A lot of people falsely assert Catholics and Orthodox believe Mary didn't need Jesus as Savior which is something neither group says.
Is there any disagreement with that statement?
There are a number of issues with the Catholic view of Mary. One is the immaculate conception idea which is bogus. The theory is that she had to be sinless to bear Jesus. But then her mother would also have to be sinless to bear her, using to same assumption. And that would continue on and on all the way back to Eve. They get away with that kind of stuff because of an "Emperor's New Clothes" Scenario whereby Catholics don't dare question the teachings of their "Church". But many of the rest of us are not so easily duped.
For the big deal they make of Mary, she's not mentioned in any of the NT Epistles. Catholics claim a woman in Rev is Mary, but never mentions "Mary". If she's such a big deal why didn't the apostles write the kind of things that Catholics make of her.
In fact there are probably more or just as many derogatory things written of her in scripture than scripture honoring her.
at one time Mary though Jesus was crazy.
"Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, 'He is out of his mind.'" Mark 3:20,21 Then if we continue on to verse 31 when they actually arrived it says:
Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." "Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother." Mark 3:31-35 Now we understand the sense of what Jesus meant. For at this point his mother and brothers were not doing the will of God in attempting to take him away from his ministry. And we see further evidence in
John 7 that his brothers held him in contempt. This was kind of a rebuke, an insult to Mary who came to interfere with his mission. Who did Jesus say was his "mother" here? He looked away from Mary and look at those seated around him and viewed them as his mother instead. We can at least deduce from this that Jesus didn't make a big deal about his mother Mary. And certainly didn't view her as the Catholic Church does. And when it comes to incidents like this where she is not doing God's will she is less than no big deal. In view of her behavior here Christ wouldn't even acknowledge her as his mother.
Secondly when Jesus said
, "Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother" this brings up the idea of members of a common household - an immediate family. This issue was intimacy with Jesus. I don't read this as saying
"Whoever does God’s will is my second cousin twice removed on my father's side". I read this as one's immediate family, the members of whom grow up in a common household.
As such
Jesus is against the nepotism concepts inherent in Catholicism, as if James and Mary have a special status due to being blood relatives with Jesus in his incarnate form. They didn't in Jesus' eyes.
As for the "blessed among women" thing
Luke 1:41 "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!"
Luke 1:48 "From now on all generations will call me blessed."
But Jesus said that lots of people are blessed, yet Catholics don't likewise worship them.
Luke 6:20 Blessed are you poor
Luke 6:21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
Luke 6:21 Blessed are you who weep now
Luke 6:22 Blessed are you when men hate you
1Peter 1:14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you.
But in contrast notice Jesus response to this idea of Mary's blessedness.
While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed." But He said, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it." Luke 11:27,28
And I could go on with other objections many of us non-Catholics have towards the anti-scriptural Catholic view of Mary.
