God Question

(CuriousBoy;66542)
Hello,This question has been stuck in my head for many years now...God says not to praise any other God but himself, right?OK. Hail Mary pray sounds like this:Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death; amenSo it says that Mary is a mother of God (Jesus), so we can't actually support Jesus because according to this prayer, he is a God and God doesn't allow anyone else to pray for someone else expect him. And if we pray in Jesus name, we are breaking his laws. It's the same bad thing as beleaving in any other relligion then, right?
CuriousBoy, There is a difference between gods and the ONE TRUE GOD, whose personal, or proper name is Jehovah. The scriptures tell us that there are many CALLED gods, 1Cor 8:4-6, but only ONE true God to any Christian. Notice the scripyure said ONE GOD, and ONE LORD, Jesus Christ. In the 82 Psalm we are told about the time in Jewish history when the rulers of the nation of Israel were called gods, Ps 82:1,2,6. Jesus was referring to this when he was talking to the Jews at John 10:31-36. At Isa 9:6, when speaking about Jesus, the Prince of Peace, Jesus himself is called a mighty god. At John 1:18, in many Bibles it states that Jesus is an Only Begotten god. We also know that there are many names that people have for the gods thay worship, Allah, for instance. The people of Egypt had a god for every one of the natural things that God brought the plagues against. Jesus is the greatest teacher ever to walk the earth. Even God Himself said to LISTEN TO HIM, Matt 17:5. Consider what Jesus himself said, John 17:3, This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and the one you sent forth, Jesus Christ.

(CuriousBoy;66542)
Hello,This question has been stuck in my head for many years now...God says not to praise any other God but himself, right?OK. Hail Mary pray sounds like this:Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death; amenSo it says that Mary is a mother of God (Jesus), so we can't actually support Jesus because according to this prayer, he is a God and God doesn't allow anyone else to pray for someone else expect him. And if we pray in Jesus name, we are breaking his laws. It's the same bad thing as beleaving in any other relligion then, right?
you are right that no one but God deserves praise.... however the Roman Catholic prayer you are referring to is or can be a bit confusing... in any case, it is not as if Mary gave birth to God, Christian theology believes that Jesus, as God, was pre-existent. He existed and exists eternally with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Theologians have expressed Jesus' eternality like this: "there never was a time when Jesus was not." All Jesus did was choose to become a man, adding this nature (human nature) to His "God-nature". So the man Jesus did not "become" God at His birth or at His baptism or on the Cross etc. He has always been, and always will be God.Secondly, while it is true that only God deserves praise, it is not the case that giving praise to Jesus or the Holy Spirit denies this praise due to God, since both the Holy Spirit and Jesus share in God's essential nature. In other words, the doctrine of the Trinity says that there is only 1 God, but in 3 persons. So praising Jesus is praising God.I hope this helps....blessings,ken

(CuriousBoy;66542)
Hello,This question has been stuck in my head for many years now...God says not to praise any other God but himself, right?OK. Hail Mary pray sounds like this:Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death; amenSo it says that Mary is a mother of God (Jesus), so we can't actually support Jesus because according to this prayer, he is a God and God doesn't allow anyone else to pray for someone else expect him.
Also when Jesus was confronted with the same question Isn't Mary your mother? this was his response.Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. Matthew 12:46-50Whoever does the will of the father which is in heaven is part of Jesus' family. Mary is not to be worshiped she is not to be placed at the same level as God. In the rosary the catholic will pray the same prayer 53 times. God does not like this very much.But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Matthew 6:7God calls these people heathen that pray the same thing over and over.(CuriousBoy;66542)
And if we pray in Jesus name, we are breaking his laws. It's the same bad thing as beleaving in any other relligion then, right?
Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am John 13:19Here Jesus says that he is God. I AMWhosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [(but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also]. 1 John 2:23That all [men] should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. John 5:23Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. 1 John 2:22Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 2 John 1:9

(CuriousBoy;66542)
Hello,This question has been stuck in my head for many years now...God says not to praise any other God but himself, right?OK. Hail Mary pray sounds like this:Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death; amenSo it says that Mary is a mother of God (Jesus), so we can't actually support Jesus because according to this prayer, he is a God and God doesn't allow anyone else to pray for someone else expect him. And if we pray in Jesus name, we are breaking his laws. It's the same bad thing as beleaving in any other relligion then, right?
This is a catholic believe it is not written in the Bible (only the catholic Bible) Im sure the church has all kinds of reasons they give for this but the fact of the matter is God never said it and it is Mary worship and it does break Gods comandment So you will have to decide for yourself what to do in this matter ...

praising Jesus does not break any commandments....

Having respect for Mary and recognizing her position, is honorable. Praying to her or petitioning her to pray for one to the Father, is not Scriptural and is idol worship. When the Disciples asked Christ, "How do we pray?" Christ answered, "Our Father, who art in Heaven, Hallowed be THY name?" Notice that He stated, "Our Father" and no one else. Pray to no one else.Mary gave birth to the Office of Christ the Savior/Emmanuel/God with us/Annointed One. She did not give birth to God. Christ is a part of God as His son and representative on Earth to us. To even entertain the notion that she is the mother of The God of Creation is ludacrous. In my opinion, she was predestined and chosen for her service by God before she was born as God did many others throughout Scripture.The "Hail Mary" prayer is not Christian Doctrine and not from Scripture. It is a man made ritual giving weak faithed persons someone else to "reach out to" making them feel more covered with connections to God. There is no value in it and unfortunately, the mass amount of persons praying it are only participating in ritualistic repetitive behavior. This pulls man away from having full faith in God.Mat 6:7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. The purpose of petitioning God in prayer through Jesus' Name, is to identify one as a Christian believing in Him as the Son of God. It is as showing a type of "Credentials". We are told to pray "Our Father" and ending with "In Jesus' Name" is out of respect for acknowledging His sacrifice.

Let's not be too hasty"And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail"Hail Mary"[thou that art] highly favoured, the Lord [is] with thee:"Full of Grace, the Lord is with thee"blessed [art] thou among women."Blessed art thou among women."And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:" And blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.repeat the first three verses in summary, one cannot be:"[thou that art] highly favoured, the Lord [is] with thee:""blessed [art] thou among women." and not be Holy - being Holy would require being FULL of God's Grace,"And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son"and certainly no one would argue this is not God in her womb.Holy Mary, mother of GodSo the prayer of the Hail Mary, everything prior to this point is almost a direct quote from the Bible itself. The line, the closing is simply a request for prayer. While this is something most of us do or should do between the living every day, Catholics believe we can ask those who have gone before us to pray for us as well. As the rest is basically a Bible quote paraphrased, this closing is perhaps the only part of this prayer I could see some Protestants taking exception to.We (all the saints) are repeatedly asked to pray for each other in the Bible. In one illustration a saint who had passed, Lazarus, is asked to for help. The man Jesus speaks with two dead saints, Moses and Elijah.Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, amenAs for "vain repetitions", I would argue the prayers (the actual words) of those men in question and the fact they repeated them was not the point. The point was their attitude, why they were doing it. They turned what possibly could have been a good prayer (who knows what they were saying) into vanity, vain repetitions. Could someone be saying the Hail Mary in vain, for the wrong reasons? I suppose so, but again the words are not the point, only the reason for doing it..

(waquinas;66595)
As for "vain repetitions", I would argue the prayers (the actual words) of those men in question and the fact they repeated them was not the point. The point was their attitude, why they were doing it. They turned what possibly could have been a good prayer (who knows what they were saying) into vanity, vain repetitions. Could someone be saying the Hail Mary in vain, for the wrong reasons? I suppose so, but again the words are not the point, only the reason for doing it..
So what is the reason for praying to Mary?

None. God makes it very clear not to solicit the dead, period.

(Alpha and Omega;66694)
So what is the reason for praying to Mary?
If you read the Hail Mary, it is not a "prayer to" Mary in the same sense we pray to God. It is a request for Mary to pray for us. There is certainly ample Biblical support for asking people to pray for us. The only difference, people opposed to this prayer will quickly point out, is that this person has gone on before us. So we are in effect asking a dead person to pray for us.So the questions then turn to whether or not it is proper to be speaking to people who have died. Very few of us would disagree with the complete innocence of someone speaking to a dead spouse or child or other departed relation, even if it was on a regular basis. The concept of asking those people to pray for us or even just talking to them is really no different than speaking to Mary. Some will go so far to compare the practice of speaking to Mary to Biblical warnings against necromancy. To me such comparisons are weak at best. No such person would call speaking to their deceased mother necromancy, nor would they call what Jesus did with Moses and Elijah necromancy. The proper practice of a Marian devotion is not an attempt to summon Mary.As to whether the dead hear us or not, I am not sure how one can know for sure they do not hear us. Moses and Elijah certainly heard the Man Jesus speak with them. John in Revelation seems to indicate the saints receive and offer up our prayers (you cannot offer up a communication you did not receive). The other point to be made is we have no understanding or practical experience of the afterlife in how it relates to time and this life. This is why some Churches encourage prayer for past and future people/events, even distance past and future. There is a thought that every prayer has effect, regardless of the chronicle sequence of events. For example your prayer for your great grand father fighting in WW1 actually helps him in that conflict. Ditto for the future children’s children of your offspring, people you may never see in this life. It really opens up one's prayer life having such a view.Anyway on a more practical note that perhaps everyone could relate to; I myself (and apparently many others for thousands of years) have found comfort in preparing for worship and at times of great stress or also strength in times of great temptation at reciting what is a simple prayer. It helps clear the mind and focus on things external and eternal. Besides, as only the closing of the Hail Mary is not a quote pulled directly from the Bible, it is really not much different than a Baptist reciting a favorite Psalm.

(cedarhart;66695)
None. God makes it very clear not to solicit the dead, period.
You might want to make some distinction and a less broad definition in regards to what you see as prohibited. Jesus spoke to several dead people, Lazurus, Moses, Elijah, a little girl. Before totally blocking out the possibility imagine telling a child that God said they cannot talk to their dead mother. Even the Church that promotes the Hail Mary agrees with you cedarhart as far as summoning the dead. We are in agreement there.wikiNecromancy (Greek νεκρομαντία, nekromantía) is a form of divination in which the practitioner seeks to summon "operative spirits" or "spirits of divination", for multiple reasons, from spiritual protection to wisdom. The word necromancy derives from the Greek νεκρός (nekrós), "dead", and μαντεία (manteía), "divination".However, since the Renaissance, necromancy has come to be associated more broadly with black magic and demon-summoning in general, sometimes losing its earlier, more specialized meaning. By popular etymology, nekromantia became nigromancy "black arts", and Johannes Hartlieb (1456) lists demonology in general under the heading. Eliphas Levi, in his book Dogma et Ritual, states that necromancy is the evoking of aerial bodies (aeromancy).Again the proper forms of Marian devotions can hardly fit into such definitions. So while you are correct the Bible speaks of the evil of such activities, I do not see how that applies to a Hail Mary.