Shall we bow our
heads for prayer?
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Our Father and Our God, we're
so thankful for the opportunity
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of opening Your Word,
and we ask for the guidance
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our Your Holy Spirit.
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I ask, Father, that those
who are viewing this programming
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might have open hearts,
and open minds to the voice
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of Your Holy Spirit.
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And we thank You,
Father, for hearing our prayer
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for we ask it in the
precious name of Jesus, Amen.
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In our study today we are going
to deal with the final dogma.
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And in order to
understand the final dogma
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we need to understand, first
of all, the first four dogmas
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that the Roman Catholic
Church entertains about Mary,
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the mother of Jesus.
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I would like to begin by reading
a statement that was found
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in the Fresno Bee, our local
newspaper, on August 30, 1997.
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Basically, this is what the
article in the newspaper said:
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The Catholic Church
holds four dogmas about Mary.
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The word dogma means
doctrine, or teaching.
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Four dogmas. By the
way, they can't be changed.
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Mary is believed to
be the mother of God.
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That's number one.
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And her virginity is
said to be perpetual.
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That's number two.
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In the nineteenth century the
church declared the immaculate
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conception of Mary, meaning she
was free from the stain of sin
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from the moment
of her conception.
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This is number three.
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And forty-seven years ago
the assumption was declared.
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That dogma, celebrated
with a fast day, Friday,
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says that after her earthly life
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Mary was assumed into heaven.
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That's number four.
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So the four dogmas which
have been proclaimed infallibly
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in the Roman Catholic Church
are Mary, the mother of God,
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the perpetual virginity
of Mary, and the third place,
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the immaculate
conception of Mary,
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and finally, the
assumption of Mary.
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Now I would like to deal with
each one of these separately,
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and then I would like to
speak about a fifth dogma
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which is being discussed very
vividly within the communion
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of the Roman
Catholic scholarly world.
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Let's deal, first of
all, with the idea that Mary
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is the mother of God.
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This, basically, was adopted
in two early church councils:
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One was the Council of
Ephesus, in the year 431,
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and the second was in
the Council of Chalcedon,
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in the year 451. Basically,
the word which was adopted was
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that Mary is Theotokos.
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That is a Greek word that means
that she gave birth to God.
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Now we need to understand
in what sense this was adopted
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into the Roman Catholic Church.
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Because this has been greatly
misunderstood by many people.
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You see, there was a
heretic that arose at that time.
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His name was Nestorius.
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And he taught that when
Jesus was born from Mary,
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it was only the human
Jesus who was born from Mary,
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not the divine human
Jesus, just the human Jesus.
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And the purpose of the
Council of Ephesus and Chalcedon
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was the emphasize that
when Mary brought Jesus into the
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world, He was both God and man.
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Now Chalcedon was not trying to
teach that Mary was the mother
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of the divinity of Jesus.
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They were simply trying to
teach that Mary brought Jesus
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into the world, and Jesus had
two natures: His divine nature,
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which existed
before His incarnation,
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and His human nature, which
was being born at the moment
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of the birth of Jesus.
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Let me read you the key
words in the declaration
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that was made at Chalcedon.
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This is what the church council
said: Born of the virgin Mary,
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the mother of God,
according to His manhood.
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So clearly, Chalcedon said
that Mary was the mother of God
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with respect to the manhood
of Jesus, not His divinity.
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In fact, in Roman Catholic
circles scholars recognize
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very clearly that Mary
was not the mother of God
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in the strictest
sense of the word.
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Allow me to read
you this statement.
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It's in a pamphlet published
by the Knights of Columbus.
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The Mother of Jesus, page 9.
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This is what the
writer of this document says:
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Having said that,
however, what theologians teach,
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and what the
common people believe,
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many times are
two different things.
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You see, the theologians
make these distinctions between
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well, you know, Mary
was not the mother of God
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in the strictest sense.
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She was the mother of
the divine human, Jesus.
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In other words, when Jesus
came into the world from Mary,
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He was human, and
He was also divine.
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But, of course, His
divinity existed before
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He came into the world.
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Theologians make
those distinctions,
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but the common populous do not.
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And so most Catholics that
I have come into contact with
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in Latin America, when you say
that Mary was the mother of God,
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they understand it to mean
that Mary was the mother of God
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in the strictest sense.
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They don't think of
Mary simply as the mother
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of the human nature of Jesus.
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By the way, the Bible never
calls Mary the mother of God.
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The Bible consistently
calls Mary the mother of Jesus.
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And furthermore, the Bible
makes it very clear that Jesus
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was the Creator of Mary.
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Because we're told in Colossians
1 that Jesus created all things.
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And so the first dogma is
acceptable as long as we realize
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that the emphasis is that Mary
brought the divine human child
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into the world, but Mary is
not the mother of the divine
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nature of Jesus Christ.
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Now the second dogma that
the Roman Catholic Church has
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adopted concerning Mary,
is the idea of the perpetual
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virginity of Mary.
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Basically this teaches that
Mary was a virgin when Jesus
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was conceived in her womb.
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She was also a
virgin after Jesus was born.
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And furthermore, she remained
a virgin the rest of her life.
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In other words, Joseph never had
sexual relations with Mary ever
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in the times that
they were married.
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So, basically, three
ideas: 1. When Jesus was
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conceived she was a virgin.
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2. When Jesus was
born she remained a virgin.
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3. And all the rest of her
life she also was a virgin.
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Now why would the Roman Catholic
Church teach such an idea?
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You see, as you examine
Roman Catholic theology,
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you discover that sexual
relations in Roman Catholicism
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are looked upon as
something negative.
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Primarily from the
times of Saint Augustine,
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who had problems
with sex himself,
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with his sexual desires.
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He came up with the idea that
original sin was sexual sin.
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And, therefore, from
that time on sexual relations,
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even within marriage,
are looked upon as something
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somewhat negative.
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In fact the idea is that
sexual relations within marriage
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should exist primarily for
the purpose of procreation.
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And that's why artificial
contraceptives are forbidden
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even within the
marriage relation.
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Because the idea is that
if you use contraceptives,
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you're having sex for pleasure.
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And sex only
exists for procreation.
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Furthermore, the idea of
celibacy in the priesthood
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comes from this idea that sexual
relations is something to be
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looked down upon, something
negative, something defiling.
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And so the idea is how can a
spiritual leader actually defile
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himself by having
sexual relations with a woman?
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So basically there's this
negative view of sexuality,
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except for the
purpose of procreation.
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And as a result, the idea
is that Mary could not have had
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sexual relations with
Joseph, even after the moment
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that Jesus was born.
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Therefore the Council of Trent
said, If anyone should say that
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the marriage state
is better than celibacy,
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let him be accursed.
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So in Roman Catholicism the idea
is that celibacy is much better
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than the state of marriage.
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I'd like to read you a
statement that's written by
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a Roman Catholic scholar in
the book, Mary in the Bible,
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Questions and Answers, page 26.
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Notice the rationale that he
gives for Mary never having had
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sexual relations after Jesus
was brought into the world.
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He says this:
00:10:37.16\00:10:38.30
Now it's true that the womb
of Mary had not known a child
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before the birth of Jesus,
but there's no Biblical evidence
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that the womb of Mary
did not know a child after
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the birth of Jesus.
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In the same book we
find this statement:
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He cited eight texts
where tradition is used,
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but it's dealing with the
tradition which was held by the
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apostles; the written
tradition of Scripture.
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It's not talking
about oral tradition.
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So, basically, this scholar is
saying that the Bible does not
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prove or disprove the
perpetual virginity of Mary.
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And when it's not clear in the
Bible, then the Roman Catholic
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Church simply uses
tradition to define exactly
00:12:16.98\00:12:20.97
what was it that took place.
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Now the Bible's very
clear that God created marriage.
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Jesus created marriage.
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Marriage is good. Jesus created
human beings with sexual organs
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which means that there's
nothing wrong with having sexual
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relations within
the state of marriage.
00:12:37.20\00:12:39.55
Jesus honored marriage by
attending a wedding at Cana.
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And He performed His
first miracle at this wedding.
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Furthermore, we're told in
Scripture that Joseph did not
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know Mary until Jesus had been
born, which gives the impression
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that Joseph did
know Mary after this.
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Furthermore Scripture tells
us that Jesus was the firstborn
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of Mary, which would seem
to indicate that if He was the
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firstborn, there probably were
other children as a result of
00:13:06.32\00:13:10.49
this marriage relationship.
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Now lets move on to
the third dogma of the
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Roman Catholic Church:
the idea of the immaculate
00:13:14.81\00:13:18.09
conception of Mary.
00:13:18.12\00:13:19.96
Basically, this was
proclaimed by Pious IX in his
00:13:19.99\00:13:25.27
encyclical, Ineffabilis Deus.
00:13:25.30\00:13:28.11
And basically what he says
in this encyclical is that Mary
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did not suffer the
result of Adam's sin.
00:13:33.34\00:13:36.05
In other words, she
came with the nature of
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Adam before the fall.
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She came with Adam's
unfallen nature, in other words.
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Allow me to read you the
statement from the encyclical,
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the key statement where Pope
Pius IX proclaims this dogma.
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He says this:
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Now it's very interesting, as
you look at the early tradition
00:14:33.83\00:14:39.01
of the Roman Catholic Church,
there were many of the early
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fathers that did not
believe in the doctrine of
00:14:41.71\00:14:44.39
the immaculate conception.
00:14:44.42\00:14:45.64
You know, the Roman Catholic
Church speaks about the uniform
00:14:45.67\00:14:51.82
tradition of the
fathers in defining a dogma.
00:14:51.85\00:14:55.42
But a certain theologian
says this: Even tradition,
00:14:55.45\00:14:58.74
the usual refuge
of Roman Catholics,
00:14:58.77\00:15:01.57
contradicts this Papal dogma.
00:15:01.60\00:15:03.80
Augustine, Ambrose,
Krisitom, Eusebius, Anselm,
00:15:03.83\00:15:10.11
Cardinal Khaitan, Saint
Antoninus, St. Thomas Aquinas,
00:15:10.14\00:15:15.04
Pope Gregory the
Great, Pope Innocent III,
00:15:15.07\00:15:18.54
and many other fathers,
doctors, saints, and pope's
00:15:18.57\00:15:23.39
of the Roman Church clearly
deny that Mary was conceived
00:15:23.42\00:15:27.68
without original sin.
00:15:27.71\00:15:29.14
So even the Roman Catholic
Church has a series of very
00:15:29.17\00:15:33.39
famous scholars, and very
famous doctors of the church,
00:15:33.42\00:15:36.60
and very famous early fathers,
who did not believe in the
00:15:36.63\00:15:41.26
immaculate conception of Mary.
00:15:41.29\00:15:44.88
In fact, not only in the
immaculate conception of Mary,
00:15:44.91\00:15:48.80
but the fact that Mary
actually never committed
00:15:48.83\00:15:52.67
any sin in her life.
00:15:52.70\00:15:54.40
Now it's interesting to
notice that the Bible tells us
00:15:54.43\00:15:58.24
that Jesus was born that
holy thing, and that Jesus
00:15:58.27\00:16:03.73
was tempted in all things such
as we are, but He never sinned.
00:16:03.76\00:16:07.56
But the fact is that the
Bible never says that Mary was
00:16:07.59\00:16:11.74
actually immaculate during
the whole period of her life;
00:16:11.77\00:16:15.80
that she did not inherit
the sinful nature of Adam,
00:16:15.83\00:16:19.04
and that she never
actually committed any sin,
00:16:19.07\00:16:22.51
whether it be venial or
whether it be mortal sin.
00:16:22.54\00:16:25.54
The Bible is silent about any
of these things concerning Mary.
00:16:25.57\00:16:29.94
In fact the Bible tells us very
clearly that all have sinned
00:16:29.97\00:16:34.54
and come short
of the glory of God.
00:16:34.57\00:16:36.73
There is none
righteous, no not one.
00:16:36.76\00:16:40.65
And so what the Bible says about
Jesus, the Roman Catholic Church
00:16:40.68\00:16:44.98
attributes to Mary
without any Biblical
00:16:45.01\00:16:48.61
justification whatsoever.
00:16:48.64\00:16:50.73
Now the fourth dogma of the
Roman Catholic Church is the
00:16:50.76\00:16:54.67
idea of the assumption of Mary
into heaven after her death.
00:16:54.70\00:16:59.21
In fact this dogma was
proclaimed in an encyclical
00:16:59.24\00:17:04.28
by Pope Pius
XII, November 1, 1950.
00:17:04.31\00:17:08.64
And the name of the encyclical
is Munificentissimus Deus.
00:17:08.67\00:17:13.65
And this is what he
said in this encyclical:
00:17:13.68\00:17:17.29
Now it's interesting to notice
in the book that we spoke about
00:17:49.82\00:17:54.04
in a previous
lecture, The Glories of Mary,
00:17:54.07\00:17:57.82
actually a compilation
of the Roman Catholic,
00:17:57.85\00:18:00.44
Wisdom Concerning Mary,
up until the 17th century.
00:18:00.47\00:18:03.75
St. Alphonsus
Liguori wrote this book.
00:18:03.78\00:18:06.43
It's interesting to notice
the sequence of events that he
00:18:06.46\00:18:10.52
presents concerning
Mary as she neared her death,
00:18:10.55\00:18:14.67
after her death, and what
happened after her resurrection.
00:18:14.70\00:18:18.07
Allow me to go through this
very quickly, and you tell me
00:18:18.10\00:18:23.91
if any of this is actually found
anywhere in Holy Scripture.
00:18:23.94\00:18:28.19
None of it is. Basically
the idea is that after Jesus
00:18:28.22\00:18:32.31
ascended to heaven, Mary stayed
on earth assisting the apostles
00:18:32.34\00:18:37.46
in their work of evangelism.
00:18:37.49\00:18:39.78
In fact, according to Liguori,
she solved their doubts,
00:18:39.81\00:18:44.62
comforted them in
their persecutions,
00:18:44.65\00:18:47.21
and encouraged them to
labor for the divine glory,
00:18:47.24\00:18:50.24
and the salvation
of redeemed souls.
00:18:50.27\00:18:53.40
Also Liguori says that
she consoled her loving heart,
00:18:53.43\00:18:58.61
because she missed Jesus so
much, that she visited the holy
00:18:58.64\00:19:02.55
sites in Palestine that
had been made famous by Jesus.
00:19:02.58\00:19:07.70
Supposedly, according to
Liguori, a few days before
00:19:07.73\00:19:11.33
her death, the Lord
sent the archangel Gabriel,
00:19:11.36\00:19:15.28
who said to her the following
words: Come then to take
00:19:15.31\00:19:19.84
possession of thy kingdom for
I, and all its holy inhabitants
00:19:19.87\00:19:25.10
await and desire thee.
00:19:25.13\00:19:27.89
She then shared this information
with the apostle John.
00:19:27.92\00:19:32.64
And then, according to Liguori,
she once again did a tour of
00:19:32.67\00:19:36.51
all of the holy sites that
had been made famous by her Son.
00:19:36.54\00:19:40.82
During this period, according
to Liguori, Mary was accompanied
00:19:40.85\00:19:46.56
constantly by the angels.
00:19:46.59\00:19:48.80
Liguori continues saying,
that shortly before her death,
00:19:48.83\00:19:53.08
all of the disciples,
even though some of them,
00:19:53.11\00:19:55.52
at this point, had already died.
00:19:55.55\00:19:57.47
All of the disciples
were miraculously gathered or
00:19:57.50\00:20:01.07
assembled in Mary's room.
00:20:01.10\00:20:03.18
And she informed them
that she was going to leave,
00:20:03.21\00:20:06.16
and she was going to go
to Paradise to intercede
00:20:06.19\00:20:09.45
and to pray for them.
00:20:09.48\00:20:10.61
In fact Liguori says
that the disciples complained
00:20:10.64\00:20:16.22
when she said this.
00:20:16.25\00:20:17.28
These are the words: We have
already lost on earth Jesus,
00:20:17.31\00:20:21.26
our Master and Father,
who has ascended into heaven.
00:20:21.29\00:20:25.18
Until now we have
found conciliation in thee...
00:20:25.21\00:20:28.61
They're speaking to Mary.
00:20:28.64\00:20:29.73
...our Mother, and now how canst
thou also leave us orphans?
00:20:29.76\00:20:35.95
It's interesting.
Jesus says, I'm not going to
00:20:35.98\00:20:38.63
leave you orphans.
00:20:38.66\00:20:39.69
But He didn't say, I'm not going
to leave you orphans because
00:20:39.72\00:20:42.25
I'm going to leave you Mary.
00:20:42.28\00:20:43.49
He said, I'm not
going to leave you orphans,
00:20:43.52\00:20:45.43
because I'm going to
send you the Holy Spirit.
00:20:45.46\00:20:47.41
He uses that very word.
00:20:47.44\00:20:49.50
And then she responds
to the disciples by saying,
00:20:49.53\00:20:52.93
I do not leave you to abandon
you, but to help you still more
00:20:52.96\00:20:58.04
in heaven by my
intercession with God.
00:20:58.07\00:21:01.64
And then she told the
disciples to bury her body
00:21:01.67\00:21:05.33
after she had died.
00:21:05.36\00:21:06.94
And she gave two of her gowns
to two virgins who had helped
00:21:06.97\00:21:11.72
her throughout her life.
00:21:11.75\00:21:13.17
Then she called the apostle
Peter and told him that he was
00:21:13.20\00:21:17.08
going to be the head of the
church, and that he would be
00:21:17.11\00:21:19.50
in charge of the
propagation of the faith.
00:21:19.53\00:21:22.90
Then she called John and thanked
him for taking care of her
00:21:22.93\00:21:26.93
after Jesus went to heaven.
00:21:26.96\00:21:28.59
And then the angels
finally came, along with Jesus,
00:21:28.62\00:21:33.06
and Jesus gave
Mary her last communion.
00:21:33.09\00:21:36.25
And Jesus spoke these words
to Mary: Receive, O My Mother,
00:21:36.28\00:21:40.94
from My hands that same
body that thou gavest to Me.
00:21:40.97\00:21:46.05
And then as she was breathing
her last, she said these words:
00:21:46.08\00:21:50.48
My Son, into Thy hands
do I commend my spirit.
00:21:50.51\00:21:56.01
Then the angels bore Mary to
heaven, according to this story.
00:21:56.04\00:22:00.37
It almost reads like a
fairy tale, doesn't it?
00:22:00.40\00:22:02.72
And as they approached the
city of God, the angels who
00:22:02.75\00:22:07.44
accompanied her cried out to
those who were within the city,
00:22:07.47\00:22:11.61
Lift up your gates, O ye
princes, and be ye lifted up
00:22:11.64\00:22:17.39
O eternal gates, and the
queen of glory shall enter in.
00:22:17.42\00:22:21.66
By the way, that's a variation
of Psalm 24 which was sung when
00:22:21.69\00:22:26.17
Jesus entered the
heavenly Jerusalem.
00:22:26.20\00:22:28.71
And then she arrives in heaven,
and she's praised by a certain
00:22:28.74\00:22:35.35
group of individuals
in their proper order.
00:22:35.38\00:22:37.75
Let me tell you
what the order is.
00:22:37.78\00:22:39.02
First she's praised by
angels, then by saints,
00:22:39.05\00:22:41.91
then by confessors, then by
martyrs, then by Saint James,
00:22:41.94\00:22:45.15
then by the prophets, then the
patriarchs, then Adam and Eve,
00:22:45.18\00:22:48.13
then Saint Simeon, then
Saint Zachary, Saint Elizabeth,
00:22:48.16\00:22:51.74
Saint John the Baptist, Saint
Joachim, Saint Anne, and finally
00:22:51.77\00:22:56.27
she is greeted by her
very own husband, Saint Joseph.
00:22:56.30\00:23:00.25
But that's not all.
00:23:00.28\00:23:03.00
Finally, this is what
Liguori says is the capstone
00:23:03.03\00:23:08.21
of this experience:
The Father crowned her by
00:23:08.24\00:23:12.30
imparting His power to
her, and the Son His wisdom,
00:23:12.33\00:23:17.18
the Holy Ghost His love.
00:23:17.21\00:23:19.95
And the three divine persons,
placing her throne at the right
00:23:19.98\00:23:24.70
hand of that of
Jesus, declared her sovereign
00:23:24.73\00:23:29.02
of heaven and earth,
and commanded the angels,
00:23:29.05\00:23:32.68
and all creatures to
acknowledge her as their queen,
00:23:32.71\00:23:37.22
and as such to
serve and to obey her.
00:23:37.25\00:23:41.22
Now you tell me
where in Scripture do
00:23:41.25\00:23:43.48
you find any of that?
00:23:43.51\00:23:44.54
You don't find that anywhere.
00:23:44.57\00:23:47.18
You can find it in Apocryphal
Gospels way back in the second
00:23:47.21\00:23:52.26
and the third century, but
you look in vain in Scripture
00:23:52.29\00:23:55.52
for even any
reference to the death of Mary.
00:23:55.55\00:23:58.59
The last reference that we find
in Scripture is Acts 1:14 where
00:23:58.62\00:24:04.22
we're told that Mary was in the
upper room with the apostles.
00:24:04.25\00:24:07.58
By the way, do you know that
Pope Gelasius I, who lived in
00:24:07.61\00:24:12.45
the fifth century,
condemned the idea of
00:24:12.48\00:24:16.35
the assumption of Mary?
00:24:16.38\00:24:17.46
He was a Pope of the
Roman Catholic Church
00:24:17.49\00:24:20.68
in the fifth
century: Gelasius I.
00:24:20.71\00:24:22.59
He condemned the idea
of the assumption of Mary.
00:24:22.63\00:24:24.85
But, interestingly
enough, Pius XII, another Pope,
00:24:24.88\00:24:28.91
said that Gelasius
was wrong, and that Mary
00:24:28.94\00:24:32.10
was assumed to heaven.
00:24:32.13\00:24:33.16
And he said this
in the year 1950.
00:24:33.19\00:24:36.08
Now listen to what Karl Keating,
a Roman Catholic theologian
00:24:36.11\00:24:39.88
has to say about
the assumption of Mary.
00:24:39.91\00:24:42.11
He's criticizing fundamentalist
Protestant theologians,
00:24:42.14\00:24:44.91
and he says this:
00:24:44.94\00:24:45.99
That is for the assumption.
00:24:51.53\00:24:53.20
Says Karl Keating.
00:24:55.14\00:24:56.47
So just because the church
teaches it, and the church says
00:25:16.54\00:25:20.35
it's true, therefore it is true.
00:25:20.38\00:25:22.96
That's some kind
of circular reasoning.
00:25:22.99\00:25:25.40
As I mentioned, the
last mention of Mary in the
00:25:25.43\00:25:30.10
Bible is in Acts 1:14.
00:25:30.13\00:25:32.76
And when you ask the Roman
Catholic Church, Why would God
00:25:32.79\00:25:35.44
assume Mary to heaven?
00:25:35.47\00:25:36.50
They say, Well, He assumed
Elijah, and He assumed Enoch
00:25:36.53\00:25:41.46
to heaven, and Mary was
much more immanent than they.
00:25:41.49\00:25:45.25
And as you read the sources you
find expressions such as this:
00:25:45.28\00:25:48.93
It was imminently fitting.
00:25:48.96\00:25:50.89
It was most appropriate.
00:25:50.92\00:25:53.57
There is a long tradition.
00:25:53.60\00:25:56.23
But never do you find a
single reference from Scripture
00:25:56.26\00:26:01.41
to support any idea about the
assumption of Mary to heaven.
00:26:01.44\00:26:05.52
Now we know that Mary, in
recent years, and I put Mary in
00:26:05.55\00:26:10.67
quotation marks, has
been appearing in different
00:26:10.70\00:26:13.07
parts of the earth.
00:26:13.10\00:26:14.13
Now if this is not Mary,
the question is who is it?
00:26:14.16\00:26:19.16
I'm going to throw out that
question for now because we're
00:26:19.19\00:26:22.13
going to deal with
that in our last lecture.
00:26:22.16\00:26:23.90
You know, if Mary really is
in the tomb awaiting the call
00:26:23.93\00:26:28.66
of Jesus, who will descend
from heaven with a shout,
00:26:28.69\00:26:31.60
with the voice of the arch
angel, and the trump of God,
00:26:31.63\00:26:33.81
there's someone who's
appearing all over the earth;
00:26:33.84\00:26:36.21
purportedly she says she's Mary.
00:26:36.24\00:26:39.22
The question is if it's
not Mary, who would it be?
00:26:39.25\00:26:42.72
We'll deal with
that a little bit later.
00:26:42.75\00:26:46.45
The Roman Catholic Church
uses Revelation 12:1 to say that
00:26:46.48\00:26:50.32
Mary is in heaven.
00:26:50.35\00:26:51.38
You know, it speaks
about this woman who is clothed
00:26:51.41\00:26:53.60
with the sun, and moon is
under her feet, and on her head
00:26:53.63\00:26:55.83
she has a crown of twelve stars.
00:26:55.86\00:26:57.30
They say, See, this is Mary.
00:26:57.33\00:26:58.91
Because she's with child, and
the child's about to be born.
00:26:58.94\00:27:01.66
What they don't realize is that
Mary is standing on the moon,
00:27:01.69\00:27:06.08
and she's clothed with the sun,
and she has the crown of twelve
00:27:06.11\00:27:09.73
stars on her head
before Jesus is born.
00:27:09.76\00:27:12.11
They use this scene to say
that this is after Mary has been
00:27:12.14\00:27:15.50
enthroned in heaven and she's
been crowned, that she has this
00:27:15.53\00:27:18.28
crown of twelve stars.
00:27:18.31\00:27:19.34
But the fact is
she's depicted that way.
00:27:19.37\00:27:21.15
This woman is depicted that
way before Jesus even is born.
00:27:21.18\00:27:24.83
So this is not talking
about the glorification of Mary.
00:27:24.86\00:27:27.63
Furthermore, the Bible says
that for 1,260 years the woman,
00:27:27.66\00:27:33.10
this woman, fled
to the wilderness.
00:27:33.13\00:27:35.54
Well, how could
the woman flee into the
00:27:35.57\00:27:38.02
wilderness if this was Mary?
00:27:38.05\00:27:39.48
I thought she would be
heaven, not in the wilderness.
00:27:39.51\00:27:41.80
Furthermore, in the
Bible a day is equal to a year.
00:27:41.83\00:27:46.12
This would mean 1, 260 years.
00:27:46.15\00:27:48.66
The fact is that according
to Roman Catholic theology,
00:27:48.69\00:27:52.19
all during this church period
Mary was not on earth at all.
00:27:52.22\00:27:56.29
Mary was interceding with
her Son, and through the Son,
00:27:56.32\00:28:02.67
with the Father in heaven.
00:28:02.70\00:28:04.36
By the way, Scripture makes
it very clear that this woman
00:28:04.39\00:28:07.77
represents the saints.
00:28:07.80\00:28:09.51
This woman
represents the church.
00:28:09.54\00:28:11.83
Because the little horn
it says persecutes the saints
00:28:11.86\00:28:16.38
of the Most High, for time,
times, and the dividing of time.
00:28:16.41\00:28:19.97
Revelation 12 says
that the woman is persecuted
00:28:20.00\00:28:23.28
for the same period
of time: time, times,
00:28:23.31\00:28:26.08
and the dividing of time.
00:28:26.11\00:28:27.30
So you compare those two.
00:28:27.33\00:28:28.63
The saints in Daniel
7 are the same as the
00:28:28.66\00:28:31.68
woman in Revelation 12.
00:28:31.71\00:28:34.51
Now we need to dedicate some
time to talk about a final dogma
00:28:34.54\00:28:39.15
which has been discussed within
the Roman Catholic Church.
00:28:39.18\00:28:43.41
It has not been proclaimed
as a dogma yet, but there is a
00:28:43.44\00:28:47.45
great amount of
discussion concerning this.
00:28:47.48\00:28:50.12
And it is the idea that Mary
is 1. Coredemptrix with Jesus.
00:28:50.15\00:28:57.94
2. Advocate with the Father.
00:28:57.97\00:29:02.35
3. Mediatrix of all
graces between the Father
00:29:02.38\00:29:07.76
and the human race.
00:29:07.79\00:29:08.90
Allow me to read you a
couple of statements here.
00:29:08.93\00:29:12.82
These are from Saint Alphonsus
Liguori where he explains
00:29:12.85\00:29:17.27
how Mary actually is
coredemptrix along with Jesus.
00:29:17.30\00:29:24.54
This is found on page 397 of
his book, The Glories of Mary.
00:29:24.57\00:29:29.40
Speaking about the early years
of Mary, when she actually took
00:29:29.43\00:29:33.97
Jesus to the temple to dedicate
Him when He was 8 years old,
00:29:34.00\00:29:37.12
we find this statement: She,
that is Mary, fully understood
00:29:37.15\00:29:41.56
from the prophets
that He was to be betrayed
00:29:41.59\00:29:44.46
by one of His disciples.
00:29:44.49\00:29:45.78
There's no indication in the
Bible that she fully believed
00:29:45.81\00:29:49.95
that He was going to be betrayed
by one of His disciples.
00:29:49.98\00:29:52.45
He goes on to say that Mary knew
that the disciples would forsake
00:29:52.48\00:29:57.92
Jesus, that He would be treated
with contempt, that He would be
00:29:57.95\00:30:01.96
spit upon and
derided by the people.
00:30:01.99\00:30:03.90
She knew that at the end of
His life His flesh would be torn
00:30:03.93\00:30:07.18
and mangled by scourges.
00:30:07.21\00:30:08.69
She knew that He was
to be pierced by nails.
00:30:08.72\00:30:11.46
And yet knowing all of this...
00:30:11.49\00:30:13.23
Here's another statement that
we find on page 40 of Liguori.
00:30:37.35\00:30:41.13
And this is a particularly
significant statement.
00:30:41.16\00:30:44.03
He quotes words
by Andrew of Crete,
00:30:44.06\00:30:48.81
and these are the words: The
wills of Christ, and of Mary,
00:30:48.84\00:30:54.48
were then united so that
both offered the same holocaust.
00:30:54.51\00:31:02.21
Holocaust means sacrifice.
00:31:02.24\00:31:04.72
So their hearts were united.
00:31:04.75\00:31:06.59
They offered the same sacrifice.
00:31:06.62\00:31:08.14
She therefore producing
with Him the one effect:
00:31:08.17\00:31:14.61
the salvation of the world.
00:31:14.64\00:31:16.84
In other words, they both
became Saviors of the world,
00:31:16.87\00:31:19.41
because their wills
were merged, and they offered
00:31:19.44\00:31:22.21
the one sacrifice.
00:31:22.24\00:31:23.43
He continues saying: At the
death of Jesus, Mary united her
00:31:23.46\00:31:28.83
will to that of her Son.
00:31:28.86\00:31:30.43
So much so that both offered
one and the same sacrifice.
00:31:30.46\00:31:37.08
And therefore the holy
abbot says that both the Son,
00:31:37.11\00:31:42.46
and the mother
effected human redemption,
00:31:42.49\00:31:46.64
and obtained salvation for men.
00:31:46.67\00:31:49.13
Jesus, by satisfying for
our sins, Mary by obtaining the
00:31:49.16\00:31:56.09
application of
this satisfaction to us.
00:31:56.12\00:32:00.05
In other words, Jesus paid
for the satisfaction of sin,
00:32:00.08\00:32:03.26
but then Mary is able to be
our advocate before the Father,
00:32:03.29\00:32:08.26
because she participated in
the sacrifice, and she's able to
00:32:08.29\00:32:11.90
mediate all of the
graces that come from God to us.
00:32:11.93\00:32:16.15
In other words Jesus
paid the sacrifice portion,
00:32:16.18\00:32:20.44
and she does the advocacy,
and the mediatorial function.
00:32:20.47\00:32:25.40
Because they both participated,
according to this view,
00:32:25.43\00:32:28.86
in the redemption
of the human race.
00:32:28.89\00:32:31.01
He continues saying:
Hence Denis the Carthusian also
00:32:31.04\00:32:36.98
asserts that the
Devine Mother can be called
00:32:37.01\00:32:40.99
the Savior of the world, since
by the pain that she endured
00:32:41.02\00:32:45.77
in commiserating her Son,
willingly sacrificed by her
00:32:45.80\00:32:51.04
to divine justice, she
merited that through her prayers
00:32:51.07\00:32:55.63
the merits of the passion
of the Redeemer should be
00:32:55.66\00:32:58.86
communicated to men.
00:32:58.89\00:33:00.23
In other words, Jesus
offered the sacrifice,
00:33:00.26\00:33:02.72
but Mary is the one who
can distribute the benefits
00:33:02.75\00:33:06.94
of the sacrifice of Jesus,
because her will was merged
00:33:06.97\00:33:10.36
with the will of
Jesus, and they offered the
00:33:10.39\00:33:12.84
same sacrifice to God.
00:33:12.87\00:33:15.56
Now it's probably well known
that John Paul II, who was Pope
00:33:15.59\00:33:20.07
until recently, was
very devoted to Mary.
00:33:20.10\00:33:23.34
In fact he greatly
admired the Virgin Mary.
00:33:23.37\00:33:27.97
On his coat of arms
he had the inscription,
00:33:28.00\00:33:31.54
Totus tuus sum, Maria, in other
words, I'm all yours, Mary.
00:33:31.57\00:33:37.31
In fact inside his
pontifical robes he had written,
00:33:37.34\00:33:41.19
Totus tuus, all
yours; referring to Mary.
00:33:41.22\00:33:44.71
In fact he consecrated
Russia to the Virgin Mary.
00:33:44.74\00:33:48.79
And shortly
thereafter the communist block
00:33:48.82\00:33:52.27
in Eastern Europe, and in
the former Soviet Union failed.
00:33:52.30\00:33:56.33
He believed that his
life had been spared by
00:33:56.36\00:34:00.05
the Virgin Mary
when he was shot.
00:34:00.08\00:34:02.10
In fact John Paul II visited
almost every single Marian
00:34:02.13\00:34:06.25
shrine in the whole world.
00:34:06.28\00:34:07.97
On March 25, 1987 he published
a very important encyclical.
00:34:08.00\00:34:14.32
The name of it was Redemptoris
Mater, Mother the Redeemer.
00:34:14.35\00:34:19.53
And basically in this encyclical
he splashed a whole bunch of
00:34:19.56\00:34:23.94
Scripture that has absolutely
nothing to do with Mary.
00:34:23.97\00:34:27.06
Texts drawn out of context
with the purpose of trying to
00:34:27.09\00:34:30.56
convince people that the
idea of Mary as the coredemptrix
00:34:30.59\00:34:35.88
actually has a
Biblical foundation.
00:34:35.91\00:34:38.87
In fact John Paul II six times
in his writings referred to Mary
00:34:38.90\00:34:45.45
directly as coredemptrix.
00:34:45.48\00:34:49.19
This is more times than
any Pope in the history of
00:34:49.22\00:34:52.60
the Roman Catholic Church.
00:34:52.63\00:34:54.17
In fact allow me to
read you some statements from
00:34:54.20\00:34:57.55
John Paul II to this effect.
00:34:57.58\00:34:59.84
He quotes Philippians
2:5-8 and then he says this:
00:34:59.87\00:35:04.38
Because it talks about
Jesus emptying Himself.
00:35:11.94\00:35:14.35
Which means emptying.
00:35:17.40\00:35:18.91
So she shares in the death of
her Son in His redeeming death,
00:35:31.30\00:35:39.65
according to John Paul II.
00:35:39.68\00:35:41.40
In another statement we
find John Paul II saying this:
00:35:41.43\00:35:45.61
In this way Mary's
motherhood continues unceasingly
00:35:45.64\00:35:51.23
in the church as the
mediation which intercedes.
00:35:51.26\00:35:55.20
And the church expresses her
faith in this truth by invoking
00:35:55.23\00:36:00.99
May under the titles
of Advocate, Augxiliatrix,
00:36:01.02\00:36:07.18
that is helper,
Adjutrix, and Mediatrix.
00:36:07.21\00:36:11.45
In an address that he
gave in Nagasaki in Japan,
00:36:11.48\00:36:15.36
John Paul II says this:
00:36:15.39\00:36:17.05
In a speech that he gave in
Argentina he said these words:
00:36:21.60\00:36:26.02
In other words Mary,
because she is coredemptrix,
00:36:42.34\00:36:46.07
she is also our advocate before
her Son, so that her Son then
00:36:46.10\00:36:51.77
can be the
Advocate before His Father.
00:36:51.80\00:36:55.22
We also notice in the
encyclical, Salvifici Doloris,
00:36:55.25\00:37:01.93
that John Paul II says this:
00:37:01.96\00:37:04.19
That is Mary's
ascent of Calvary.
00:37:06.28\00:37:08.28
You know, there's a theologian,
I believe he's a Spanish
00:37:23.26\00:37:26.50
theologian, Mark Miravalle, who
before the death of John Paul II
00:37:26.53\00:37:31.90
did a signature gathering
campaign to try to get as many
00:37:31.93\00:37:37.46
Catholics as possible to write
to John Paul II so that he would
00:37:37.49\00:37:40.77
proclaim this last dogma.
00:37:40.80\00:37:43.25
By the way, the dogma would
be that Mary is coredemptrix
00:37:43.28\00:37:47.87
of humanity,
mediatrix of all graces,
00:37:47.90\00:37:51.77
and advocate for
the people of God.
00:37:51.80\00:37:54.57
He gathered millions of
signatures that were sent to
00:37:54.60\00:37:58.73
John Paul II so that he
would proclaim this final dogma
00:37:58.76\00:38:02.59
that Mary is
coredemptrix, advocate,
00:38:02.62\00:38:06.18
and also
mediatrix of all graces.
00:38:06.21\00:38:09.44
In fact in the same article
that I referred to earlier
00:38:09.47\00:38:14.57
in the Fresno Bee, we find
this very revealing statement:
00:38:14.60\00:38:21.16
Speculation centers
on the possibility that
00:38:21.19\00:38:25.48
Pope John Paul II may
declare as dogma that Mary is
00:38:25.51\00:38:30.34
coredemptrix of humanity,
mediatrix of all graces,
00:38:30.37\00:38:34.89
and advocate for
the people of God.
00:38:34.92\00:38:38.02
Now we know that
it didn't happen.
00:38:38.05\00:38:39.51
But the subject is still being
agitated far-and-wide within the
00:38:39.54\00:38:44.68
Roman Catholic Church.
00:38:44.71\00:38:45.87
And there are millions of
Catholics, both among the clergy
00:38:45.90\00:38:50.23
and the laity, who are pushing
for the Pope Benedict XVI
00:38:50.26\00:38:56.04
to proclaim a fifth dogma,
which would be that Mary is
00:38:56.07\00:39:00.07
coredemptrix, advocate,
and mediatrix of all graces.
00:39:00.10\00:39:04.68
Notice what Mark Miravalle has
to say about the reason why Mary
00:39:04.71\00:39:10.83
should be looked at as the
coredemptrix. He says this:
00:39:10.86\00:39:15.31
Coredemptrix means
that she's co-redeemer.
00:39:33.18\00:39:35.84
In fact he goes so far as to say
that if Mary had said no to God,
00:39:35.87\00:39:41.22
if she had said, No, I
don't want to have Jesus,
00:39:41.25\00:39:44.31
there would have
been no plan of salvation.
00:39:44.34\00:39:46.43
And, therefore, the whole
human race would have been lost.
00:39:46.46\00:39:50.02
So when Mary consented
to be the mother of Jesus,
00:39:50.05\00:39:53.77
she should be looked upon as
coredemptrix of the human race.
00:39:53.80\00:39:58.07
Now because she's coredemptrix,
according to Roman Catholic
00:39:58.10\00:40:02.53
theology, she also is the
advocate for the people of God.
00:40:02.56\00:40:06.74
Allow me to read a statement
from the declaration which was
00:40:06.77\00:40:11.41
given at Vatican Lumen
Gentium, it's paragraph 62,
00:40:11.44\00:40:16.13
The Light of the World.
00:40:16.16\00:40:18.32
This is what it says:
00:40:18.35\00:40:19.53
So she not only is coredemptrix,
she also is our advocate
00:40:44.19\00:40:49.20
with Jesus, and then Jesus
is the advocate with the Father.
00:40:49.23\00:40:53.55
But not only does she
represent us before Jesus,
00:40:53.58\00:40:57.15
according to this new dogma,
but also all of the graces that
00:40:57.18\00:41:01.56
come from Jesus to us must
come from the Father, to Jesus,
00:41:01.59\00:41:05.72
through Mary, to the human race.
00:41:05.75\00:41:07.94
In fact allow me to
quote from Pope Leo XIII:
00:41:07.97\00:41:12.00
A few years ago in an
article in Newsweek magazine
00:41:30.01\00:41:33.85
Kenneth Woodward, writing
about this dogma, had this very
00:41:33.88\00:41:39.97
interesting statement to make,
speaking about the drive to have
00:41:40.00\00:41:44.97
the Roman Catholic
Church proclaim this dogma:
00:41:45.00\00:41:47.44
And he continues saying
this... and by the way, Woodward
00:42:26.51\00:42:30.69
is a Roman Catholic. He says:
00:42:30.72\00:42:32.12
By the way, this
petition was examined,
00:42:49.70\00:42:53.75
the possibility of this dogma
was examined in June of 1997
00:42:53.78\00:42:59.56
by 23 theologians of
the Roman Catholic Church;
00:42:59.59\00:43:02.84
expert merilogists.
00:43:02.87\00:43:04.35
And they voted 23 to
nothing to table it and to not
00:43:04.39\00:43:08.90
proclaim this dogma.
00:43:08.93\00:43:10.81
So you say, It's a dead issue.
00:43:10.84\00:43:12.68
Do you want to know the reason
why they said that this dogma
00:43:12.71\00:43:17.36
should not be
proclaimed at this time?
00:43:17.39\00:43:19.38
They said out of
ecumenical considerations.
00:43:19.41\00:43:23.15
In other words, it would
not be beneficial at this time
00:43:23.18\00:43:26.72
to proclaim this dogma.
00:43:26.75\00:43:27.99
Because Protestants
would not want to have a union
00:43:28.02\00:43:32.56
of the churches, because
they're already exasperated
00:43:32.59\00:43:35.63
by other dogmas that
have been proclaimed by the
00:43:35.66\00:43:37.68
Roman Catholic Church.
00:43:37.72\00:43:38.78
But as Protestants cast aside
more and more of the shield of
00:43:38.81\00:43:42.02
truth, which is the Bible,
and more and more they adopt the
00:43:42.05\00:43:45.14
Roman Catholic view
of Mary, the question is,
00:43:45.17\00:43:47.59
Is the time coming when
Protestants will be ready to
00:43:47.62\00:43:51.35
accept even this idea?
particularly in times of
00:43:51.38\00:43:55.48
national calamities, in times
when you have to have somebody
00:43:55.51\00:43:59.92
who is going to save the
human race from annihilation.
00:43:59.95\00:44:03.65
Which is the picture, by the
way, that is presented not only
00:44:03.68\00:44:06.60
in the book, The Great
Controversy, but which is
00:44:06.63\00:44:08.76
presented in the book as
we we'll notice in our next
00:44:08.79\00:44:11.55
lecture, The Thunder of
Justice, by two Roman Catholics.
00:44:11.58\00:44:14.76
They say that because of
the wickedness of the world
00:44:14.79\00:44:16.83
Mary is going to send a message
that God is sending calamities
00:44:16.86\00:44:19.90
upon the world
until everybody shapes up.
00:44:19.93\00:44:22.72
You know, in times of calamities
and huge world disasters
00:44:22.75\00:44:27.32
people will do strange things,
and people will come together.
00:44:27.35\00:44:30.76
If you don't think so, just
remember what happened in 2001.
00:44:30.79\00:44:35.30
At least for a short
period after this everybody
00:44:35.33\00:44:37.84
started going to church.
00:44:37.87\00:44:38.92
And everybody
said, We're all brothers.
00:44:38.99\00:44:40.80
And everybody helped
one another in the streets.
00:44:40.83\00:44:42.91
And people bought out Bibles
in the Christian bookstores.
00:44:42.94\00:44:46.40
In other words, there was this
spirit during this time after
00:44:46.43\00:44:50.47
the disaster on
September 11, 2001.
00:44:50.50\00:44:53.77
That's the same scenario
that Scripture portrays.
00:44:53.80\00:44:56.76
By the way, if you want to
know where to find the best
00:44:56.79\00:45:00.78
contemporary description of this
dogma, the best place would be
00:45:00.81\00:45:04.68
in Mel Gibson's movie,
The Passion of the Christ.
00:45:04.71\00:45:08.15
You say, Now how is this?
00:45:08.18\00:45:10.96
Well, the fact is that
if you carefully look at
00:45:10.99\00:45:13.94
The Passion of the Christ,
you're going to notice that it
00:45:13.97\00:45:16.74
really is not
the story of Jesus.
00:45:16.77\00:45:19.49
It's the story of Jesus looked
at through the eyes of Mary.
00:45:19.52\00:45:23.78
If you look carefully, you're
going to find that in this movie
00:45:23.81\00:45:28.38
Mary is a partner in
the sufferings of Jesus.
00:45:28.41\00:45:32.80
In fact, she's the
one who comforts Him.
00:45:32.83\00:45:35.95
She's the one who
encourages Him seven times
00:45:35.98\00:45:39.15
when He falls on
the via Dolorosa.
00:45:39.18\00:45:41.22
She is the one who wipes
up the blood that is left
00:45:41.25\00:45:44.61
after Jesus is flogged.
00:45:44.64\00:45:46.17
She is the one who
takes the body of Jesus
00:45:46.20\00:45:48.96
down from the cross.
00:45:48.99\00:45:50.02
She is the one who holds
Jesus in her arms when He's
00:45:50.05\00:45:53.46
at the foot of the cross.
00:45:53.49\00:45:54.59
In other words, from
the cradle to the grave,
00:45:54.62\00:45:57.88
Mary is
participating in the sufferings,
00:45:57.91\00:46:01.98
and in the redemption of Jesus.
00:46:02.01\00:46:04.38
She's not actually sacrificed
herself, but she is offering
00:46:04.41\00:46:09.22
her son in sacrifice, and she's
empathizing, and sympathizing.
00:46:09.25\00:46:13.36
Her will is welded and
blended with that of her son.
00:46:13.39\00:46:16.72
Therefore she can intercede with
her son with us because she went
00:46:16.75\00:46:20.32
through the experience.
00:46:20.35\00:46:21.64
And she can give the
graces from Jesus Christ to us,
00:46:21.67\00:46:25.76
because she has
participated in the experience.
00:46:25.79\00:46:28.73
Her will and her feelings
are blended, and they are welded
00:46:28.76\00:46:32.50
with those of Jesus.
00:46:32.53\00:46:34.49
It's interesting to notice what
Mel Gibson said about his movie.
00:46:34.52\00:46:38.27
You know, you talk about
Protestants and Catholics
00:46:38.30\00:46:40.98
joining together
in the idea of Mary.
00:46:41.01\00:46:45.42
You know, Mel Gibson
himself expressed it in a very
00:46:45.45\00:46:47.70
interesting way in an interview
in Christianity Today in 2004.
00:46:47.73\00:46:51.97
He says this: I have been
actually amazed at the way
00:46:52.00\00:46:57.06
I would say the evangelical
audience has hands down
00:46:57.09\00:47:02.23
responded to this film more
than any other Christian group.
00:47:02.26\00:47:07.04
He's surprised, in other words.
00:47:07.07\00:47:09.72
He says: What makes
it so amazing is that
00:47:09.75\00:47:13.34
the film is so Marian.
00:47:13.37\00:47:15.76
So he's surprised
how Protestants have
00:47:15.79\00:47:18.87
responded to this movie.
00:47:18.90\00:47:20.03
In fact Rick Warren, who is
pastor of the Saddleback Church
00:47:20.06\00:47:25.06
in Arizona; a huge
church, actually I think it's in
00:47:25.09\00:47:29.04
Southern California.
00:47:29.07\00:47:30.10
He said this about the
movie: The film is brilliant,
00:47:30.13\00:47:34.19
Biblical; a masterpiece.
00:47:34.22\00:47:37.74
And as you look at the film you
notice that there's all sorts
00:47:37.77\00:47:40.99
of information that has nothing
to do whatsoever with Scripture.
00:47:41.02\00:47:45.83
Billy Graham said this about
the movie: Every time I preach,
00:47:45.86\00:47:49.88
or speak about the cross,
the things I saw on the screen
00:47:49.91\00:47:54.44
will be on my
heart, and in my mind.
00:47:54.47\00:47:57.34
Ted Haggard, the president
of the National Association of
00:47:57.37\00:48:01.38
Evangelicals said
this about Gibson's movie:
00:48:01.41\00:48:05.71
This film is probably the
most accurate film historically
00:48:05.74\00:48:10.26
than anything that has
ever been made in English.
00:48:10.29\00:48:14.38
So we have no hesitations.
00:48:14.42\00:48:16.24
We were watching it for Biblical
accuracy and we thought it
00:48:16.27\00:48:20.41
was as close as you can get.
00:48:20.44\00:48:23.40
So are you saying that
Protestants are not on the road
00:48:23.43\00:48:27.65
to accepting the Roman Catholic
view of Mary? Absolutely.
00:48:27.69\00:48:31.88
Casting aside the
shield of truth, step by step,
00:48:31.91\00:48:35.25
little by little, they've
grown closer and closer to
00:48:35.28\00:48:38.59
the Roman Catholic view.
00:48:38.62\00:48:40.14
Now what kind of Biblical
response can we give to this
00:48:40.17\00:48:44.17
idea that Mary is coredemptrix,
that Mary is the advocate for
00:48:44.20\00:48:49.24
the people of God, and that Mary
is the mediatrix of all graces.
00:48:49.28\00:48:54.28
Well, first of all, allow
me to say that there are about
00:48:54.32\00:48:58.30
1.2 billion
Catholics in the world.
00:48:58.33\00:49:01.45
How can Mary simultaneously
hear the prayers of
00:49:01.48\00:49:08.11
1.2 billion Roman Catholics?
00:49:08.15\00:49:11.00
Well, you say, they're not
all praying at the same time.
00:49:11.04\00:49:13.09
That's true. But you would have
to say that there are at least
00:49:13.12\00:49:16.71
millions of them
praying simultaneously.
00:49:16.74\00:49:19.00
So how can Mary hear the
prayers of all of these people
00:49:19.04\00:49:22.86
at the same time, and present
their prayers before her Son?
00:49:22.90\00:49:26.95
How can she understand all
of the languages of the world?
00:49:26.99\00:49:31.07
She would have to be what?
she would have to be omniscient.
00:49:31.11\00:49:35.15
She would have
to know all things.
00:49:35.19\00:49:37.02
Furthermore, she's appearing all
over the world, which means that
00:49:37.06\00:49:40.81
she would have
to be omnipresent.
00:49:40.85\00:49:42.50
And to provide answers to
every prayer she would have to
00:49:42.53\00:49:46.86
practically be what? omnipotent.
00:49:46.89\00:49:49.45
In other words, the prerogatives
of God are attributed to her.
00:49:49.48\00:49:54.81
The Bible never says
that Mary was full of grace.
00:49:54.84\00:49:58.90
The Bible says that
Jesus is full of grace;
00:49:58.94\00:50:02.10
that the dispenser of
grace is actually Jesus Christ.
00:50:02.13\00:50:06.58
Scripture clearly says that
Jesus alone is the Redeemer.
00:50:06.62\00:50:11.03
Jesus alone is the Advocate.
00:50:11.07\00:50:13.49
Jesus alone is the One
who mediates all graces
00:50:13.52\00:50:17.98
from heaven to earth.
00:50:18.01\00:50:19.88
Allow me to read
you some statements from
00:50:19.91\00:50:23.19
Scripture to this effect.
00:50:23.22\00:50:24.75
Who is the Advocate
according to Scripture?
00:50:44.99\00:50:47.62
Jesus Christ is the Advocate.
00:50:47.65\00:50:51.68
Notice Romans 8:34, Romans 8:34.
00:50:51.72\00:50:55.72
Who is it that
makes intercession for us,
00:51:12.21\00:51:14.49
who is alive at
the right hand of God?
00:51:14.52\00:51:16.76
It is Jesus Christ.
00:51:16.80\00:51:18.51
Notice Hebrews 7:25, 26.
00:51:18.55\00:51:21.72
The Bible's clear on this point.
00:51:21.75\00:51:23.38
Who lives to make
intercession for them? Jesus.
00:51:37.36\00:51:42.05
Everything which
is attributed to Mary,
00:51:51.25\00:51:52.99
in Roman Catholic theology.
00:51:53.02\00:51:54.49
Who does not need
daily, as those high priests,
00:51:56.89\00:52:00.44
to offer up sacrifices,
first for his own sins,
00:52:00.47\00:52:03.98
and then for the people's.
00:52:04.02\00:52:05.45
For this He did once and for
all when He offered up Himself;
00:52:05.49\00:52:12.55
nothing about Mary offering Him.
00:52:12.59\00:52:15.68
The Bible says
that He offered Himself.
00:52:15.71\00:52:19.21
He is the intercessor.
00:52:19.25\00:52:20.90
He is the
Advocate before the Father.
00:52:20.93\00:52:23.07
And, by the way, He's
loving, benevolent, and kind.
00:52:23.11\00:52:26.20
You don't have to think of
Him as being harsh, and mean,
00:52:26.23\00:52:30.39
and needing to be appeased.
00:52:30.43\00:52:31.97
Because the Jesus in heaven
is the same Jesus that healed
00:52:32.00\00:52:35.62
diseases, and cast out
devils, and showed love for the
00:52:35.66\00:52:39.24
multitudes, and fed
thousands of people.
00:52:39.28\00:52:42.03
He's the same
Jesus in heaven today.
00:52:42.06\00:52:44.74
And, therefore, we
can go directly to Jesus,
00:52:44.78\00:52:47.51
and through Jesus to the
Father without any intermediary.
00:52:47.54\00:52:51.87
Now notice this very
clear text in 1 Timothy 2:5, 6.
00:52:51.90\00:52:58.78
Now what part of one
don't you understand?
00:53:06.23\00:53:08.26
What does one mean? this:
00:53:08.30\00:53:13.72
You know the theologian,
James R. White, has made
00:53:26.14\00:53:30.09
a very good remark, and I'd
like to read it at this point,
00:53:30.12\00:53:34.43
because it's so appropriate.
00:53:34.46\00:53:35.70
You see, everything that
the Bible attributes to Jesus,
00:53:35.73\00:53:38.50
the Roman Catholic
Church attributes to Mary.
00:53:38.53\00:53:40.43
And what he's going to
show is that really is idolatry.
00:53:40.47\00:53:44.16
Notice this statement:
00:53:44.20\00:53:45.23
In other words, by creating
Mary in the image of Jesus,
00:54:07.91\00:54:12.17
and having people render
her homage, they are actually
00:54:12.21\00:54:16.75
creating an image of Jesus,
which many people worship.
00:54:16.78\00:54:20.76
Now I know that some people
in the Catholic Church say,
00:54:20.80\00:54:24.75
Well, we don't rend her latria.
00:54:24.78\00:54:26.43
We don't render
her absolute worship.
00:54:26.47\00:54:29.29
We render her hyperdulia,
which is better than the duliah,
00:54:29.33\00:54:34.56
which is offered to the saints,
to the common ordinary saints.
00:54:34.59\00:54:37.74
The fact is the Bible does
not make such distinctions.
00:54:37.78\00:54:41.10
You know, one of my favorite
past times when I'm on vacation
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in Colombia, is to
visit the cathedrals
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in the city of Median.
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And do you know what I've
discovered as I've examined?
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I like to examine the statues,
and the icons, and the artwork.
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I've discovered that
Mary is always presented
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as the vibrant mother.
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She's always
surrounded by children.
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She's always full of
life: the benevolent mother,
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the generous mother.
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She's always presented
with Jesus in her arms.
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Even after her
glorification in heaven,
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according to
Roman Catholic theology,
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she still has the
baby Jesus in her arms.
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And I'm asking, After
her glorification in heaven,
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did Jesus never grow up?
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She's the protector.
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Or else Jesus is
presented in her arms dead,
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just taken off the cross; the
famous Pieta by Michael Angelo.
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You see, Jesus is
the defenseless child.
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Jesus is the dead Savior.
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Mary is the living
mother, the benevolent,
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loving, beautiful mother.
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You know, in my examination of
these cathedrals, I discovered
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that the images of
Mary outnumber those of
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Jesus five to one.
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And, by the way, those of
you who were of a Roman Catholic
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background, you know
that in the Hail Mary,
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for every Our
Father which art in heaven,
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there are ten Hail Mary's.
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Is that correct? those of you
who have been Roman Catholics?
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Absolutely! You know Mary
is usually presented with a
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scepter in her hand,
and a crown on her head.
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In other words, she is
the ruler of the human race.
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And, in fact, you
know, the Hail Mary says,
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Hail Mary, full of
grace, the Lord is with thee.
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Blessed art thou among women.
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And blessed is the
fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
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Holy Mary, mother of
God, pray for us sinners now,
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and at the hour
of our death, Amen.
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The tragic thing is that
so many people are praying
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and kneeling before images
of Mary, asking her to intercede
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before her Son, when
Mary turns a deaf ear.
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Because Scripture says that
she is dead; she can't hear.
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One time I went to
a cathedral in Median,
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and there was this old lady.
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She was grabbing onto the
feet of this image of Mary.
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And with tears in her eyes she
was crying out to Mary asking
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her for a favor to
intercede before her Son Jesus.
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And I felt like screaming
out, She can't hear you!
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Jesus can hear you.
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Because the center of the
plan of salvation is Jesus.
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It is not Mary.
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