[zucchini bob]

(2 Peter 1:20) Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. (Isaiah 28:10) For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: (Isaiah 28:13) But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

[Tell It Right]

Here in the U.S., the Catholics aren't the ones coming against us Protestants. It's the hedonist Dims.

We gain a lot more focusing on converting hedonist Dims to Christians than we do trying to convert Catholics to Protestants.

[BipolarBob]

You've been reading the Bible again, haven't you? You can't understand it. You must have the RCC magisterium explain it to you. If you pray to Mary about this, you'll see I'm right.

heavy sarc

[PGR88]

Weird - did you specifically post this the day after the Feast of the Assumption?

[hinckley buzzard]

I am assuming this rambling rant is inspired by the recent celebration of the Assumption of Mary. While not explicit in the Bible, it is an ancient tradition dating to the patristic days, long before the Catholic Church became the institution it is today. Idk why anyone would get their hair on fire over it. Catholics worship God, not Mary.

[ZULU]

Nothing like uber-Catholics and uber-Protestants tossing firebombs at each other at a time when the forces of Satan
control the White House and are stalking the world and our children.

I think this kind of material is TOTALLY inappropriate in a political forum anyway.

Catholics and Protestants have far more in common with each other than they have differences. OUR ENEMIES CERTAINLY THINK SO. And I refuse to be a part of it.Theological scholars on both sides of the issues have argued these points with eachother for centuries with cogent arguments.
You make your choice, live with it and don’t flaunt it in other Christians’ faces.

SEE:

“Ephesians 6:12
New King James Version
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of [a]the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

“Ephesians 6:12
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
12 For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

[G Larry]

This author has substituted hatred of Catholics for Scriptural understanding.

His assertions can't withstand the slightest scrutiny.

[Tacticalman]

THE BIBLICAL ASPECTS OF THE ASSUMPTION

+ The Assumption of Mary is the teaching that:
“The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory” [Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus 44]
This teaching has been part of Sacred Tradition within the Church and it is also a teaching held by the Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian Church of the East & Eastern Orthodox (known as Dormition of Mary) long before it was infallibly defined by Pope Pius XII on Nov. 1, 1950.
The Assumption of Mary is also a teaching that’s taught implicitly in Sacred Scripture which we will examine in this post.

+ The Assumption of Mary is tied to the scriptural teaching of Mary being the Ark of the New Covenant.

1) The Ark Contained:
- The Word of God in stone
- The Rod of Aaron, the Ancestral Priest
- The bread manna
(See Hebrews 9:4)

The Blessed Mary Contained:
- The Word of God in flesh (John 1:14)
- The High Priest, Jesus (Hebrews 3:1)
- The true manna from heaven (John 6:32)

2) The glory of the Lord and the cloud cover the Tabernacle (containing the Ark) and
“overshadow” them (Exodus 40:34-35).
The Greek word for “overshadow” found in the Septuagint is a form of episkiasei.
The Holy Spirit comes upon Mary and the power of the Most High “overshadows” her (Luke 1:35). The Greek word for “overshadow” is episkiasei.

3) David “arose and went” to the hill country of Judah to bring up “the Ark of God” (2 Samuel 6:2)
Mary “arose and went” into the hill country of Judah to visit Elizabeth (Luke 1:39)

4) David admits his unworthiness to receive the Ark by exclaiming: “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” (2 Samuel 6:9)
Elizabeth admits her unworthiness to receive Mary by exclaiming: “But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
(Luke 1:43)

+ In Psalm 132 we see a promise that God would assume his ark into heaven.
“Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭132:8‬).
This a reference ‬‬to the Temple but we can know that this is also a reference to the Ark of the New Covenant (Mary) because it is also a messianic prophecy of Christ.

We can know this because St. Peter applies Psalm 132:11 to Christ in Acts 2:30 which says, “Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,”.

+ In the book of Revelation St. John directly connects the Ark in Heaven and the Mother of Christ.
Revelation 11:19-12:1 - “Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail. Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars.”
‭‭
The reason why I quoted Revelation 11:19 & 12:1 together is because that is how it was read originally. In the ancient Greek manuscripts there were no chapter divisions like how we have them today. Revelation 12:1 consistently follows from Revelation 11:19.
The woman here is Mary. Revelation 12 points out that the moon is under her feet and she has a crown on her head. The fact that Mary is mentioned with having a head and feet outside of the earth shows that both her body and soul was assumed. Other Christians in heaven currently do not possess a body (Revelation 6:9, Hebrews 12:23) but will after the last trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:52; 15:42). And yes I am aware that Revelation 12:1 is symbolic but I will prove how it is both literal and symbolic and not either or.
Some Protestants would object that say that the woman in Revelation 12 is not Mary, but it’s Israel. However this is a logical fallacy called a false dichotomy. It’s not an either/or. The woman is Mary as well as Israel. And the woman is also the Church. Revelation 12 contains a fusion reference. A fusion reference is when there’s an expression of two or more things together to form a single story or event. There are other examples of fusion references in Scripture.
For example, In Psalm 2:7-9 it says that Jesus is the Son of God who rules the nations with a rod of iron. But this passage also refers to believers (Revelation 2:26-27).

In Isaiah 7:14 it contains a prophecy of Christ that he would be called Immanuel. But in the context (Isaiah 7:14-18) it also applies to another person who would be called Immanuel. A different Immanuel was born as a sign that God was still with Israel (Isaiah 8:5-8).
Isaiah 49:6 contains a prophecy of Christ that he would be a light to the gentiles and bring salvation to the ends of the earth. But this passage also applies to believers (Acts 13:47).

Mary is the woman in Revelation 12 because:
There’s a sign Mary shall conceive a son (Isaiah 7:13-14), There’s a sign in the heaven which is a woman (Revelation 12:1). Mary will be with the child, the woman was with the child (Revelation 12:4). Mary will give birth to a son (Isaiah 7:13-14), the woman gave birth to a son (Revelation 12:1-2,5)
The woman also is Israel because she is associated with the sun, the moon and the twelve stars. These symbols are drawn from Genesis 37:9-11 where Joseph has a dream of the sun and moon (symbolizing his mother and father) and stars (symbolizing his brothers). Together the sun, moon and the stars represents the people of Israel
The woman is the Church because she is the rest of the offspring that bears witness to Jesus (Revelation 12:17)

+ The dogma of the Assumption of Mary is ultimately tied to Christology. It is a sign of everything that has been accomplished through the finished work of Christ on the cross. This teaching reminds us that evil has already lost the war even though time has not run its full course. In Mary’s assumption, it is a witness of the resurrection of the body and the new creation which has been promised to the Body of Christ. The Assumption of the Mother of Christ is the guarantee of the final resurrection of all the faithful.

[BlackAdderess]

Romans 14.

[BlackAdderess]

Romans 14 should apply to both sides. In my experience, it does not, and that may be where some problems may fester and resist efforts to heal.

Many generations back, one particularly wild female ancester of mine managed to get herself excommunicated, so she went to the Protestant church, and we have been Protestant ever since. My Catholic friends immediately started calculating how many generations, and happily told me that I was eligible to come back. That was nice, and I’ve been to Catholic as well as Protestant churches, believing that one might be saved by Jesus, rather than by whether you come from Paul... or Peter.

I do think suspect that there may be a problem with machinations on the Catholic side to turn this country into a majority Catholic country (as they may believe that Protestants don’t count as Christians) and bring it under the authority of Rome. The abortion issue makes a great poison pill to get Democrats elected who favor not building a wall. I do think that God is greater than any of His servants, or power-hungry people masquerading as servants, and God’s will, will be done.

[zeestephen]

What about the Cult of Shmi Skywalker?

Shmi was the virgin mother of Anakin Skywalker, the boy who ultimately became Darth Vader.

Anakin's father was "The Force."

[NathanBroom]

What is the purpose of this? What are Protestants always trying to pick fights with Catholics? Pull the Beam out of your own eye. My question for you is how do you know what books belong in the Bible you read?

[daniel1212]

The Mary of Catholicism

Thinking of souls above what is written. (cf. 1Cor. 4:6)

It should be kept in mind that my objection is not to Mary being honored as the holy chosen vessel to bring forth Christ, but to the excess ascriptions, appelations, exaltation, and adoration (and the manner of exegesis behind it), ascribed to the Catholic Mary, whether officially or by Catholics (with implicit sanction of authority). And which presumes that bowing down to a statute and attributing to the person it represent attributes and glory that are uniquely ascribed to God/Christ in Scripture, including the power to hear in Heaven incessant multitudinous mental prayers addressed to them from earth and respond to them, and imploring such for heavenly aid, would be understood and vindicated as merely being "hyperdulia," and not "latria" (which Rome states is the manner of adoration reserved for God).

As making that distinction itself is presumptuous, the Scriptures do not sanction religiously bowing down to any statue in supplication, nor supplies even one single prayer to anyone in Heaven but the Lord (crying "Abba, Father," Gal. 4:6; not "Mama, Mother"), nor in instructions on who to pray to ("our Father who art in Heaven," not "our Mother").

Note that many Catholic Marian attributions much parallel even that of Christ:

For in the the Catholic quest to almost deify Mary, it is taught by Catholics*,

• As the the Son of God has a unique unique relationship with the Persons of the Trinity, so also Mary is said to have a unique relationship with all three Persons of the Trinity;

• As Christ is the express image of God, and highly exalted above all under the Father, having the primary position among all creation, so Mary is declared to be the greatest saint of all, and the first of all creatures, and as having a certain affinity with the Father, with a pre-eminent resemblance which she bears to the Father;

• As Christ was called the Son of God, indicating ontological oneness, so Mary is called the Mother of God (which naturally infers the same, and is not the language of Scripture, which even clarifies Israel birthed Christ "according to the flesh, God blessed for ever": Rm. 9:4,5);

• As the the Son of God supernaturally, spiritually makes believing souls into children of God, Mary is said to be the mother of Christians in "supernatural and spiritual generation."

• As Christ was sinless, so Mary was;

• As the Lord remained a virgin, so also Mary;

• As the Lord was bodily ascended into Heaven, so Mary also was;

• As the Holy Spirit directs believers to be "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith," (Hebrews 12:2) in whom believes are accounted a holy nation, (1 Pt. 2:9) so Catholicism teaches that believers are to "turn their eyes to Mary" in whom "the Church is already the 'all-holy." (CCC 829)

• As the Father made Christ Lord over all things, so Mary is said to be enthroned above all creation (all other believers have to wait for their crowns) and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things;

• As Christ is given all power in heaven and in earth, so Mary is said to be "surpassing in power all the angels and saints in Heaven," and "most powerful" and effctively "omnipotent";

• As Christ is given all power on Heaven and on earth, so Mary is said to have (showing some restraint) “almost unlimited power;” and showing less restraint, to be "omnipotent" (by grace);

• As God the Father made His Divine Son functionally the Lord over the universe, so Mary states, "I command what I will, and introduce whom I will."

• As no man comes to the Father but through the Son, so it is taught that no one can come to the Son except through Mary in Heaven;

• As no one can obtain mercy, be saved/redeemed or be delivered and know the Father but through the Son, so the same is said of Mary;

• As those whom God has chosen will come to Him, so it is said that if Mary wills our salvation, and then we are sure to obtain it.

• As the emphasis is upon Christ as the Creator through whom God (the Father) made all things, including Mary, so it is emphasized that uniquely “to her, Jesus owes His Precious Blood,” shed for the salvation of mankind, (the logic behind which can lead back to Eve);

• As Scripture declares that Christ suffered for our sins, so Mary is said to have done so also, even all the consequences of sin;

• As Christ redeemed mankind (as many as truly believe) with the Father and the Spirit, so it is said of Mary that "we might rightly say she redeemed the human race together with Christ."

• As Christ saves us from the condemnation and death resulting from the fault of Adam, so it is taught that man was condemned through the fault of Eve, the root of death, but that we are saved through the merits of Mary; who was the source of life for everyone.

• As all things come from the Father through the Son, so Mary is made to be the dispenser of all grace; that "through her are obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation."

• As believers have confidence through Christ, so Mary is extolled as being the foundation of all the believer's confidence.

• As the Lord wills all souls to be saved through Christ, so it is said that it is God's will that we obtain everything through Mary.

• And as the Lord called souls to come to Him to be given life and salvation, so (in misappropriation of the words of Scripture) it is said of Mary, “He that shall find me shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord;” “that through her are obtained every hope, every grace, and all salvation. For this is His will, that we obtain everything through Mary.”

• As Christ is the King of the saints and over all kings, (Rv. 15:3; 17:14; 19:16) so Mary is made Queen of Heaven and the greatest saint, and that “Next to God, she deserves the highest praise;”

• As Christ ever liveth to make intercession for the saints, so is Mary said to be in constant intercession;

• as only to God is ascribed the power and privilege of hearing prayer from all flesh, so also is Mary extolled as doing so;

• as believers only address God/Christ in prayer to Heaven, including in prostration before Him, so also do Catholics pray to Mary;

• as believers only pray to God to have mercy on sinners, so Catholics beseech Mary to do so.

• As Catholics (adding error to error) believe Christ gave His "real" flesh and blood to be eaten, so it is emphasized that Mary gave Him this, being fashioned out of Mary's pure blood and even being “kneaded with the admixture of her virginal milk,” so that she can say, "Come and eat my bread, drink the wine I have prepared" (Prov. 9:5);

• And as Christ is given many titles of honor, so Mary also is, except that she is honored by Catholics with more titles than they give to the Lord Himself!

Mary was a holy, virtuous instrument of God, but of whom Scripture says relatively little, while holy fear ought to restrain ascribing positions, honor, glory and powers to a mortal that God has not revealed as given to them, and or are only revealed as being possessed by God Himself. But like as the Israelites made an instrument of God an object of worship, (Num. 21:8,9; 2Kg. 18:4) Catholics have magnified Mary far beyond what is written and warranted and even allowed, based on what is in Scripture.

In addition, although (technically) Mary is not to be worshiped in the same sense that God is worshiped, yet the distinctions between devotion to Mary and the worship of God are quite fine, and much due to the psychological appeal of a heavenly mother (especially among those for whom Scripture is not supreme), then the historical practice of Catholics has been to exalt Mary above that which is written. As the Catholic Encyclopedia states, "By the sixteenth century, as evidenced by the spiritual struggles of the Reformers, the image of Mary had largely eclipsed the centrality of Jesus Christ in the life of believers." (Robert C. Broderick, ed., The Catholic Encyclopedia, revised and updated; NY: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1987, pp.32,33)

The practice of praying to departed saints and Mary was one that developed, helped by pagan influences, for Scripture provides no example of any believer praying to anyone in Heaven by the Lord, and reveals that doing otherwise was a practice of pagans, including to the “Queen of Heaven.” (Jer. 44:17,18,19,25). The Catholic Encyclopedia speculates that a further reinforcement of Marian devotion, “was derived from the cult of the angels, which, while pre-Christian in its origin, was heartily embraced by the faithful of the sub-Apostolic age. It seems to have been only as a sequel of some such development that men turned to implore the intercession of the Blessed Virgin. This at least is the common opinion among scholars, though it would perhaps be dangerous to speak too positively. Evidence regarding the popular practice of the early centuries is almost entirely lacking...,” (Catholic Encyclopedia > Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary) Yet, as expected, it imagines this practice came from the apostles and NT church, but which never exampled or instructed it, and instead showed that the believer has immediate access to God in the Divine Christ, (Heb. 10:19), who is the all sufficient and immediate intercessor between God (the Father) and man. (Heb. 2:17,18; 4:15,16) To the glory of God

• Contrasting foundations

As the Catholic author whose work is examined here has attempted to extrapolate support from Scripture for a tradition which does not rest upon Scripture, it warrants pointing out that while Roman Catholics condescend to using Scripture (in attempting to substantiate to evangelicals that the traditions they hold to are Scriptural), yet in reality neither the Mariology of Catholicism or assurance of doctrine is based upon the weight of Scriptural warrant. Instead, in the earthly realm it ultimately rests upon the premise of the self-proclaimed authority of Rome, with her assuredly “infallible” magisterium (which infallibly defined herself as being infallible, when speaking in accordance with her infallibly defined scope and subject-based formula), which is what is held as being what provides real assurance.

Therefore, rather than engaging in an objective examination of Scripture in order to ascertain truth and provide assurance thereby, the use of Scripture by Roman Catholic apologists is mainly in order to support Rome, and the ultimately goal is to convince souls that searching the Scriptures (as the noble Bereans did: Acts 17:11)) is not the way to obtain certitude of truth, and instead their goal must be to convince souls to make a fallible decision to place implicit trust in the assuredly infallible magisterium of Rome, which assent is effectively as if it were to God, as only He is assuredly infallible.

While Scripture requires some interpretation, and with that comes the problem of disagreement, yet widespread unity in core essentials is overall the result of holding Scripture as supreme (thus even Rome allows baptized Protestants to be “separated brethren”), distinguishing the majority from cults, and which tend to follow Rome's model of making themselves the supreme authority. In addition, Roman Catholics themselves must engage in interpretation to varying degrees, that of their supreme authority, the magisterium. This pertains not only as to what class a magisterial teaching falls into (and thus what degree of submission is required, or if any dissent is allowed), but the meaning of it to varying degrees. And wherein there are disagreements in Rome, as well as among churches which hold to the Roman model, that of the church being the supreme and autocracy authority (“sola ecclesia”).

As regards the Catholic exaltation of Mary, recognized Roman Catholic authorities and some web apologists admit that, as the Catholic Encyclopedia states, "no direct or categorical and stringent proof of the dogma can be brought forward from Scripture" for the Immaculate Conception, but which is an understatement and which also applies to certain other claims, such as Mary's perpetual virginity.

Catholic authorities such as Cardinal Newman have attempted to explain a lack of Scriptural support by asserting that “Christians have never gone to Scripture for proof of their doctrines, till there was actual need, from the pressure of controversy.” (Anglican Difficulties, London, 1885, II, 54) And which is an admission that, unlike in Scripture, Scripture is not the supreme transcendent material standard for obedience and testing truth claims, in word and in power, but Rome is, and while she may claim support from Scripture or whatever, this is based upon their premise that they can only mean what she defines the to mean, as she is supreme and autocratic.

In contrast to doctrine being established under premise that the church is the supreme transcendent authority, when doctrine is established upon Scripturally then Marian excesses are excluded. Ratzinger acknowledged that Mary, “in the gospel tradition is quite marginal,” (“God and the world;” p. 296), which is in contrast to souls like Peter and Paul, the latter of whom sees relative little emphasis by Catholics, especially as compared with Mary despite the far greater attention to Holy Spirit gives to him.

And because Scripture does not say what the Catholic wants it to say about Mary, then when faced with challenges from those who hold Scripture as supreme, what the Catholic must attempt to do if he will try to defend the hyper exaltation of Mary from Scripture, is to wrest texts of Scripture to support it, such as seen below, often going to extrapolative extremes, even going beyond what even his church officially teaches. And which careless use of Scripture actually demeans it, rather than honoring it like as he does the Catholic Mary, and testified to the second class (at best) status of Scripture among Catholics.

Scripture no where states or teaches an exception for Mary as regards not being a sinner, or for her being a perpetually sinless virgin and having a sexless marriage (contrary to its description: Gn. 2:24; Mt. 19:4,5), who is ascended to Heaven, and who is already crowned (which happens after the resurrection) and enthroned as Queen of Heaven with almost unlimited power, including having the ability to process virtually unlimited prayer requests, (the Holy Spirit provides zero examples of prayer to anyone in Heaven but the Lord, or in its instructions on who to pray to), and who is even set forth by some notable Catholics as a more immediate and superior recourse for help than Christ Himself.

Such an absence of real substantiation is contrary to the manifest practice of the Holy Spirit in stating similar and even lesser exceptions to the norm by notable subjects, from the blood of righteous Abel, (Gn. 4:10; Mt. 23:35) to the age of Methuselah, (Gn. 5:27) to the strength of Samson, (Jdg. 4:4,16; 16:12,29,30) to the number of toes of the Philistine giant, (2Sam. 21:20), to the special diet of the Baptist, (Mt. 3:4) to Joseph being a just man, (Mt. 1:19) to the supernatural transport of Phillip, (Acts 8:40) to Jesus being sinless, which He is said at least twice to be. (2Cor. 5:21; 1Pt. 2:22)

In addition, as such miraculous claims as are made for the Catholic Mary are exceptions to the norm, then the burden of proof is upon the Catholic to establish them, and not upon us, any more then we must disprove the existence of the Mormonic angel “Moroni.” As evangelical apologist Steve Hays argues, "If the evidence is uncertain, then our position should be uncertain; not: our evidence is uncertain; therefore, it's certain that Mary was a lifelong virgin. If the evidence is uncertain, then that hardly warrants a certain conclusion.” Yet some of the Mariology referred to is approved teaching, some of it even being dogma, while the lack of official censure of extreme Marian claims by Catholics can amount to implicit approval.

In a rare instance of a mild form of reproof of excessive Marian exaltation, no less a devotee of Mary than Cardinal Ratzinger at least recognized that the title “Co-redemptrix” “departs to too great an extent from the language of Scripture and of the Fathers and therefore gives rise to misunderstandings” (see comments on Co-redemptrix below), Yet as regards Scripture, this is also true of other aspects of Catholic exaltation of Mary, which depart too greatly from the sober and balanced descriptions given of Mary in Scripture, showing how she was a holy saint and a virgin, but not going beyond into the extremes of Catholic devotion, in which the Roman Catholic apologists add to their transgressions in their attempts to find support from Scripture by many unwarranted extrapolations, which the list below examples.

[sauropod]

+1

[daniel1212]

(2 Peter 1:20) Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

Actually, that verse is one that Catholics also parrot in attempting to argue against Biblical reproof of their church, even though TradCaths themselves subject the teaching of modern Rome to their interpretation.

However, the use of 2 Peter 1:20 to censure non-official interpretations is another example of Catholics abusing Scripture, compelling it to be its servant in defending their source of security, for incontext (is king), that verse does not refer to interpretation of Scripture, but refers to how prophecy was given, that it was not being the product of one's own private understanding, for indeed, "Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." (1 Peter 1:10-11)

As such, it simply does not refer to reading and understanding Scripture, which the Lord actually expected and called souls to "Search the scriptures" (John 5:39), and reproved them for"not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God." (Matthew 22:29)

However, it remains true that, as substantiated, in Catholicism a pious, devout, holy. Spirit-filled virtuous instrument of God is typically exalted far, far , far "above that which is written," (contra 1 Co. 4:6) ascribing unto her attributes, glory and titles that are never given to any created beings except by pagans, even unto being worshiped by some, despite the semantical contortions (as if only one word can denote worship) engaged in trying to deny it, and akin to the what Israel ended up doing toward the brasen serpent God instrumentally used (Numbers 21:8; 2 Kings 18:4) and the ephod of Gideon. (Judges 8:27)

One would have a hard time in Bible times explaining kneeling before a statue and praising the entity it represented in the unseen world, even with adulation, attributes, glory and titles never given in Scripture to created beings (except to false gods), including having the uniquely Divine power glory to hear and respond to virtually infinite numbers of prayers addressed to them, and beseeching such for Heavenly help, and making offerings to them. Which would constitute worship in Scripture, yet Catholics imagine by playing word games they avoid crossing the invisible line between mere "veneration" and worship.

Instead they should do what Mary and every believer in every prayer to Heaven did (and I should do more of), which was to pray directly to the Lord, not secretaries. But they must truly become born again for that.

Moses, put down those rocks! I was only engaging in hyper dulia, not adoring her. Can't you tell the difference?

Instead Caths basically say,

As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes... (Jeremiah 44:16-17)

[wardaddy]

Calling catholic veneration of mother Mary a cult is uncalled for

Nothing to be gained sowing discord amongst us especially in these times when we are being throttled together by the woke under the influence of the fallen angel

[Big Red Badger]

One Lame Vanity!
.
I got that Uhaul ready-—
Perhaps you can exit with
A Grand Opus!

[Repent and Believe]

Please give this SCHOLARLY work a read:
The Catholic controversy : Saint Francis de Sales

https://archive.org/details/catholiccontrove00sain

God bless you!

[reasonisfaith]

I’m sure others have mentioned this. It seems to be the most important consideration with regard to this kind of post.

The enemy of God wants to divide the body of Christ.

There is no true conflict between Catholic believers and those who are not Catholic.