Why do people trust Mary to interceed for them when it is Christ who does this?

Question

For Jesus is our go between and not the Mary who gave birth to Jesus Christ God.

Answer 1

They be foolish.

Answer 2

When Mary presented Jesus in the temple, she was told that she too a sword shall pierce, thus knowing the thoughts of many. this is one of the scriptural beliefs as to why people often go to Mary to ask her to help and interceed. kind of like asking your mom to smooth the way or "back you up" when it's time to face your dad. Catholics, in particular, see the relevence of Mary - she was choosen by God to raise, nurture & train His Son. She accepted this task with all her heart. She was also the one that started Jesus on His path - with the wedding at Canna. Catholics know, however, that without that one great shining moment when Mary accepted GOd's request - she would be nothing more then a simple, God fearing jewish woman.

as a female i look to Mary as a wonderful example of how to be a Christian woman. I do talk/pray to her in particular when it's a "female" concern. I truly do not believe God woould have "bothered" using her if He did not mean for her to continue to be useful - just like the other apostles and disciples of His.

Answer 3

Catholics share the belief in the Communion of Saints with many other Christians, including the Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Episcopal, and Methodist Churches.

The Communion of Saints is the belief where all saints are intimately related in the Body of Christ, a family. When you die and go to heaven, you do not leave this family.

Everyone in heaven or on their way to heaven are saints, you, me, my deceased grandmother, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Mother Teresa.

As part of this family, you may ask your family and friends living here on earth to pray for you. Or, you may also ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Andrew, or your deceased grandmother living in heaven to pray for you.

Prayer to saints in heaven is simple communication, not worship.

With love in Christ.

Answer 4

The Bible says, "pray for one another" (James 5:16), so we ask Mary to pray for us.

-------------

BamaJJP wrote, "I think its the Catholic tradition. Maybe a Catholic will answer this question. I wonder the same thing why would we need a 'Pope' if we can go to God through Jesus Christ ourselves."

I am a Catholic. The Bible says, "pray for one another" (James 5:16), so we ask Mary to pray for us. As for the Pope, you've heard him called "the Successor of Peter", right? Jesus entrusted us to Peter (John 21:15-17). We know that Peter's very first order of business after Jesus ascended into Heaven was to direct that Judas' office be filled (Acts 1:15-26), so we know the Apostles had successors. The current successor of Peter is Benedict XVI. When you get to Heaven you can ask Jesus WHY He did what He did, but as you can see from scripture He DID do it.

Answer 5

Is there a limit concerning the people you can ask to pray for you?
Do you ask your friends to pray for you?
If not, why not? If so, are your friends better than Lady Mary?
The Almighty GOD will accept intercession from whomever HE pleases.
The important part is realizing that people (even holy people like Lady Mary and Jesus) are intercessors, and that is only by the will of the Almighty GOD; no one except the Almighty GOD is worthy of worship.

Answer 6

because catholicism spread and conquered so many pagan lands, it adopted many pagan beliefs, one of which is ancestor worship., which the bible expressly forbids, and polytheism, which is also false doctrine. all who accept Christ as their personal savior are saints in the eyes of the Lord, not those who the Catholic hierarchy deems fit. they worship the pope as the earthly mediator, when that is what the Holy Spirit is for. God warns us against ritual, and Catholicism is all about it. ritual prayers, incense, which is also forbidden, prayer candles, who needs a candle to lift their prayers to heaven? why pray to angels? pray directly to the Father in the name of the Son.

mary was a good woman, but that is all she was, the one chosen to be the mother of Christ.

Answer 7

Many catholic practices and concepts, even the celebration of christmas, can be traced to european religious practices at the time of Constantine's conversion to christianity. In order to convert the empire to christianity many practices had to be incorporated. One of the prominent religions at that time worshiped the Queen of Heaven. This Queen had to be replaced with the biblical Mary, henceforth refered to as the Queen of Heaven within the catholic church while Mary was hardly mentioned in the new testament after Jesus' began his ministry (surely the "Queen of heaven" deserves more attention than that!). Protestantism tried to get rid of these paganic concepts, including the intercession of saints because they wanted a purer form of christianity, based solely on the bible, as opposed to the whims of a pope, or the dogmatic decisions of a council. The catholics aren't apologetic about this because they do not believe that the bible is the ONLY source for their faith, they believe that God's revelation continues within the church, whatever it decides as the truth through its history. They should be considered "christian" in that they hold Christ as the center of their faith. But fundamentalists will define being christian along more absolute lines and assert a monopoly on the term "christian". Hence, Mother Teresa is not a true christian because she prayed to Mary.

Some protestants are less absolutist by now and see them and catholics as belonging to the body of christian faith, fundamentalists will see catholicism as a completely different faith altogether.

Debates between them should begin with defining their source of faith, i.e. the bible or the bible plus other stuff, otherwise any debate will be pointless. Most fundamentalist arguments against the catholic faith is mostly based on a practice or belief not being in the bible, the catholic church however is aware that it is NOT in the bible but consciously made the decision to accept it as part of their faith.

The catholic church uses the term "christian" almost as in demographics, any faith or organised religion that believes in Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection, whether all christians are saved is a different matter. Officially there is no salvation outside the Roman Catholic church. I say officially, because I know most catholics don't take this too seriously, neither do they still believe in transubstanciation. I even know of some who don't believe in hell.

Answer 8

I don't claim to know everything. I can only guess that
Mary represents the Feminine force in Creation. There
have been many visions of Mary. And I saw once on TV
where a large crowd in Egypt saw a ghostly figure of
a woman on top of a building, that they claimed was
the Virgin Mary. I saw it on the video, so I have to respect
that!

Answer 9

Pastor Billy says: because Jesus Christ instructed us to "pray for one another" all prayer for one another is interceding. Of course there is no teaching that forces anyone to ask another to pray for them but to do it is to do as Christ instructed was good to do.
Some questions for you

1. did you baptise yourself?
2. did you marry yourself?
3. did you not accept the teachings of the prophets who brought the Word of God to the people?
4 are you getting the picture yet?

This idea of me and I should never interrupt the Oneness of God's Church which is more than me or I it is the WE. Mary is part of the WE. You know when people make up these silly little questions/statements they never think thru logically what they write or say. Mary works with her son, not over him or above him or in place of him and of course Catholics know that, it is only non-catholics who don't get it. Mary is our perfect example of what we should be. Mary is a creation as we are but she followed God complete and she instructs others to "do as he [Jesus] tells you", and in doing this Mary very correctly says "my soul magnifies the Lord"

I encourage you to re-examine the weak arguments against intercession of Mary go beyond your traditions to find truth.

Edit: I really hope this question has been asked in good faith. I've noticed many Protestant evangelicals have been taught to make load statements containing wopping presuppositions in the form of a question which is not very honest behavior.

Edit #2: Pastor Billy says: stabchop is frankly, an idiot! All the high points of life are made up of ...........ritual, when you are born, when you are baptised, when you graduate, when you get married, when you have your own children and so on all contain......acts of ritual does this means that God deserves less in Christian worship? of course not wake up my Protestant brethren and be more honest about your own rituals.
In respect to Mother Mary, Mother of God, how many women do you know other than Mary who gives birth to the God man? not one! Mary is just not any other woman get with the program. The fact that God chose her and she accepted completely is just not any ordinary event by any ordinary person. The realy reason you rail against Catholicism on this point is merely to be different and not to be correct. The next natural step of course once you disown Mary is to attack Jesus Christ himself, his nature and his divinity as the Adventist, Jehovah witnesses and Arians and so on all do. The lack of respect for Mary is the little respect you have for Jesus.

Answer 10

Fundamentalists challenge the Catholic practice of asking saints and angels to pray for us. But the Bible directs us to invoke those in heaven and ask them to pray with us.

Thus in Psalm 103, we pray, "Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word! Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will!" (Ps. 103:20-21). And in Psalm 148 we pray, "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host!" (Ps. 148:1-2)

Not only do those in heaven pray with us, they also pray for us. In Revelation, John sees that "the twenty-four elders [the leaders of the people of God in heaven] fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints" (Rev. 5:8). Thus the saints in heaven offer to God the prayers of the saints on earth.

Angels do the same thing: "[An] angel came and stood at the altar [in heaven] with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God" (Rev. 8:3-4).

Jesus himself warned us not to mess with small children because their guardian angels have guaranteed intercessory access to the Father: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven." (Matt. 18:10).

Because he is the only God-man, Jesus is the only Mediator between man and God (1 Tim. 2:5), but this in no way means we cannot or should not ask our fellow Christians to pray with us and for us (1 Tim. 2:1-4), including those Christians in heaven, who have already had their sanctification completed, for "[t]he prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects" (Jas. 5:16).

Answer 11

I think its the Catholic tradition. Maybe a Catholic will answer this question. I wonder the same thing why would we need a "Pope" if we can go to God through Jesus Christ ourselves.