When the Apostle Paul quoted Psalm 69:9 in his epistle to the Romans, and then said, "whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning", he was not oblivious to the fact that Psalm 69:8-9 is prophetic of Jesus and Mary and of Mary's other children. The subject matter of both passages is the same. He was talking about "reproach". He was admonishing his readers to be of the same mind as Christ and to follow his example of not pleasing self but others (Romans 15:1-5). Compare the following:

Romans 15:3-4 - "For even Christ pleased not himself, but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning."

Psalm 69:7-9 - "Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. I am become a stranger unto my brethren and an alien unto my mother's children. For the zeal of thine house hath eatem me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me."

When the Apostle Paul said, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, reproof and correction", he was talking about the Old Testament (2 Timothy 3:16). Paul taught "none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come" (Acts 26:22, and he "believed all things that are written therein" (Acts 24:14). If the doctrine of Perpetual Virginity had in fact been taught in the early church, Paul most certainly would have made it perfectly clear to his readers when he quoted Psalm 69:8, that the context of the verse he quoted only seems to contradict the doctrind of Perpetual Virginity.

Since all scripture is inspired of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, and correction, and is totally silent on the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity, the doctrine has to have been born out of the living tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, which is not, in its entirety, inspired of God. The Living Tradidion of the Church should be adhered to in that it may afford us a better understanding of the early church, but only insofar as that it does not contradict the divinely inspired Word of God.

Peter, the Rock (?) - Part 1

Peter, the Rock (?) – Part 1

Peter's Profession of Faith

552   Simon Peter holds the first place in the college of the Twelve; Jesus entrusted a unique mission to him. Through a revelation from the Father, Peter had confessed: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Our Lord then declared to him: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” Christ, the “living stone,” thus assures his Church, built on Peter, of victory over the powers of death. Because of the faith he confessed Peter will remain the unshakable rock of the Church. His mission will be to keep this faith from every lapse and to strengthen his brothers in it.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, p. 141

According to the chronological order of the gospel’s events, Peter’s profession in Matthew 16:16 was not the first profession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. Compare the chronological order of the disciples’ professions of faith.
27 A.D. (February)

Andrew-John 1:41-42

Philip-John 1:45

Nathanael-John 1:49

Disciples -John 2:11

29 A.D. (April)

Peter -“We believe and are sure thou art the Son of God” -John 6:69

(Summer)

Disciples¬-“Of a truth thou art the Son of God”-Matthew 14:33

Peter-“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” -Matthew 16:16

In AD 27, two years prior to Peter’s profession of faith, Andrew, after having met Jesus, went to find Peter to tell him, “We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ”(John 1:41). The following day, Philip found Nathanael and said, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write” (John 1:45). When Jesus told Nathanael that he saw him under the fig tree, even before Philip called him, Nathanael said, “Thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel” (John 1:43-49). Shortly thereafter, Jesus performed his first miracle at the wedding in Cana; at which time “His disciples believed on Him” (John 2:1-11).

It is true that in the Old Testament, the title Son of God is given to angels, the chosen people, the children of Israel, and their kings. However, italicized statements in the following quotation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#441, p. 111) undermine the plainly stated facts of the Word of God.

In the Old Testament, “son of God” is a title given to the angels, the Chosen People, the children of Israel, and their kings. It signifies an adoptive sonship that establishes a relationship of particular intimacy between God and his creature. When the promised Messiah-King is called “son of God,” it does not necessarily imply that he was more than human, according to the literal meaning of these texts. Those who called Jesus “son of God,” as the Messiah of Israel, perhaps meant nothing more than this. Such is not the case for Simon Peter when he confesses Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” for Jesus responds solemnly: “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.”

The above italicized hypothetical statements are not based on the truth of the scriptures, but on conjecture. The scriptures clearly show that God the Father had previously revealed Jesus' identity to all of the twelve disciples and not just to Peter. The assumption that Peter’s profession of faith was the first genuine profession because Jesus responds solemnly with, “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven,” nullifies the authenticity of the professions of faith that were previously made by the other apostles. Since only God knows the intentions of the heart, and unless it is plainly stated in God’s Word, it is presumptuous to state as fact whether an individual’s profession of faith is genuine (cf. Acts 1:24; Acts 15:7-9; Hebrews 4:12-13; Luke 16:15; Romans 8:27; Revelation 2:23).

It would be more reasonable to speculate or presume that the Father had previously revealed Jesus' true identity to Andrew, and that Andrew’s was the first genuine profession of faith. It was immediately after having spent part of a day and the entire night with Jesus that Andrew went directly to find Peter and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (John 1:39-42).

And what about John the Baptist, to whom it was revealed by God the Father, in AD 27 that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God (John 1:25-33, 34)?

And what about the Samaritans, in AD 27 John 4:7, 25-26, 29, 39-41, 42), or Simeon in 4 BC (Luke 2:25-34) and others? If Jesus’s solemn response is the prerequisite for determining a genuine profession of faith, then all of the above are also disqualified.

Jesus wasn’t giving the Apostle Peter supreme authority and rule over his church in Matthew chapter 16; he was speaking a parable, as he most often did. The rock upon which Jesus Christ is building his church is the rock of faith; faith in his all-sufficient sacrifice as full payment for our sins.

It is also by faith that:

By FAITH: We are saved (Ephesians 2:8; 2 Timothy 3:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Luke 18:42; Luke 7:50).

BY FAITH We receive remission of sins (Romans 3:23-25; Acts 10:43; Acts 13:38, 39; Acts 26:18; Colossians 1:14; Mark 2:5; Revelation 1:5).

BY FAITH We inherit eternal life (John 3:15-16,36; John 5:24; 1 John 5:13; John 6:40, 47, 68, 69; 1 Timothy 1:16; John 11:25-26; Acts 13:46-48; John 20:31; etc.).

BY FAITH We become the children of God (Galatians 3:26; John 1:12-13; 1 John 5:1).

BY FAITH We receive the Holy Spirit (John 7:38-39; Galatians 3:2, 14; Ephesians 1:13; Acts 11:15-18).

BY FAITH We are justified (Acts 13:38-39; Galatians 2:16; Galatians 3:8, 24; Romans 3:28; Romans 5:1).

BY FAITH We are sanctified (Acts 26:18; Hebrews 10:10, 29; Hebrews 13:12; John 17:17; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; Ephesians 5:26; 1 Corinthians 1:2,30).

BY FAITH We receive the gift of righteousness (Philippians 3:9; Psalms 24:3-5; Romans 5:17; Romans 3:22; Romans 4:3,5; Romans 4:11, 21-25; Romans 9:30; Romans 10:2-4; Romans 10:6, 10; Jeremiah 33:14-16; Jeremiah 51:10; Isaiah 54:17; Isaiah 45:22-25; 1 Corinthians 1:29-31).

BY FAITH We receive the promises of God (Hebrews 6:12; Galatians 3:2, 14, 22; Hebrews 11:33; James 2:5).

BY FAITH We have access into grace (Romans 5:2; Hebrews 4:14-16; Hebrews 10:19-23; Ephesians 3:12).

BY FAITH We inherit the kingdom of God (James 2:5; 2 Thessalonians 1:4-5; Acts 14:22).

BY FAITH We are kept by the power of God (1 Peter 1:5).

BY FAITH We resist the devil and quench all the fiery darts of the wicked (1 Peter 5: 8-9; Ephesians 6:11-12,16).

BY FAITH We stand (2 Corinthians 1:24; 1 Corinthians15:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 3:7-8; Romans 5:2).

BY FAITH God purifies our hearts (Acts 15:9).

If Peter is, in fact, the rock upon which Jesus said he was going to build his church, and if he is, in fact, “the only one to whom Christ specifically entrusted keys to the kingdom” (Catechism, p. 142), and there was “no possibility of the original hearers being confused about Jesus’s meaning,” as stated in Born Fundamentalist (p. 76), then why, after having heard these facts, did the disciples continue to ask Jesus, “Who is the greatest?” And why didn’t Jesus answer them by saying, “Peter is the greatest”?

Compare his answer to this question in Matthew 18:1-4 with his reply to Peter’s rebuke in Matthew 16:23-26. In both passages, the prerequisite for being the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is self denial and humility. Peter, humble?

At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:1-4, emphasis added

But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Matthew 16:23-26, emphasis added

Compare the following chronological order of events. In all three gospels, it was after Jesus said he was going to build his church on this petra that the disciples asked, “Who is the greatest?”

Matthew: 
29 A.D. (Summer)
Peter  -  “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” - Matthew 16:16
Disciples - Who’s the greatest? - Matthew 18:1-4


30 A.D. (March)
James and John - Request for their pre-eminence in Christ’s kingdom - Matthew 20:21

 
Mark:
Peter -  “Thou art the Christ”-Mark 8:29
Disciples - Who’s the greatest?-Mark 9:34
James and John - Request for their preeminence in Christ’s kingdom - Mark 10:35-37

(the other ten were displeased, verse 41)

Luke:
Peter  - “Thou art the Christ”- Luke 9:20
Disciples  - Who’s the greatest?- Luke 9:46
Disciples  - Who’s the greatest?- Luke 22-24