Okay. I'm a Christian... but I don't understand how Catholics pray to a dead person (Mary). Someone on the board said she is the closest way to talk to God. Why not talk to God directly? After asking him about this, he then said it was like asking Mary to pray for us or to help us pray like when we ask our friends to pray for us. But Mary is dead!!! How can she help us? Help me understand.
2007-01-12 04:45:05 · 30 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
They have twisted the Christian doctrine. You can't pray to the dead anyway, according to Luke 16:26, the dead cannot hear us. There is a barrier between the living and the dead that is too big.
2007-01-12 04:48:14 · answer #1 · answered by . 7 · 3⤊ 3⤋
Well i am christian and I don't agree with the catholic beliefs. Why do they pray to mary? The bible tells you point blank that to get to God you must go through Jesus. He is our Lord & savior , HE died for our sins, He is a part of God The Father Son and Holy Ghost. Nowhere does it mention to pray to Mary.
2007-01-12 04:58:50 · answer #2 · answered by earthangel_candy 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
you can pray to whoomever you choose but it will do no good for Jesus himself tells us
Ecclesiastes 9: 5. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.
(Jn.14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. ""No one"" comes to the Father except through me. )
and as you said mary and the saints (who catholics also pray to )are all dead and scripture tells us
(Jb.14:12 so man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep. )
untill the judgement when
(Dn.12:2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. )
2007-01-12 04:57:28 · answer #3 · answered by revdauphinee 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Mary IS NOT dead. She is enjoying everlasting life with Jesus Christ. Just because she is not of this world anymore does not mean that she cannot hear our prayers and answer them. There have been many examples of miracles taking place when a person has prayed to Mary or saints for intercession. That is how we know they can hear us.
Catholics pray to the saints AND directly to God. When we pray to God, it is worship, praise, petition and thnks. When we pray to the saints, it is to ask them to pray for us as we pray to God.
2007-01-12 04:55:25 · answer #4 · answered by Sldgman 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
God's word tells us to talk directly with Him. We do not need anyone to be a go between. Mary was a remarkable person but that is it. The Catholics miss the mark on many aspects of Christianity and praying to Mary is a big one!
2007-01-12 04:50:20 · answer #5 · answered by gtahvfaith 5 · 2⤊ 4⤋
If you read your Bible, you will see that Mary and the other saints are not "dead people". Jesus specifically said that those who follow Him "will never die". I believe Him. Do you? If you do, then why speak of the saints as "dead people"? That contradicts the words of Christ Himself. The early Christians believed these words of Christ. That's why they referred to biological death as "falling asleep".
Since the saints, by the word of God Himself, are alive, there is no reason not to ask them to pray for us, just as we ask any other living Christians to pray for us. It's just amazing how many Protestants recite the Apostles' Creed as a statement of their beliefs, yet have no idea what "the communion of saints" means. This phrase, one of the core beliefs of Christianity from the beginning, refers to the interaction between the saints militant (those alive on earth) and the saints triumphant (those alive in heaven). If I pray for my family here on earth, do you suppose I will STOP praying for them once I am before the throne of God? If other Christians prayed for me when I asked them to, when they were still earthly sinners, do you suppose that those same Christians will STOP praying for me when I ask them to, once they are before the throne of God?? The fact that you ask others to pray for you doesn't mean that you don't pray to God directly. Of course we do that! But Christians have also asked other Christians to pray for them, from the very beginning. Don't you?
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2007-01-12 05:07:40 · answer #6 · answered by PaulCyp 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The real question is how can you pray to a mythical being, such as god, Jesus, or Mary. None of these beings ever historically existed, and it's high time that all of you religious types face the facts. If you have to pray to beings who are no longer alive, then you'd have a better chance of accomplishing something by praying to your dead great-grandfather. It is relatively certain that he at least actually existed.
2007-01-12 04:54:39 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
When people die there spirits will always be with you. Everyone has guardian angels and guides. You can pray to them also. I pray to my father and sometimes it makes me feel better because I knew him. I dont know "god" though I pray to a higher power because there is something beyond life. No matter what you pray to its something to help you through life and to give you somebody to tell things you may not be able to tell somebody else. Whatever you feel more comfortable with. I am not religious but I do pray because it makes me feel better. And someone said the dead cannot hear us...yes they can they can even show up in our world though it is very hard for them. And when i say show up I mean there spirit. THey can also makes noises, move things around, shake door handles etc. Some people may not believe this if they have never seen it. But some people are more intuitive then others.
2007-01-12 04:50:15 · answer #8 · answered by XoXoGlitter 3 · 0⤊ 4⤋
You are correct. Mary is dead and she is enjoying heaven.
The Catholic church teaches a lot of invented traditions and heresy's. Pope Pius XII proclaimed in 1950 that Mary had never died, but had ascended into heaven alive.
Even though this miracle is not Biblical, our dear Catholic friends believe it.
2007-01-12 06:22:33 · answer #9 · answered by Freedom 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Mary is in heaven. If you do not believe in life after death than you are not a Christian. The Saints and Mary are in Heaven. In fact Mary is called the Queen of Heaven. She has a special place in Heaven because of her place in the history of Salvation.
People who pray (communicate) with Mary are just asking for her support and intercession. We also ask our friends and other people on earth that are especially holy to pray for us to God. And we pray to God our-self. The more people praying for a specif cause the better the change of it being answered in a positive way.
Many people feel especially close to Mary because she was a human like us, but not also God, like her son. And in a Patriarchal society she is a woman who is treated with respect. The natural thing for everyone to do when in serious trouble or pain is to call out for one's mother. Men injured on the battlefield do this. It naturally follows that people would feel comfort in talking with a woman who was the mother of God/Jesus. This does not take away from the Worship of God. We respect Mary, but do not Worship her. If God thought that she was special enough to bear His only Son, I think we owe her a little respect and attention.
For those who need something from the Bible: "My soul does magnify the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, he has looked with favor upon His lowly servant, from all generation people will call me Blessed." And we do. "The Blessed Virgin Mary". which implys some sort of Veneration/Respect. Jesus expects you to have respect for His mother!
2007-01-12 05:02:34 · answer #10 · answered by tonks_op 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋