Catholics and Orthodox have Marian theologies which are unbiblical.
They give Mary reverence, hyper-veneration, create icons, paintings, sculptures, and processionals for her. These things are for the Triune God alone.
Several Doctors of the Catholic church, such as Ligouri, have written Marian books which explicitly call on believers to get saved through Mary. This is sheer blasphemy and idolatry.
God alone is worthy of our reverence and veneration. It is deeply wrong to exalt Mary the way Catholics and Orthodox do.
The beliefs that Mary was a consecrated temple virgin, who made a lifetime vow of abstinence, and that Joseph was a much older man, originate with the spurious “Gospel of James”. It was not written by James and dates to the mid-second century! It’s also known as the “Protoevangelium of James”.
I’ve noticed in interacting with many Catholics and Orthodox online, that they will get very angry if one says that Mary wasn’t a lifelong virgin, or that she was not sinless, and that only Christ was sinless. They will accuse you of being hateful, anti-Catholic, etc. I saw a post in a Facebook discussion group (Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Dialogue/Debate), where a Protestant simply stated that Mary and Joseph had sex and had children after Jesus was born. And several Catholics replied saying that to say such a thing was “slander” and “disgusting”. Yet Scripture says that sex between a married couple is a blessing. Catholics have such a distorted view of Mary. They can’t bear the thought that she had sex, or that she was not immaculate (sinless). They are extremely sensitive, when it comes to challenging their Marian beliefs, to such a degree that it eclipses their reactions when someone challenges a belief about Christ. This is clearly unbiblical.
Mary was a humble servant of God. She knew she needed faith in her Son to be saved. Mary would be offended by the amount of exaltation that Catholics and Orthodox offer to her.
The problematic Marian theology of Catholics and Orthodox perfectly illustrates why Sola Scriptura (Scripture as the only infallible authority) is absolutely necessary if one is doing biblical theology. Apologists and theologians, who are Catholic and Orthodox, appeal to Scripture, but sadly, they engage in eisegesis rather than honest exegesis of the relevant Scriptures. They must appeal to sources outside Scripture to support their novel beliefs. If one appeals to the absolute authority of Scripture, the perspicuity of Scripture, and the fact that the Holy Spirit leads all regenerate believers into all truth, they will get Reformed theology.
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