Please, please try to comprehend what I'm saying. I don't get the feeling that you're "getting" any of the points I'm making.Where in my post did I say that we ask Saul to pray for us? I said that we ask Mary to pray for us....the one whom you believe is DEAD despite that she had faith in Christ and Saul did not.
Let me explain this easier.
I asked, where does the Bible say we are to communicate (your words) with the dead?
Your argument is that we aren't, because they're not dead.
Now, I'm going to give you the ONE Biblical example we have regarding communicating with the Body of Christ beyond the grave.
Saul called up Samuel via a medium. Samuel was a prophet, there is no doubt he was part of the Body. You see that Samuel was pissed off about it. You also see that Saul was not in God's graces.
So the ONE TIME, a person in the Body of Christ was communicated with, the entire situation was negative.
So once more, is not communicating with those beyond the grave, not pleasing to God? This also follows numerous examples in Scripture telling those in the Body of Christ to not communicate with the dead! Yet you do this?
God is not dead. Jesus raised from the dead. There is a distinct difference between Christ and Mary in that Mary- did not raise from the dead.
I guess one thing I can say I've genuinely learned from this discussion is that Catholics love taking Scripture out of context.Do you not know that in the Bible, the PROPHECY says that all generations will call Mary blessed (See Luke 1:48)
Let's look at Mary's Song, shall we?
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”
Ask yourself, why is she blessed? Because she's the mother of Christ? No, because of WHAT HE HAS DONE. Not because of WHAT SHE HAS DONE, but because of WHAT HE HAS DONE. This is applicable to ALL in the Body of Christ.
Also, who was she exalting? What is the point of this song? To bless herself? No, it's abundantly clear her focus here was on the Lord.
I also didn't miss the fact you ignored the scriptures regarding angels, the scriptures in James, Apostolic succession. But then again I guess if Scriptures don't support your position, it may be hard to do