The elevation of Mary to a "certain equality with the Godhead" is well evidenced by sanctioned and uncensored Catholic teaching.
That is not too far once you start with a sinless perpetual virgin who is also made into
an almost almighty demigoddess to whom "Jesus owes His Precious Blood" to,
whose [Mary] merits we are saved by,
who "had to suffer, as He did, all the consequences of sin,"
and "was elevated to a certain equality with the Heavenly Father,"
even so that “sometimes salvation is quicker if we remember Mary's name then if we invoked the name of the Lord Jesus,"
for indeed saints have "but one advocate," and that is Mary, who "alone art truly loving and solicitous for our salvation,"
and whose power now "is all but unlimited,"
for indeed she "seems to have the same power as God,"
"surpassing in power all the angels and saints in Heaven,"
so that "the Holy Spirit acts only by the Most Blessed Virgin, his Spouse."
Moreover, "there is no grace which Mary cannot dispose of as her own, which is not given to her for this purpose,"
and who has "authority over the angels and the blessed in heaven,"
including "assigning to saints the thrones made vacant by the apostate angels,"
whom the good angels "unceasingly call out to," greeting her "countless times each day with 'Hail, Mary,' while prostrating themselves before her, begging her as a favour to honour them with one of her requests,"
and who (obviously) cannot "be honored to excess,"
and who is (obviously) the glory of Catholic people, whose "honor and dignity surpass the whole of creation." Sources .
And then you are in the realm of the cults:
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*,
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as Christ was sinless, so Mary was;
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as the Lord remained a virgin, so Mary;
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as Christ was called the Son of God, indicating ontological oneness, so Mary is called the Mother of God (which easily infers the same, and is not the language of Scripture);
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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);
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as Catholics (adding error to error) believe Christ gave His actual 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);
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as Scripture declares that Christ suffered for our sins, so Mary is said to have done so also;
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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.
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as the Lord was bodily ascended into Heaven, so Mary also was;
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as Christ is given all power in heaven and in earth, so Mary is “surpassing in power all the angels and saints in Heaven.”
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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;”
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as the Father made Christ Lord over all things, so Mary is enthroned (all other believers have to wait for their crowns) and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things;
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as Christ is highly exalted above all under the Father, so Mary is declared to be the greatest saint of all, and as having a certain equality with the Heavenly Father;
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as Christ ever liveth to make intercession for the saints, so is Mary said to do so;
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as all things come from the Father through the Son, so Mary is made to be the dispenser of all grace;
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as Christ is given all power on Heaven and on earth, Mary is said to have (showing some restraint) “almost unlimited power;”
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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;
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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.”
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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!
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 i have said before, one would have a hard time in Bible times explaining kneeling before a statue and praising the entity it represented in the unseen world, and as having Divine powers and glory, and making offerings and beseeching such for Heavenly help, directly accessed by mental prayer.
Moses, put down those rocks! I was only engaging in hyper dulia, not adoring her. Can't you tell the difference?
