Why do Catholics put lots of emphasis on Mary?

Question

Isn't God more important?

Answer 1

For the first 280 years of Christian history, Christianity was banned by the Roman empire, and Christians were terribly persecuted. This changed after the “conversion” of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Constantine “legalized” Christianity at the Edict of Milan in A.D. 313. Later, in A.D. 325, Constantine called together the Council of Nicea, in an attempt to unify Christianity. Constantine envisioned Christianity as a religion that could unite the Roman Empire, which at that time was beginning to fragment and divide. While this may have seemed to be a positive development for the Christian church, the results were anything but positive. Just as Constantine refused to fully embrace the Christian faith, but continued many of his pagan beliefs and practices, so the Christian church that Constantine promoted was a mixture of true Christianity and Roman paganism.

Constantine found that with the Roman Empire being so vast, expansive, and diverse – not everyone would agree to forsake their religious beliefs and instead embrace Christianity. So, Constantine allowed, and even promoted, the “Christianization” of pagan beliefs. Completely pagan and utterly unbiblical beliefs were given new “Christian” identities. Veneration of Mary is a clear example.

The Cult of Isis, an Egyptian mother-goddess religion, was absorbed into Christianity by replacing Isis with Mary. Many of the titles that were used for Isis, such as “Queen of Heaven,” “Mother of God,” and “theotokos” (God-bearer) were attached to Mary. Mary was given an exalted role in the Christian faith, far beyond what the Bible ascribes to her, in order to attract Isis worshippers to a faith they would not otherwise embrace. Many temples to Isis were, in fact, converted into temples dedicated to Mary. The first clear hints of Catholic Mariology occur in the writings of Origen, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, which happened to be the focal point of Isis worship.

Answer 2

Mary is the "mother of God" as she gave birth to Jesus the Christ. Without his mother, Jesus would not have been born.
There are women in the world who are holy enough to raise a good person (okay, not maybe as good as Jesus...) from childhood to adulthood, and Mary the mother of God is a reminder of that fact. Maybe the Catholics put so much emphasis on her because there are so many male priests (as in not any female priests. And nuns don't have as much status in the Catholic church as priests.). I wish that more Protestants would honor Mary as much as the Catholics do.
God is more important than Mary, but without Mary people on Earth would not have received the Word of God made flesh in Christ.

Answer 3

Catholics believe that paying homage to Mary and other saints can pay divendends because they are believe to intercede for you on judgement day and even in daily life. It's kind of like having influencial friends pull strings for you in the matter of promotions at work.

Answer 4

Many years prior to Christs birth, ancient pagan Rome displayed statues of mother with child (mother goddesses) who were venerated in their worship.

Rome was the ruling power in Christs day and after his death the early Christians carried the gospel of Christ to other lands including Rome. The Apostle Paul himself had Roman citizenry therefore was able to enter into the capital freely and spread the word. Scripture tells us he succeeded in making converts in that province before his arrest and imprisonment.-Acts

Mary was given a special privilege, the one chosen to bear Gods son Jesus. She is mentioned throughout the gospel as a faithful God fearing woman.

Over the years, up to the death of the last Apostle John, the Apostles warned of those who were speaking abusively of the teachings of Christ and that an apostasy would enter in and turn others away from the truth. -Ro 16:17,18. By the 3rd century Rome became decreed as the official capital of Christianity. The true teaching of Christ by now had become infiltrated with paganism which included mother worship and the veneration of saints.

Scriptures gives no evidence of praying through Mary or any Christian to act as an interceder in ones prayer. When Jesus gave us the model prayer in Matt 6:9 he said to address our prayers to the Father as he did. Later on Christ told his disciples to pray to the Father in his name only.-Joh 14:6,14. The Apostle himself says that Christ is our only mediator by which we are to approach God through prayer.-1 Ti 2:4

Answer 5

They imitate Jesus and the angels and God who chose Mary among all women. God preserved her from sin, so God put lots of emphasis on Mary and chose her as His mother. So we have to imitate God and put lots of emphasis on Mary. She is powerful. You should ask her to intercede for you and discover why Catholics put lots of emphasis on Mary. Mary also puts lots of emphasis on us because she is our mother. Try being her friend you will experience miracles in your life, almost everyday when you ask for her help. But of course God is more important but angels help us. Why not ask the mother of God to help us too. She is closer to God than we are. It is humility to go to her and ask for her intercession. We are but unworthy children of God. God bless you.

Answer 6

Yep. He is. But He chose the Blessed Virgin Mary to be the Theotokos, the Mother of God.

THAT is cause for some serious emphasis.

Answer 7

Yes God is more important.

Answer 8

Yes God is infinitely more important than we can imagine, and if we spent every minute of every day for the rest of our existence praising Jesus for all that He has done for us it would not be enough.

I honor Our Lady but I believe that she completely understands and supports me in spending all my time with her son who is the Lord of heaven and earth, who formed creation with a word.

Answer 9

Of seven biblical Marys, the mother of Jesus is the one called "Woman" from the cross, as one of seven last utterances. Such is not complimentary, since the Woman, being deceived, was in the transgression: 1Timothy 2:14, and the Woman first said a double "Amen, amen" to being both blessed and cursed (allegorically lawed, since law is "both good and evil") by her priest in Numbers 5:22. So, in saying "Woman" to his mother from the cross, Jesus was allegorically saying Woman: look what your law did: it "cursed EVERY ONE that hangeth on a tree": Galatians 3.

Which (law/grace) things are an "allegory": Galatians 4,
and a "mystery"(noted over 20 times) to solve in time,
lest all perish by law instead of none perish by grace.

What's also interesting about Mary Magdelene is:
she had seven other spirits more wicked cast out.

As for the RCC and the current Pope thereof,
who just approved wider use of Latin in mass,

Bishop Spong (Anglican Catholic) says:
- returning to middle ages is intellectual suicide

Matthew Fox (ex-priest & theologian) says:
- the Vatican is downing itself with ignorance,
deliberately ignoring a mega pedophile problem,
all the while shredding evidence, paying off ppl,
and demanding existing priests be silent about it.
Not to mention John-Paul swayed the US election,
by declaring Kerry unfit to take communion, etc, etc.

Sadly, mainstream America is still Catholic: 28%;
Protestant & Independent America not much better.
Because of them, over 25% of America mentally ill.

No matter, the end we are exhorted to endure unto,
and to be saved only by grace only is already written:

The grace(only) of our Lord Jesus Christ with you all. Amen.

Answer 10

She is this religion's virgin who gives birth to a God. There are lots of them.

"Virgin Birth occurs frequently in pre-Christian mysticism, the impregnation of mortal women by gods is common in pagan mythology, including the then well-known story of Hercules, born to Alkmene by the god Zeus.

From Ugarit of around 1400 B.C. comes a text celebrating the marriage of the male and female lunar deities. It is there predicted that the goddess will bear a son ... The terminology is remarkably close to that in Isaiah 7:14. However, the Ugaritic statement that the bride will bear a son is fortunately given in parallelistic form; in 77:7 she is called by the exact etymological counterpart of Hebrew `almah 'young woman'; in 77:5 she is called by the exact etymological counterpart of Hebrew betulah 'virgin'. Therefore, the New Testament rendering of `almah as 'virgin' for Isaiah 7:14 rests on the older Jewish interpretation, which in turn is now borne out for precisely this annunciation formula by a text that is not only pre-Isaianic but is pre-Mosaic in the form that we now have it on a clay tablet. (Feinberg, BibSac, July 62; the citation to Gordon is: C. H. Gordon, "`Almah in Isaiah 7:14", Journal of Bible and Religion, XXI, 2 (April, 1953), p. 106.)

This philological reasoning seems to raise four possibilities: virgin birth is a pagan concept that Christianity has 1) taken from contemporary paganism; 2) taken from pre-Mosaic paganism through Isaiah; 3) taken from contemporary paganism and justified from Isaiah, who took it from pre-Mosaic paganism; 4) produced independently of all forms of paganism, though sharing similar vocabulary."