Mary as "Mother of God", Accurate or Borderline Blasphemy?

[Falcon]

Now Understand This, and understand this correctly, unless of course you're a Jehovah Witness then you may not understand.

It means Mary is the Mother of the person of Jesus, who is God.

The title Mother of God [ Greek : Theotokos , " God -bearer ' ] does not mean that Mary is the source of Christ's divine nature, nor does it mean that Mary is the Mother of the Father or the Holy Spirit. It means Mary is the Mother of the person of Jesus, who is God.

" And the Angel said to her , ' Do not be afraid , Mary , for thou hast found grace with God. Behold , thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shall bring forth a son ; and thou shalt call his name Jesus " [ Luke 1: 30-31 ]

 

[horizon_mj1]

Now Understand This, and understand this correctly, unless of course you're a Jehovah Witness then you may not understand.

It means Mary is the Mother of the person of Jesus, who is God.

The title Mother of God [ Greek : Theotokos , " God -bearer ' ] does not mean that Mary is the source of Christ's divine nature, nor does it mean that Mary is the Mother of the Father or the Holy Spirit. It means Mary is the Mother of the person of Jesus, who is God.

" And the Angel said to her , ' Do not be afraid , Mary , for thou hast found grace with God. Behold , thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shall bring forth a son ; and thou shalt call his name Jesus " [ Luke 1: 30-31 ]

Very well said Falcon, but I have one dispute. Jesus is yet to be the Lord of Humanity (under Christian theology) after His second coming and God will hand Him His Kingdom. IMO Jesus is one of many who have been born of Divinity, but the one who gave us the right to ask for redemption by asking to be forgiven of our sins. I believe the entire Heavenly Beings who are spoken of not only in Abrahamic religions, but Deities spoken of in all religions are the ones manifest in Humanity today. I believe the ones who are closest to The Divine are kept hidden and safe from the grasp of Humanity for what Humanity has proved it will do to anything Sacred. I do not understand how if you look at everything within our Known Universe how you could believe any answer dealing with what created all of this could possibly be simplistic as most religions try to imply.

 

[Katzpur]

Which do you think? Is calling Mary the Mother of God ok, or is it a no no?

It all depends of what you mean by the phrase "mother of God." Obviously, Mary was not the mother of God the Father, since God the Father was the father. I suppose if you recognize Jesus Christ as divine, and are simply referring to Mary as His mother, it would be accurate to say that she was the "mother of God." Of course, this is where the whole Trinity doctrine begins to fall apart. To someone who believes that the Father and the Son are both part of one indivisible substance, explaining how "God" could simulateously be both the Father and the Son gets pretty tricky.

 

[Katzpur]

It might say "perfect" in the Bible or something............

I don't think so.

 

[Falcon]

Horizon, Christ's divinity is shown over and over again in the NT, examples-
John 5; 18 they tried to kill him because he "called God his Father, making himself equal to with God.
John 20: 28 --Thomas at our Lord's feet says " My Lord and God ! "
" I am the Alpha and the Omega ; says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" Rev. 1: 8.

The above only a few of the examples ,also many references from the early Christians writers that attest to Jesus' divinity-
Ignasious of Antioch
"For our God, Jesus Christ was conceived by Mary in accord with God's plan: of the seed of David, it is true, but also of the Holy Spirit ' Letter to the Ephesians [ AD 110 ]

 

[GabrielWithoutWings]

I find it perfectly acceptable.

Mary may not be a goddess in essence but she certainly is in function, even if the hierarchs want to stick their fingers in their ears and yell, "NOOOOO SHE'S NOT!"

 

[Katzpur]

Mary may not be a goddess in essence but she certainly is in function, even if the hierarchs want to stick their fingers in their ears and yell, "NOOOOO SHE'S NOT!"

Could you explain how Mary is a goddess "in function," and why she may not be a goddess "in essence." Sounds kind of contradictory to me.

 

[Barcode]

Perhaps to reconcile this thought what if we proceed to say that instead of thinking of an incoporeal being impregnating a human perhaps we can say the "influence of God" inspired the female body to spontaneously procreate a living thing. I think the concept of "Mother of God" is meant to claim that Mary was the "vessel of God" and perhaps this understanding evolved into "mother of God" because Jesus is the manisfestation of God. Just my guess but I'm subject to being wrong of course.

 

[GabrielWithoutWings]

Could you explain how Mary is a goddess "in function," and why she may not be a goddess "in essence." Sounds kind of contradictory to me.

Mary is a human female. According to modern Catholic theology, she is/was:

-Conceived immaculately
-Without sin through her own volition
-The Queen of Heaven
-Crowned with stars
-The Ark in the Flood
-Assumed into Heaven
-The major intercessor of the Church
-The lowly female whom God Himself calls 'Mother.'
-The 'culmination' or 'fulfillment' of all the pagan 'Mother Goddess' religions

If that doesn't make her a goddess in essence, then she's certainly a goddess in function.

 

[Katzpur]

Mary is a human female. According to modern Catholic theology, she is/was:

-Conceived immaculately
-Without sin through her own volition
-The Queen of Heaven
-Crowned with stars
-The Ark in the Flood
-Assumed into Heaven
-The major intercessor of the Church
-The lowly female whom God Himself calls 'Mother.'
-The 'culmination' or 'fulfillment' of all the pagan 'Mother Goddess' religions

If that doesn't make her a goddess in essence, then she's certainly a goddess in function.

Okay, well I was actually wondering why you, as a non-Catholic, would have made the statement. I pretty much know the Catholic position on Mary.

 

[sojourner]

So you mean That the Holy-Spirit/God impregnated Mary so that Jesus/God may be born? (in a human form)

I see no difference.

God impregnated his mother

No, because the persons of the Trinity are distinct. The Father is not the Son -- the Son is not the Father. Mary was mother of the Son -- not the Father.

 

[paratrooper1993]

mother mary deserves the place in the throne of heaven because she is the most pure hearted human being that god can find at that time and place. that is also why god had chosen her to give birth to jesus. she is the mother of god and so she is our mother and the queen of ours. to neglect praying to her is such a waste, because we need all the help we can have to face the world today

 

[Katzpur]

No, because the persons of the Trinity are distinct. The Father is not the Son -- the Son is not the Father. Mary was mother of the Son -- not the Father.

I agree that they are distinct, and I also agree that they are "one." I think the question is, "In what way are they distinct and in what way are they one?"

 

[Falcon]

Jesus is the Eternal Word, the Eternal "Logos ", who is eternally begotten of the Father and equal to the Father. When He became incarnate by the Holy Spirit in the womb/ tabernacle of His blessed Mother, He took on a human nature and entered time . His human nature had a beginning . We don't want to create a problem where there is none. The fact that Jesus took on a human nature in no way diminishes the Holy Trinity. One of the Persons of the Holy Trinity , since the incarnation , simply has a human nature as well as a divine one. If we said that His human supplanted His divine nature, we would have a problem . But such is not the case.

 

[Many Sages One Truth]

I actually do think of Mary as somewhat of a goddess, after all, she became the vessel of the Holy Spirit in conceiving Jesus, and I also believe the Holy Spirit is female, so I do view Mary as somewhat goddess.

 

[Falcon]

Look at Luke 1v 48 where Mary speaks by the Holy Spirit and says " From now on all generations will call me blessed". Have you called her " blessed " lately ? Of course you haven't , it's probably because you refuse to want to understand the Bible as it was intended by God to be understood You choose rather to interpret the Holy Bible as you were instructed by clergy that were un- Biblical ordained.We ask Mary to pray for us , we do not pray to Mary per se. God tells us from Scripture that he welcomes the prayers from righteous people, who is more worthy to ask her Son our requests than His Mother Mary, I personally can't think of anybody else ,and you honestly can't either.

 

[Many Sages One Truth]

Yes Mary is Blessed for all generations, all generations will call her Blessed, and so it should be, as the vessel of the divine feminine, the Holy Spirit, the Sophia Wisdom.

 

[Katzpur]

I actually do think of Mary as somewhat of a goddess, after all, she became the vessel of the Holy Spirit in conceiving Jesus, and I also believe the Holy Spirit is female, so I do view Mary as somewhat goddess.

I don't follow how her being the mother of Jesus Christ makes her a goddess. To me, a goddess would have to have divine power. Do you believe that Mary has the power to control the elements, to prevent death, or to grant someone eternal life?

 

[Many Sages One Truth]

I don't follow how her being the mother of Jesus Christ makes her a goddess. To me, a goddess would have to have divine power. Do you believe that Mary has the power to control the elements, to prevent death, or to grant someone eternal life?

There are many miracles and things attributed to the Blessed Mother. I have felt her presence many times, and I also believe other goddesses share connections with her.

 

[Katzpur]

There are many miracles and things attributed to the Blessed Mother. I have felt her presence many times, and I also believe other goddesses share connections with her.

Okay. Well, I personally believe that no miracles should be attributed to anyone except God, but that's okay. We don't need to agree.