Mary was not from the beginning.. No I will not convert.. I see the error they teach.. I see all the truth I need in Gods infallable word. Show me where scripture says Mary was from beginning.. Traditions of Men are always nice but they don't hold truth for they are not inspired.. Only the scriptures are inspired.. We are not told that tradtion is..They claim it is but I don't see any thing to prove this is true..
I didn't mean Mary was there from the beginning as in Mary was there when the world was created. What I meant was the veneration and honour due to Mary was given to her as long as the Christian Church has existed. I apologise for not making that clear.
The heretical teaching of sola fide makes life convinient for those who are not prepared to give their lives to Jesus and accept God's authority here on earth. And I think my previous post made it out as if Luther was not a heretic but those who followed (like Zwingly, Calvin etc) were. This is not the case, Luther was the
chief heretic. He is on par with Marcion & the Arian heretics who tried to teach false doctrines in their times. (IMHO)
The Scriptures are an incredible source of information. They are perfectly useful, 1 Timothy 3:16 states this clearly. But it is not all that God left us with. he left us with His Holy Spirit, he left us with Apostolic Succession. Jesus said "You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it." You can argue that away by saying its "Peter's faith" but you cant explain the "keys of Heaven". And history of apostolic succession pretty much speaks for itself. Its a fact, the pope is there and doesnt go away if you close your eyes.
In the same way, even if you don't acknowledge Mary's status as "Mother of God", "Ark of the Covenant", "Queen of Heaven" it makes no difference. Church history and the earliest writings will show you she was always venerated and the feast of her Assumption has been there for longer than the history of the oldest Protestant Church.
Doesn't it strike you as odd that Mary is venerated in all the oldest "denominations" and in none of the new ones? Who's been doing the adding/subtracting stuff?
If you are in an honest search of the truth then you will find it. Then it comes down to what kind of a man you are. What you do with the truth will reveal this. On the other hand if you don't like the possible consequences that the truth may bring with it, then reject this post, twist my words around, close your eyes, plug your ears with your fingers, and sing to yourself loudly. You won't be the first person who has ever done that
