WHAT IS THE CULT OF MARY?

According to the testimony of the Holy Scriptures, only God can be an object of faith and worship. If anyone or anything else is lifted up for such a purpose, it is superstition and idolatry. Protestant theologians have already written about it sufficiently and convincingly. For better understanding we shall refer to a few statements. There is no justification for the cult ofMary. Appearances of her were not promised in the Holy Scriptures. Approximately 1,500 years elapsed without such appearances. Strangely, such appearances are oniy recorded in Catholic countries like Poland, Portugal, Spain and France. In protestant,Moslem, Buddhist and other countries, where it would have been helpful, if salvation is depending on it, she never appeared. May everyone be assured that she can never appear same as Peter, Joseph or any others cannot appear. It only happens by imagination, because it is so desired. One can ask, who is being worshipped and honoured in all such places of pilgrimage, Jesus orMary? What kind of spirit is it, which does not glorify Jesus but Mary? The Holy Spirit it is surely not. It is the spirit of deception. Rev. 0. Markmann writes under the title “The demonology in the cult ofMary” as follows: “The mystic cult aroundMary is also marked by demonic influence. The veneration of Mary is being recorded from the first centuries. The antic heathen cult of mother-goddesses was being developed in the cult ofMary, already in the first centuries.” (0. Markmann, Irrtümer der katholischen Kirche, pg. 47).

Since when does God have a mother? Such a formulation is totally unscriptural. She was not the Mother of God but she only gave birth to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. It was in the city of Ephesus, where the multitude cried out, saying: “Great is Diana of the Ephesians” (Acts 19: 28). Now they sing in special meetings: “Great is Mary!” It was very easy to take one down and to put the other up.

Only from the 5th century, the cult of Mary really took its course. Arthur Drews writes, “Under the aspect from the historical point, the veneration of Mary shows the picture of the misery of humanity. It is the story of a childlike superstition, of audacious falsifications, distortions, interpretations, imaginations and machinations, springing up from the human frailty and necessity, the Jesuit cunningness, woven together with the church might, a drama equally fit to weep and to laugh: the true Divine Comedy.” (K. Deschner, Und abermals krähte der Hahn, pg. 401).

From the “Hail Mary” to the dogma of her bodily ascension to heaven, all are unscriptural and, therefore, false inventions which were introduced during the approximately 1,600 years into the Roman church. Today all these are looked upon as belonging to the Christian faith, but in reality it is the doing of the antichrist, the enemy, who detracts humanity from the only faith of salvation in Jesus Christ to the unsaving superstition in Mary.

Since the Reformation until our time, notable theologians have openly spoken and written about it. The superstition in the appearances of Mary at various places of pilgrimage is an abomination in the sight of God by which even sincere people are misled. Rev. Markmann writes about the present pope: “Is it not blasphemy when the pope at his Poland visit knelt at the feet of the black Madonna in Jasna Gora in Tchenstochow and put down a golden rose and in quiet ecstasy confessing before this idol: Totus tuum, totally yours? This prayer to Mary Totus tuus he chose as leading idea for his whole life as priest and for his pontificate. His prayer to the black Madonna there endedwith the words, ‘To you I dedicate the whole church right unto the borders of the earth! To you I dedicate humanity, all men—my brothers— all people and all nations. To you I dedicate Rome and Poland, united in a new tie of love through your servant. Mother, receive us.Mother, forsake us not.Mother, guide us!” (0.Markmann, Endzeit, Entruckung, Antichrist, pg. 32-33). Mary was made the mother of the Roman Catholic church. She is not the Queen of heaven but she is the queen of the Roman Catholic empire.

According to the book “Fatima” from Joaquim Maria Alonso Mary is supposed to have appeared with glory on the 13th ofMay, 1917, to three shepherd children. The number 13 appears over and again. On the 13th July, 1917, the “holy virgin” asked the three children to return the next month. On the 13th September, 1917, at the fifth appearance she is supposed to have said, “I want that you return on the 13th of October to this place and pray the rosary.” Till the sixth appearance on the 13th of October, 1917, the crowd of those who made a pilgrimage to that place was estimated to be fifty-thousand. In the course of years, millions went there on pilgrimage to tell Mary their requests not being aware of the fact that Mary herself needed God’s help and that she cannot help a single person.

In Fatima, Mary is shown on many statues and pictures which are being honoured. This pope John Paul II knelt down in the chapel of appearance in front of such a statue. This cult stands in direct contradiction to the commandment: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any carved image, or any likeness ofanything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath., or that is in the water under the earth; Thou shalt not bowdown thyself to them, nor serve them;for I, the LORD thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me” (Ex. 20:4-5).

Those who appreciate such statues must permit to be classified as such who hate God. In reality its nothing but the dancing around the golden calf. One has his holy Christophorus, someone else other images and also a man-made Christ image is being carried around.

It reminds me of a conversation we had with some guests. We also spoke about the faith. I asked if anyone has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Spontaneously a lady answered, “I sold my Jesus.” We all were astonished for a moment. Then she explained, how she was dealing with antiques and sold a Jesus statue of 1,25 m to a church.

There are millions of such statues all over the earth and they are all an abomination before God. In His Holiness, He pronounces judgment upon those who worship such images. “Cursed be the man who maketh any carved or melted image, an abomination unto the LORD, the works of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place. And all the people shall answer andsay, Amen. “(Dt. 27:15). People do not seek their refuge with Him Who is able to help, but try to find help in such invented things. Thereby they offend and insult God to the utmost. When the Lord Jesus was asked about the first commandment, He replied: “The first of all the commandments is: Hear, 0 Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.” (Mk. 12: 29-30). Certainly there is no space here for Mary, for saints, for patrons, statues or icons.

Can Mary as a human being hear the millions of prayers made throughout the world without her being omniscient? Can Mary be in heaven, on earth and in purgatory without being omnipresent? Only God is omnipresent and omniscient. All places of pilgrimage, regardless in which country they may be, are an abomination before God and, therefore, condemnable. THUS SAITH THE LORD: “Seek ye me, and ye shall live. But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba; for Gilgaishailsurely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nothing. Seek the LORD, and ye shall live.” (Am. 5: 4-6).

Today He would say, “SeekMe, saith the Lord, and you shall live. Do not go to Lourdes and Fatima, not to Tchenstochow and Altotting etc. etc., but come to Me all ye ends of the earth to receive eternal life.” Whoever seeks God will find Him just where they are, because God is omnipresent. Vittorio Messori cited the German cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as follows, “And the same John Paul II went after his injury on 13th May — the anniversary of the first appearance in the Portuguese village—on a pilgrimage to Fatima to thank Mary whose hand was led in a marvellous way to direct the bullet.” (V. Messori, Zur Lage des Glaubens, pg. 112). The same cardinal Ratzinger announced that the church has proclaimed the dogmas in the following order, “... first the perpetual virginity and the motherhood of God, and then after a long time of maturity and reflection the exclusion of the original sin and the bodily assumption ofMary into heavenly glory.” After this we read the incredible sentence: “These dogmas protect the original faith in Christ as true God and true man.” (V. Messori, Zur Lage des Glaubens, pg. 108).

This cannot be left without clarification. The four dogmas have as all the others no Biblical foundation. The scriptural truths are not made up in a council, nor voted for and brought into existence, but rather theywere to be believed and taught as proclaimed in the name of the Lord by those who were called by God. With all determination Mr. Ratzinger must be confronted with his own utterance: “It is actually understood by itself that truth cannot be created by voting; and utterance is either true or it is not true. Truth can only be found, not created” (pg. 62). If somebody does not appreciate the truth the Word—he must look for a sUbstitute; and if someone has no trust in God then he should ride as the pope does in a bullet proof automobile through the crowd of his followers. In theology it went from the Christology to the Maryology. Special meetings are taking place openly glorifyingMary. In fact, all the things are surrounding her. Christ is only mentioned when it fits into the program. “The pope requested a renewal to honour Mary in a Biblical manner, trinitarian and christologically oriented, without cuts in consideration to those of other beliefs, expressed according to time and culture.” (Katholischer Erwachsenen Katechismus, pg. 173).

What can a Bible believing Christian say to such unbiblical, misleading, blasphemous statements in regards to the honour of Mary? What are those invented dogmas and traditions? Are they true or not true? Have they come up as cardinal Ratzinger himself said, after a long time ofmaturity and reflection, that is to say, theywere not original truth, but were made up? The years which elapsed confirm that. Where is the truth that needs to be found? For sure it is only in God’s Word and nowhere else. A Bible believing Christian belonging to the Church of the living God is “... built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.” (Eph. 2: 20). Nothing which the popes have invented in the course ofyears agrees with the Bible and, therefore, is not apostolic. Why did Peter, James, John and Paul not care about Mary, at that time when everything was so fresh?

The apostle John addressed a very important message to the true believers which is valid for ever: “I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.” (I Jn 2: 21). Not one of the proclaimed dogmas originates from the Word of truth. They all sprang up from a different source. Now the approximate year is given in which certain things were invented and which were not in existence in the early Christianity:

310 The Sign of the cross began.

320 Wax candles were introduced.

375 The veneration of angels and dead saints began.

394 The worship of Mary was invented.

500 Priests began to dress differently from the people.

600 The Latin language for prayer and worship in churches was imposed by Gregory I; prayers were directed to Mary or to dead saints.

650 Feast in honour of the Virgin Mary began.

709 Kissing of the Pope’s feet began.

750 The temporal power of the Pope was invented.

788 Adoration of Mary and dead Saints began; Worship of the Cross, of images and relics was invented.

850 Holy water, mixed with a pinch of salt and blessed by the priestwith bell, book and candle was invented.

890 Veneration of St. Joseph, the husband of Mary, began.

965 Baptism of bells was instituted.

995 Canonisation of dead Saints was first invented by Pope John V.

998 Fasting on Fridays and during Lent were imposed.

1079 The celibacy of the priesthood was decreed.

1090 The Rosary was introduced.

1100 The Mass was developed gradually as a sacrifice, and attendance was made obligatory.

1184 The inquisition of heretics was instituted.

1190 The sale of indulgences began.

1200 The wafer was substituted for bread in the Lord’s Supper.

1215 The dogma of Transubstantiation was invented and the confession of sins to the priest at least once a year was forced.

1220 Adoration of the wafer, (host), was invented.

1227 The Hand Bell the priest uses at the Mass as a signal to the people that the wafer is soon to be changed into the body of Christ was introduced.

1229 The Bible was forbidden to laymen.

1245 Cardinals were ordered to wear red hats.

1264 The Feast of Corpus Christ was introduced.

1414 The cup was forbidden to the people by instituting the communion of one kind.

1439 The Doctrine of Purgatory was proclaimed.

1478 The Inquisition was introduced into Spain.

1545 Tradition was declared as of equal authority with the Bible.

1546 The Apocryphal Books were added to the Bible.

1854 The Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary was invented

1870 Doctrine of Pope’s Infallibility was invented.

1925 The Personal Corporal Presence of the VirginMary in Heaven was invented.

1950 The dogma of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was proclaimed. (L. J. King, House of
Death . .., pg. 117-122).

Every thinking man may ask about the sense of all these inventions which were proclaimed after many years elapsed. The New Testament in itself is perfect and complete. Nobody has a right to add anything to that. “Brethren, I speak after the manner of men: Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet ifit be confirmed, no man disannulleth or addeth to it. “(Gal. 3: 15). If someone declares his last will in a testament, it cannot be changed. But with the expressed Will of God, the New Testament, men have tried to change it by adding articles of faith which are not in the original New Testament. Where is the due respect according to the following admonition: “If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.” (Rev. 22: 18).

[from Traditional Christianity by E. Frank]

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