Mary the Mother of God

 BASIC R.C.BELIEF

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Title given to Mary, Jesus' mother, first used at the Council of Ephesus, 431 AD. Canon 1 states, "If anyone does not confess that God is truly Emmanuel, and that on this account the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God (for according to the flesh she gave birth to the Word of God become flesh by birth), let him be anathema."

Many scholars contend that this was not meant to elevate her, but to emphasize the Deity of Christ. It may have been a way for Satan to condition men's minds to think of her more highly than they ought.

Roman Catholic logic is that since she was Jesus' mother, Jesus is God, so she must be called the Mother of God.

POST VATICAN II

The popularity of this thought in Catholic minds can be seen in a statement by Lou Holtz, coach of Notre Dame, concerning Notre Dame's uncanny ability to win games at the last moment. Holtz said, "God doesn't care who wins football games, but His Mother does."

CHRISTIAN COMMENT

by H. Gregory Adams, Director, Evangelical Mission

149 Springdale Crescent, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada L1H 7B9.

"Jesus was God. Mary was Jesus' mother. Therefore, Mary is the mother of God. So reasons the Roman Catholic Church. Let us continue this line of reasoning:

"If Mary is God's mother, then Mary's cousin Elizabeth, is God's second cousin. And John the Baptist, who is Elizabeth's son, is God's third cousin. May we also say that Mary's sister is God's aunt. And Mary's sister's husband, Cleopas, is God's uncle.

"Let no one accuse me of lightness. On the contrary---God is my witness - I am in deadly earnest. If it is logical and right to say that Mary is the Mother of God, then it is equally logical and right to say those other things. On the other hand, if it is illogical and wrong to say them, it is equally illogical and wrong to say that Mary is the mother of God.

"Is it logical and right to say that, since Jesus is God, we may therefore substitute the word "God" wherever the name Jesus occurs in the scriptures?

Let us try it in the second chapter of Luke.

"In verse 21 we find that, at the age of eight days, God was circumcised. In verse 27, God's parents brought Him to the temple. We see further that God grew and waxed strong in spirit, that His parents took Him to Jerusalem, and that God tarried behind in Jerusalem. In verses 44 and 45, God's parents sought God among their kinfolks and could not find Him.

"In these passages, I have simply substituted the word "God" for "Jesus."

That is, I have followed exactly the same reasoning of the Roman Catholic Church in its teaching that, since Jesus is God, and Mary is Jesus' mother, Mary is the Mother of God.

"Needless to say, the Bible contains no such expression as "mother of God."

If we say that `mother of our Lord' (Luke 2:43) means Mother of God, we would also have to say `brother of our Lord' (Galatians 1:19) means brother of God.

"Obviously, there is a fatal fallacy in the Roman Catholic church's reasoning.

It is this: She fails to distinguish between Jesus' deity and His humanity. But the Word of God does so distinguish, and so must we, if we are to avoid the ludicrous absurdities already demonstrated.

"The term "man" is used for Jesus in John 8:40, Acts 2:22, Acts 17:31 and Ephesians 2:5.

"Now we know that Jesus was indeed God. But we also know He was a man.

One Jesus, Who is God and man. Ever a glorious mystery but never an absurd anomaly.

"Mary was the mother of Jesus' humanity. She could not possibly be the mother of His deity. Or, we might say, she was the mother of Jesus-man, as distinguished from Jesus-God.

"That is, Jesus-God, the eternal Creator, who is a Spirit- and therefore both invisible and intangible--used the creature Mary as a fleshly mold in which to form a body which He was to occupy as Jesus-man (a body hast thou prepared me - Hebrews 10:5), Thus, through Mary, the eternal God clothed Himself with humanity as with a garment - so He could bring salvation to you and me!"