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PRACTICE OF MARIOLOGY By David Ben Yakov © 2006 David Ben Yakov / Delusion Resistance
The following article was found in a local newspaper back in 2000. All my life I've been what most would call a Protestant with very little experience with the Catholic Church. I'd always heard by those in my circle about how the Catholic's venerated Mary and how it was wrong, but never had I ever imagined how big a problem it really is. After reading the article below I knew that I had to look into the subject, and frankly, I was alarmed at how far into paganism so many Catholics had degenerated. The article should be a strong wake-up call for anyone who reads it. Immediately below the article are some reflections about the subject from various sources.
Movement To Make Virgin Mary
By Jan Jarboe Russell - New York Times Found In Sacramento Bee - December 23, 2000
"The world of today is in desperate need of a mother," whispered professor Mark Miravalle, as he sat behind his desk at Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, carefully fingering a string of rosary beads. Half a world away, inside the Vatican, yet another enormous box arrived filled with petitions asking Pope John Paul II to exercise his absolute power to proclaim a new and highly debated dogma: that the Virgin Mary is a co-redeemer with Jesus and cooperates fully with her son in the redemption of mankind. Miravalle, 41 began the petition drive four years ago from his obscure position as a professor of Mariology - the study of Mary - at one of the most conservative Catholic universities in the nation. Since then, the pope has received more than 6 million signatures from 148 countries asking him to give the Virgin Mary the ultimate promotion. In addition to ordinary Catholics, Miravalle has received support from Cardinal John O'Connor and Mother Teresa, 550 bishops, and more than 40 other cardinals. Along the way, his movement has laid bare a deep seated conflict between devotion to the Virgin Mary and the efforts of the church to keep that devotion in check. If Miravalle's campaign succeeds and John Paul II proclaims the Virgin Mary as a co-redeemer, she would be a vastly more powerful figure, something close to a fourth member of the Holy Trinity and the primary female face through which Christians experience the divine. Specifically, Roman Catholics would be required to accept three new spiritual truths: that Mary was co-redeemer and participated in peoples redemption; that Mary was a mediator and had the power to grant all graces; and that Mary was "the advocate for the people of god," in Miravalle's words, and had the authority to influence God's judgments. For millions of Virgin Mary devotees who have signed Miravalle's petitions, these are an accepted part of their daily spiritual lives. They represent what theologians call popular piety, practices that are accepted by ordinary religious people over the learned objections of the establishment. Indeed, the idea has been present in Catholicism at least as far back as the 14th century. There is also historic precedent for petition campaigns like Miravalle's. The other Marian dogmas - the dogma of the Assumption in 1950, which declared that Mary was taken up, body and soul, to heaven after her death, and the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of 1854, which established that Mary was preserved from original sin - were both preceded by floods of petitions. Although it has the support of at least 12 cardinals in Rome, others fear acceptance of Miravalle's proposal would cause a major schism among Catholics and set back all efforts at ecumenism. Because the dogma would be an infallible proclamation by the pope, it would trigger a renewed debate over the role of the pope's power in modern society. "It seems to put her on equal footing with Christ," said Father John Roten, director of the International Marian Library, articulating the main reason for opposition. "That just won't do." Father Rene Laurentin, a French monk and the world's leading Mary scholar, agrees. In a fax, Laurentin said the proposed dogma would launch "bombs" at Protestants and deepen the breach between the Vatican and the Eastern Orthodox church. "Mary is the model of our faith, but she is not divine," he said. "There is no mediation or co-redemption except in Christ. He alone is God." Reflections:The above article should be alarming to Christians and Catholics alike. The whole foundation of Christianity is the Holy Trinity; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. There is no addition to that, none whatsoever. In the first paragraph of the article, you will find the crux of the argument that those in Mariology have to offer. Mr. Miravalle has echoed what every cult and false religion has said throughout history in his statement:
So who is this mother that Mr. Miravalle has beckoned? According to the Catholic Church, she is called Mary, or to Latin language speakers, Maria. The Mary of the Catholic Church is however much different from the lowly humble virgin who was used in such a mighty way by our Father God. As a matter of fact, the only way that the Bible and the Catholic Church agree about Mary is the fact that she gave birth to our Savior, Jesus. The Mary of the Catholic Church is more akin, shares more attributes and even shares some names with the occultic she-gods of renown. Directly below is little information taken from an occultic page that will show that even those of other faiths, and the "New Age" arena recognize that the Mary of the Catholic Church is of Satanic origin. The Mother
So it is not too hard to see that the Mary of the Catholic Church is really just the modern reincarnation of the figure of many cults and false religions of the past. Reading the last paragraph one can see that the "Marian Spirit" is also responsible for the feminist movement, which is clearly controlled by the spirit of anti-Christ. Something of interest is mentioned in the second to last paragraph of "The Mother." Note that the "mother" mentioned in the religions always ultimately assumed the leadership role in the cult. Isn't it interesting that this has happened too in Catholicism. In the beginning, Jesus Christ was the focus of the faith. Then, in the 19th century, the church decreed that Mary never had any sin. In the 1950's the church decreed that Mary was resurrected straight to heaven after she died. Now, the Mariologists are trying to get it so that the church recognizes that Mary is on par with God himself. I suspect that in the days to come the church will exchange what little worship for God that they do have to worship entirely of Mary. Now in closing, I would like to point out one more thing. Can a man or men change the quality or attributes of God? I think not. God is eternal and men are like the grass of the field, here today and gone tomorrow. The pope is just a man, capable of fallibility, blunders and SIN. I know one thing for sure. One day Jesus Christ will one day come back and reward his followers and deny those who stood against him. It is important for Catholics to consider many things. First, you should read your Bibles for you cannot know your God without reading it. You will not know what God requires of you if you don't read it either. Furthermore, if you read your Bibles, you will know if you are being told the truth. I believe with all of my heart that those Catholics involved in Mariology are so involved because they have not read their Bibles. They have listened to what so-called scholars have said rather than investigating on their own. And finally, I implore you to, as in the words of the book of Revelation:
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