I dont understand how as Catholics, you can follow the bible,But also worship Mary. Doesn't that count as Idol worship? and the same for the pope? Can someone enlighten me please? My Catholic friend couldnt really answer my questions for me.
2007-10-26 08:39:10 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
No we dont worship Mary we ask her for help by praying that she will pray for us.
2007-10-26 08:43:16 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 14⤊ 3⤋
Most of the answers you received are excellent. I hope you are truly looking for answers and read what has been said here.
What's really a shame is that your Catholic friend could not answer your questions. That is a travesty. Every Catholic should know and understand the faith and teachings of the Catholic church. I hope you will share the answers received here with your friend so that he/she will be able to answer with knowledge next time that question comes up.
But...to reiterate...we do not worship Mary. She is the Mother of God and we honor her as Jesus did, following his example.
The Pope is the Vicar of Christ. It has nothing to do with him personally but with the office he holds. It is the same office that Christ gave to Peter when he told him "on this rock (meaning Peter) I will build my Church."
I hope that you will ignore the few nasty answers you got from the very ignorant and angry anti-Catholic bunch. They troll around in here spreading many lies.
2007-10-26 16:37:34 · answer #2 · answered by Misty 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
To me God is showing the right answer. Many people gave good reading on the bible about saints, Mary, and the Pope. I hope that you understand the true. Don't lesion to anti-catholic. They show hate. They are just deceiving you from the true what we believe. As you can see we are not responding with hate.
2007-10-27 02:24:33 · answer #3 · answered by Original Christian 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The things you have been told about the Catholic Church are not true.
* Catholics do not worship Mary. Catholics *pray to her*, but they have a very different understanding from us Protestants of what prayer means and how it works. To them, asking Mary to pray for them and help them be better Christians is no different from you asking the same thing of your own pastor, or your own mother.
* I'm a little confused on what you're asking about the Pope. Are you saying that they worship the Pope? Not only is that untrue, but it's just silly. I've never even heard that from the super-crazy anti-Catholic people. Catholics believe that the Pope has a special anointing of the Holy Spirit such that even while he might personally make grave mistakes, he will never bring harm or heresy to the Church itself--and so in that sense, and in that sense only, they call him "infallible."
2007-10-26 15:52:13 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous Lutheran 6 · 15⤊ 2⤋
Catholics don't worship Mary, they honour her because Jesus honoured her. She carried Jesus, the Son of God in her womb, so she can be called the Mother of God, inasmuch as she is the mother of God made man.
As for the Bible, this is the book compiled by the Catholic Church, the Catholic Church decided what is in it. So if something is not in it, it doesn't mean that we cannot believe it. Jesus founded a Church to decide what we should believe, He didn't say "here is a book to tell you", because the New Testament was not even written when He founded His Church.
The Church did not put everything into the Bible, there were many beliefs of early Christianity which were common knowledge by tradition and word of mouth. These have been preserved by the Catholic Church, even though they were not written it the Bible.
2007-10-26 15:58:34 · answer #5 · answered by A.M.D.G 6 · 9⤊ 2⤋
I am not a Catholic, however I have many friends who are. When I have discussed the role of Mary in the religion they point out that it is only anti catholics who say that Catholics worship Mary. What they do is venerate her as the mother of Jesus.
2007-10-26 16:12:59 · answer #6 · answered by Freethinking Liberal 7 · 5⤊ 2⤋
We don't worship Mary or the Pope, so don't be confused about that. Those are misguided accusations thrown at us all the time and it simply isn't true.
2007-10-28 15:01:16 · answer #7 · answered by Danny H 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No Catholic worships Mary.
Latria is the kind of adoration that is worship and due God alone. Applied to any other being, you are indulging in idolatry. To worship Mary in such a way would be idol worship, which is why no Catholic does it.
Catholics have great respect for Mary the mother of God for the precise reason that is what she is: theotokos - God bearer. No other person in history ever has or ever will be accorded this honour, and it is remarkable.
But it does not make her worthy of worship. Which is why a Catholic's relationship with her is one of admiration and petition - we pray (beg) her to plead for us with God - not as a divine being herself, but as a person who has drawn as close to God as one can.
It is no different (and no less effective) than asking protestant friends to pray for you (which I am sure is something you do.)
2007-10-26 15:46:39 · answer #8 · answered by evolver 6 · 17⤊ 2⤋
Hello,
1) If I ask a minister like Hagee or Jimmy Swaggart to pray for me, am I worshiping them? Not bloody likely.
2) If I have a picture of my wife on the desk out in the field or a Picasso on my wall am I worshiping either one like a god?
No; my wife's picture is just a reminder of our relationship and Picasso stimulates my thoughts on emotions and politics not to mention its ever increasing value as an investment.
3) The Pope is just the religious leader of the RC church and his overall knowledge of the bible and theology is a little better than a bar maid or baseball player so just as protestants do for Billy Graham through to Jerry Falwell one tends to do a little less talking and a little more listening when they or he are giving their points of view just as I would for Dr. Hawkins if he is speaking on Stellar or quantum mechanics.
Cheers,
Michael Kelly
2007-10-26 15:56:41 · answer #9 · answered by Michael Kelly 5 · 7⤊ 2⤋
Catholics only worship God. Mary is held in high esteem since she is the mother of Jesus. She is not worshiped. She is prayed to as one would remember and pray to a loved one who is deceased. I often pray to my late parents and ask them to pray for me. I often tell them how much I love and miss them.
2007-10-26 15:51:34 · answer #10 · answered by Mary W 5 · 8⤊ 2⤋
We don't worship Mary. We pay her respect and veneration as befitting the Mother of God.
The Pope is the earthly head of the Church. Look at him more as a shepard leading his flock. That's mainly what he is. He is a bishop - an ecclesiastical office mentioned in the Bible. He is the Bishop of Rome, and Rome was one of the main "Apostolic Cities" of the early Church (along with Jerusalem, Antioch, and Alexandria). Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome and both lived and preached there. Peter was made the first Bishop of Rome.
Father K: Thank you for your detailed answer. You have my vote for "Best Answer" :-)
2007-10-26 15:50:31 · answer #11 · answered by the phantom 6 · 14⤊ 3⤋