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Hail Mary?
By: David M. Curtis
Quoted
"Hail Mary,
full of grace,
the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Holy Mary, mother of God,
pray for us sinners
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen ... okay in the last verse ?? should it not be holy mary mother of Jesus i read this and i thinking to myself she did not give birth to God she gave birth to Jesus your thoughts please"
Reply by: David M. Curtis
This is a very astute observation on your part. It is both healthy and wise to ask for a reason for any belief dealing with theism or the study of God. Mary was a good person, and I hope one day to meet her in the New Jerusalem. So please do not misconstrue anything I am about to share to say that I am against Mary in any way.
This subject is of utmost interest on my part. A few years ago on my radio broadcast I interviewed Dr. Ron Rhodes author of “Reasoning from the Scriptures with Catholics” published March of 2000. That message is available on my ministries web site. www.loudcry.org Once the page opens up scroll down the index until you find my name David M. Curtis, and from there you should be able to locate the message.
Biblically there are several problems with the rosary and the “Hail Mary” prayer. Shortly I will be addressing your question relating to the “Mother of God” statement, but first lets lay a foundation of study for this entire idea of Mariology or veneration of Mary.
When a man commits a sin, the Church of Rome teaches that the sinner must confess his sins to a priest. The priest will then determine what penance is required to make his peace with God. For the sin of stealing the priest may require the man to say 40 times "Hail Mary, blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus, pray for us sinners." Then the sinner prays the Lords prayer "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name..." The rosary consists of a series of beads. Five smaller ones, then one larger one, then five smaller ones, and then a larger one and so forth. “Hail Mary” is said on each of the smaller beads, and The Lord’s Prayer is said on each larger bead. There are five prayers made to Mary for every one made to God.
“Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and WORSHIPPED AND SERVED THE CREATURE MORE THAN THE CREATOR, who is blessed for ever. Amen” Romans 1:25.
Each time these prayers are completed the penitent person praying moves His fingers to the next bead on the rosary until the 40 "Hail Mary’s" are said in conjunction to saying the Lord’s Prayer. In context to saying the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus said just two verses before, "But when ye pray, USE NOT VAIN REPETITIONS as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be ye not like unto them for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him. After this manner therefore pray ye, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...” Matthew 6:7‑9.
The repetition of saying the Lord’s Prayer and "Hail Mary’s" is VAIN according to the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ taught us NOT to pray in repetition. He taught that this was the practice of the "heathen." "Beads were commonly buried with the pharaoh’s of Egypt and used by the pagan cults of the east. Moslems use them today. Buddhism uses prayer beads throughout the East. The Catholic rosary originated in paganism; it was used by the ancient Mexicans, the Brahmins of Hindustan, the Tibetan priests of Tartary, and in the cults of Greece and Rome." The Great Controversy (New Illustrated edition).
The Catholic Church has elevated Mary to the level of mediator, advocate and co-redeemer of man in clear and direct contradiction of the Scriptures. In 1854, Pope Pius IX declared Mary ‘immaculate’, and in 1951, Pope Pius XII defined and enforced the doctrine of the Bodily Assumption of Mary, thus placing Mary in a position to act as mediator and supporting the long list of claims made by Catholic saints over time.
“The sinner that ventures directly to Christ may come with dread and apprehension of his wrath; but let him only employ the mediation of the Virgin with her Son and she has only to show that Son the breasts that gave him suck and his wrath will immediately be appeased.” Catholic Layman July, 1856
Read this with me, “He falls and is lost who has not recourse to Mary. Mary is called the gate of heaven because no one can enter that blessed kingdom without passing through her. The way to salvation is open to none otherwise than through Mary. The salvation of all depends on their being favoured and protected by Mary. He who is protected by Mary will be saved: he who is not will be lost. Our salvation depends on thee. God will not save us without the intercession of Mary.” Dave Hunt; A Woman Rides the Beast. p.438
The title Co-Redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate in particular should raise serious objections as it so obviously contradicts the plainest teachings of Scripture. The Bible clearly teaches that there is but one Redeemer, Mediator and Advocate for the people of God, the man Christ Jesus.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people Luke 1:68
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1John 2:1.
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.
In closing since this is a reply and not an article unto its self I am limiting my answers addressing this vital and important topic. But before I close lets address the original question, concerning the statement “Mother of God.”
Jesus Christ is both 100% God and 100% man. He was both the Son of man and the Son of God. Was Mary the “Mother of God?” No! She was the mother of the “Son of Man.” Through the virgin birth she gave conception to an embryo that took on her flesh. “God sending his own Son IN THE LIKENESS OF SINFUL FLESH, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.” Romans 8:3. As the Son of man Christ gave to all men in the likeness of sinful flesh an example of perfect obedience to the moral law of the Ten Commandments. Faith that He is the Divine Son of God, gives us the power to obey.
Joseph was not the father of Jesus, according to Matthew 1:18 the Holy Spirit was. Therefore Jesus is the Son of God. The title “Mother of God” implies that Mary gave birth to God.” Nothing could be further from the truth. Jesus existed prior to His birth in Bethlehem. “O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee BEFORE THE WORLD WAS.” John 17:5
Here is a link to a chapter discussing the roots of the “Mother of God” http://www.piney.com/His22.html It is Chapter 22 of The Two Babylon's, by Alexander Hislop, a must read book!!!
I think the most important question of all is “Can Mary hear these prayers in the first place?” I am posting a article I wrote called “Is the Virgin Mary Dead or Alive.” I hope you get a chance to read it.
