Protestant views on Mary
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Protestant views on Mary include the
Protestant theologians
Some early Protestant Reformers venerated and honored Mary. Martin Luther said of Mary:
the honor given to the mother of God has been rooted so deeply into the hearts of men that no one wants to hear any opposition to this celebration... We also grant that she should be honored, since we, according to Saint Paul's words [Romans 12] are indebted to show honor one to another for the sake of the One who dwells in us, Jesus Christ. Therefore we have an obligation to honor Mary. But be careful to give her honor that is fitting. Unfortunately, I worry that we give her all too high an honor for she is accorded much more esteem than she should be given or than she accounted to herself.[1]
Thus the idea of respect and high honour was not rejected by the first Protestants; but rather it was the matter of degrees of honor given to Mary, as the mother of Jesus, that Protestant Reformers were concerned with, and therefore the practical implications for Mariology are still a matter of debate.
John Wycliffe
The pre-Lutheran reformer
Martin Luther
Despite Luther's polemics against his Roman Catholic opponents over issues concerning Mary and the saints, theologians appear to agree that Luther adhered to the Marian decrees of the
John Calvin
John Calvin accepted Mary's perpetual virginity and the title "Mother of God", in a qualified sense. He considered himself the real follower of Mary[citation needed] because he freed her from misuses of these titles and undeserved "Papist" honour which is due only to Jesus Christ, and for returning this honour to him alone.[8] Calvin stated that Mary cannot be the advocate of the faithful, since she needs God's grace as much as any other human being.[9] If the Catholic Church praises her as Queen of Heaven, it is blasphemous and contradicts her own intention, because she is praised and not God.[10]
Calvin expressed deep concern over its possible "superstitious" use of the title "Mother of God" from the teachings of the
I do not doubt that there has been some ignorance in their having reproved this mode of speech, — that the Virgin Mary is the Mother of God … I cannot dissemble that it is found to be a bad practice ordinarily to adopt this title in speaking of this Virgin: and, for my part, I cannot consider such language as good, proper, or suitable… for to say, the Mother of God for the Virgin Mary, can only serve to harden the ignorant in their superstitions.
Karl Barth
James Dunn
New Testament scholar James Dunn discusses the tradition of Catholic dulia and Marian Veneration in Augustine and Aquinas, mentioning that the new testament's use of δουλεία (pronounced dulia) is always used negatively. He states:
"douleia occurs only in the sense of 'slavery, servility', and always in a negative sense – the slavery to physical corruption (Rom. 8.21), slavery to the law (Gal. 5.1), slavery to the fear of death (Heb. 2.15)" as well as the devil (cf. Heb 2.14–15 [Jesus' death breaks] the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death").[14]
New Testament uses of "δουλεία"
Romans 8:15 | For you did not receive the spirit of slavery (douleias | δουλείας | gen sg fem) leading back to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption. By him we cry out, “Abba! Father!” |
Romans 8:21 | that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage (douleias | δουλείας | gen sg fem) to decay into the glorious freedom of the children of God. |
Galatians 4:24 | This may be interpreted allegorically, for these women represent two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to be slaves (douleian | δουλείαν | acc sg fem); she is Hagar. |
Galatians 5:1 | For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery (douleias | δουλείας | gen sg fem). |
Hebrews 2:15 | and liberate those who throughout life were held in (douleias | δουλείας | gen sg fem) slavery (douleias | δουλείας | gen sg fem) by their fear of death.[15] |
Issues in Protestant theology
Mother of God
The designation
Presently the
We too know very well that God did not derive his divinity from Mary; but it does not follow that it is therefore wrong to say that God was born of Mary, that God is Mary’s Son, and that Mary is God’s mother.
Mariolatry
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From the 17th to the 19th centuries various groups of neo-Protestants began to use the term Mariolatry to refer to the
This trend has taken various directions over time, in that while some Protestants have at times softened their attitude towards it, others have strengthened their opposition in the 21st century. For instance, during the May 2006 celebrations at Our Lady of Walsingham in England, as Anglicans and Catholics held a Marian procession, nonconformist Protestant hecklers held banners that condemned Masses, idolatry, and "Mariolatry".[20][21]
See also
- Anglican Marian theology
- Mary in Islam
- Roman Catholic Mariology
- History of Roman Catholic Mariology
- Veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church
References
- ISBN 0-9652403-1-2. Retrieved March 24, 2015.
- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- ^ Remigius Bäumer, Marienlexikon Gesamtausgabe, Leo Scheffczyk, ed., (Regensburg: Institutum Marianum, 1994), 190.
- ^ Bäumer, 191
- ^ Bäumer, 190.
- ^ Eric W. Gritsch (1992). H. George Anderson; J. Francis Stafford; Joseph A. Burgess (eds.). The One Mediator, The Saints and Mary, Lutherans and Roman Catholic in Dialogue. Vol. VII. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress. p. 235.
- ^ Luther's Works, 47, pp. 45f; see also, Lutherans and Catholics in Dialogue VIII, p. 29.
- ^ John Calvin. "On John 2:1–11". Commentary on John. Vol. 1. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
- ^ John Calvin, Works, Serm. de la proph. de Christ: op 35, 686.
- ^ John Calvin. "On Luke 1:46–50". Harmony of the Evangelists. Vol. 1. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
- ^ Calvin to the Foreigners' Church in London, 27 October 1552, in George Cornelius Gorham, Gleanings of a few scattered ears, during the period of Reformation in England and of the times immediately succeeding : A.D. 1533 to A.D. 1588 (London: Bell and Daldy, 1857), p. 285
- ^ Barth, Kirchliche Dogmatic I, 2, 219
- ^ "Where ever Mary is venerated, and devotion to her takes place, there the Church of Christ does not exist" (Church Dogmatics, I, 2, 154). "Catholic mariology is a cancer, a sick theological development, and cancers should be cut out" (Church Dogmatics, I, 2, 153). "The heresy of the Catholic Church is its mariology and Marian cult." (Church Dogmatics, I, 2, 157).
- ^ Dunn, James D. G. 2010. Did the First Christians Worship Jesus? : the New Testament Evidence London: SPCK., see page 19
- ^ Bill Mounce https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/douleia
- ^ "The Ecumenical Councils and Authority in and of the Church" (PDF), 7th Plenary of the Lutheran-Orthodox Joint Commission in Sandbjerg, Denmark, The Lutheran World Federation, 10 July 1993
- ISBN 978-0-8006-6226-4.
- ISBN 0-8028-8049-5pages 411 and 422
- ^ Keegan, Matthew C. (2011, April 27). Book Review: The Virgin Mary in the Light of the Word of God. WordJourney Magazine, Retrieved from http://www.wordjourney.com
- ISBN 1-59337-712-6page 7
- ISBN 0-7546-6924-6pages 12–13
External links
- Protestant Mary, Religion and Ethics Newsweeklyreport
- A Warm Protestant Welcome for Mary, from U.S. News & World Report
- Mary, Luther and Lutheranism, from the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod
- Michael J. Penfold. “Christ, of the Substance of Mary” – A History of the Defence of the Doctrine. https://www.webtruth.org/the-person-of-christ/christ-of-the-substance-of-mary-a-history-of-the-defence-of-the-doctrine/#_ftnref38
- What does the United Methodist Church teach about the Virgin Mary?
- Sermon on Mary, The Pure Mother of God, 1520, Huldrych Zwingli.