If God gave Mary "special grace" to respond, then that begs the question why God doesn't do that for all of us. It also makes one wonder if Mary's "will" was being overwritten.
And not to dispute Moses, but all OT texts should be interpreted in the light of the Person of Christ
Scripture can be viewed in two lights-the goodness of God and the inclination of man to rebel against God. And Moses didn't say, "Hey, you're weak but keep the faith." Moses said, "Hey, you're rebellious and ready to run off to some foreign god at the drop of a hat. You better be aware of that trait."
As for #20 yes that is true, but who is and is not a member is the question...
Then that really begs the question as to who is a member:
2) Was Joseph Smith a member?
3) Was Mohammud a member?
HarleyD:
Ad for Mary, a special Grace from God is an accurate understanding for she was endowed with God’s Grace before the Coming of Christ. Stop and think about that. How is that you me and everyone else receives God’s Grace, it is thru the person of Christ and his life, death, and resurrection. Given Mary was endowed with the Grace of Christ before his paschal mystery, it is correct to say she received Grace in a special way due to God’s favor towards Her. I stand by that understanding as a Catholic. You do not. No need to debate it any more.
As for who is a member. All who are baptized in the Catholic Church are members. I would also state all who are Orthodox are members at a 99.9999999% confidence level. Those who are not, one would suggest that those who were validly baptized in the Holy Trinity, either explicitly or had a desire to do so “could also” be members of the Body. Thus, God himself would know who those are.
As for Joseph Smith, I will not say, but obviously, his understanding of the Trinity and Christ was fundamentally flawed [On this account, you Protestants are not], thus his situation “I would personally” say was more dangerous as to whether he was a member than say an orthodox protestant, who it is plausible could be and in many cases is part of the Catholic Church, even though they do not know it or recognize it.
Again, what is above is my personal reflection on the question. I assume it was an honest question and I hope yo take it as an honest attempt to answer.
HarleyD:
Obviously, I would conclude Mohammud was not
HarleyD:
Well I think the Catholic Tradition is pretty clear that the orthodox hermaneutical principle is to interpret the entire Sacred Scripture in light of the person of Christ. I dont’t have the CCC in front of me but I am quite sure that is defined pretty clearly and my statement is in line with that definition.
So again, we will have to respectively agree to disagree on your two-lights approach vs. my OT is interpreted in the light of CHrist or for lack of a better term, a One-way light approach.