Why Christians Call Mary the Mother of God.

[Moonwood]

Nowhere in Scripture is Mary called 'the mother of God'

The absence of the exact phrase "Mother of God" in Scripture does not refute the doctrine. The terms "Trinity" and "Incarnation" are not found verbatim in Scripture either, yet they describe biblical truths.

Elizabeth was the first person in Scripture to call Mary "the mother of my Lord" (Luke 1:43). Since Jesus is God the Word made flesh (John 1:1, 14), the title "Mother of God" is simply the theological conclusion drawn from what Scripture teaches.

More importantly, my argument was based on four biblical premises:

1. The Word is God.
2. The Word became flesh.
3. Mary conceived and gave birth to Jesus.
4. Jesus is God the Word made flesh.

Which of these premises do you reject?

Because if all four are true, then Mary is the mother of the Person Who is God incarnate. Saying "Mother of God" does not mean Mary is the origin of God's divinity, only that the child She conceived and bore is God the Word incarnate.

 

[BreadOfLife]

Juvenile deflection!
Does doing or not doing those thing have anything to do with a conversation about spiritual things?

Okay –

People have different prayer postures.
Som bow their heads.
Some fold their hands.
Some sit in silence.
Some pray audibly.

Which one of these is WRONG – and which is CORRECT?
The Bible doesn’t explicitly instruct us that we must do ANY of these things.

YOUR belief that we must ONLY do what is instructed in Scripture.
I still contend that this is nonsense . . .

I’m sure you Have prayed TO people, dead and alive.

I absolutely have – and so have YOU.

YOUR problem is that you refuse to accept the FULL definition of the word, "Pray" . . .
I can teach you things to make you smarter - but I can't MAKE you smart . . .

Other than little babies – I don’t know a SINGLE person who have never prayed to another fellow human being.

 

[David in NJ]

The absence of the exact phrase "Mother of God" in Scripture does not refute the doctrine. The terms "Trinity" and "Incarnation" are not found verbatim in Scripture either, yet they describe biblical truths.

Elizabeth was the first person in Scripture to call Mary "the mother of my Lord" (Luke 1:43). Since Jesus is God the Word made flesh (John 1:1, 14), the title "Mother of God" is simply the theological conclusion drawn from what Scripture teaches.

More importantly, my argument was based on four biblical premises:

1. The Word is God.
2. The Word became flesh.
3. Mary conceived and gave birth to Jesus.
4. Jesus is God the Word made flesh.

Which of these premises do you reject?

Because if all four are true, then Mary is the mother of the Person Who is God incarnate. Saying "Mother of God" does not mean Mary is the origin of God's divinity, only that the child She conceived and bore is God the Word incarnate.

#1 - The Trinity is Declared in Genesis, beginning in chapter 1

#2 - It is sin to add to God's words what He never said = Proverbs 30:5-6

#3 - It is sin to declare that Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Jesus

#4 - God never had a mother! A body was prepared in the womb of Mary for the WORD to enter into = Gospel & Hebrews

#5 - Worship of Mary, including praying to her is from the deception of idolatry and is faithlessness in the LORD Jesus Christ.

 

[Moonwood]

#1 - The Trinity is Declared in Genesis, beginning in chapter 1

#2 - It is sin to add to God's words what He never said = Proverbs 30:5-6

#3 - It is sin to declare that Mary remained a virgin after the birth of Jesus

#4 - God never had a mother! A body was prepared in the womb of Mary for the WORD to enter into = Gospel & Hebrews

#5 - Worship of Mary, including praying to her is from the deception of idolatry and is faithlessness in the LORD Jesus Christ.

Several of those points are assertions, but they do not address the argument I made.

1. Regarding the Trinity:
I agree that the doctrine of the Trinity is taught in Scripture. My point was that the word "Trinity" itself does not appear in the Bible. Likewise, the phrase "Mother of God" need not appear verbatim for the doctrine to be true if it follows necessarily from biblical teaching.

2. Regarding Proverbs 30:5-6:
Calling Mary the Mother of God is not adding words to Scripture any more than calling God "Trinity" is adding words to Scripture. It is a theological term used to summarize what Scripture teaches about Jesus' identity. The question is whether the concept is biblical.

3. Mary's perpetual virginity:
That is a separate discussion. Even if someone rejects perpetual virginity, it would not affect the question of whether Mary is the mother of Jesus, who is God the Word incarnate.

4. "God never had a mother":
Christians agree that God, in His divine nature, has no mother. The title "Mother of God" does not mean Mary is the origin of God's divinity or existed before God. It means that the Person she conceived and gave birth to is God the Son incarnate. Mothers give birth to persons, not natures. Mary gave birth to the Person Jesus Christ, and that Person is God the Word made flesh (John 1:1, 14).
In fact, Elizabeth said to Mary, "Why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:43). Elizabeth was the first person in Scripture to acknowledge Mary as "the mother of my Lord."

5. Worshiping Mary:
I never argued for worshiping Mary. Whether one should pray to Mary is a separate issue. The question under discussion is simply whether calling Mary the Mother of God is true.

So I'll return to the original question:
Do you deny that the Word is God (John 1:1), that the Word became flesh (John 1:14), that Mary gave birth to Jesus, or that Jesus is God the Word incarnate?

Because if all of those are true, then Mary is the mother of the Person who is God incarnate. That is exactly what Christians mean by "Mother of God." It says something about who Jesus is, not about Mary being the source of God's existence.