If the first 'great leader' of the protestant reformation was Martin Luther why do Protestants not honor Mary?

Question

Martin Luther, Founder of the Reform, Speaks on Mary
In his sermon of August 15, 1522, the last time Martin Luther preached on the Feast of the Assumption, he stated:

There can be no doubt that the Virgin Mary is in heaven. How it happened we do not know. And since the Holy Spirit has told us nothing about it, we can make of it no article of faith . . . It is enough to know that she lives in Christ.

The veneration of Mary is inscribed in the very depths of the human heart. (Sermon, September 1, 1522).

[She is the] highest woman and the noblest gem in Christianity after Christ . . . She is nobility, wisdom, and holiness personified. We can never honor her enough. Still honor and praise must be given to her in such a way as to injure neither Christ nor the Scriptures. (Sermon, Christmas, 1531).

No woman is like you. You are more than Eve or Sarah, blessed above all nobility, wisdom, and sanctity. (Sermon, Feast of the Visitation, 1537).

One should honor Mary as she herself wished and as she expressed it in the Magnificat. She praised God for his deeds. How then can we praise her? The true honor of Mary is the honor of God, the praise of God's grace . . . Mary is nothing for the sake of herself, but for the sake of Christ . . . Mary does not wish that we come to her, but through her to God. (Explanation of the Magnificat, 1521).

Luther gives the Blessed Virgin the exalted position of "Spiritual Mother" for Christians:

It is the consolation and the superabundant goodness of God, that man is able to exult in such a treasure. Mary is his true Mother .. (Sermon, Christmas, 1522)

Mary is the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of all of us even though it was Christ alone who reposed on her knees . . . If he is ours, we ought to be in his situation; there where he is, we ought also to be and all that he has ought to be ours, and his mother is also our mother. (Sermon, Christmas, 1529).

Martin Luther had the belief of Mary's Immaculate Conception, Luther's words follow:

It is a sweet and pious belief that the infusion of Mary's soul was effected without original sin; so that in the very infusion of her soul she was also purified from original sin and adorned with God's gifts, receiving a pure soul infused by God; thus from the first moment she began to live she was free from all sin" (Sermon: "On the Day of the Conception of the Mother of God," 1527).

She is full of grace, proclaimed to be entirely without sin- something exceedingly great. For God's grace fills her with everything good and makes her devoid of all evil. (Personal {"Little"} Prayer Book, 1522).

Answer 1

Some Protestant Christians refuse to honor Mary because they perceive (or misperceive) that Catholics worship her. So they let the pendulum swing too far the other way and treat Mary almost as just an incubator or something. One of my professors addressed this subject, and I'll borrow his words. "To say that Mary is Queen of heaven is going too far for us. But we must remember, God chose her above all other women to be the mother of his Son, not merely to birth him, but to raise him to manhood. Doesn't that tell you something about Mary as a person? She was the highly favored one and found grace in the eyes of the Lord for a REASON. Mary was very special, she is very special, and we must never forget that."

Answer 2

Actually, it is Luther that brought us Lutheraism. It is also a piece of his own writing that gives you your answer.
[She is the] highest woman and the noblest gem in Christianity after Christ . . . She is nobility, wisdom, and holiness personified. We can never honor her enough. Still honor and praise must be given to her in such a way as to injure neither Christ nor the Scriptures. (Sermon, Christmas, 1531).

And Then
One should honor Mary as she herself wished and as she expressed it in the Magnificat. She praised God for his deeds. How then can we praise her? The true honor of Mary is the honor of God, the praise of God's grace . . . Mary is nothing for the sake of herself, but for the sake of Christ . . . Mary does not wish that we come to her, but through her to God. (Explanation of the Magnificat, 1521).

You do not give praise and honor to the paint brush or the canvas. You give the glory to THE ARTIST, ALWAYS! We are all just tools in The Master's hands. I will be content to give Him all that is due Him. We all should. Whether we do or not and then seek to argue about it is another story.

God Bless you and guide you into all Truth

Answer 3

I always considered Henry VIII as the real start of the reformation, he defied and divorced despite the rules,setting up his on religion in England. Martin Luther , who was a priest and did believe in all those 'things' originally, had issues with some bad things going on but instead of trying to rectify things like, St Francis of Assisi or St Augustine, he went off on his on tangent and started his own religion.

Mary is venerated as the Mother of God, Jesus Christ.
She is not adored as God. She can be a way to her son, as some people are put off by talking to God because of the patriarchal image, but they can look to a comforting, loving mother who brings them to Him. But those that don't believe in Mary's veneration do not believe in the saints mediation and concern for us either.

Answer 4

First of all the leaders of the Protestant movement opened the door for people to use the Bible to determine what they want to believe. Although Martin Luther definitely got the ball rolling, he didn't and probably couldn't free himself of all of the bad doctrine that the Catholic Church taught. Since they base their belief on tradition and scripture they are bound to honor Mary in that way. Mary had other children. She was not a perpetual virgin for the rest of her life. She sinned as did all other people. She is going to be in heaven, but so are lots of other people. Since Protestants believe that a it does not take a life of good works plus belief and then a period in purgatory to make it into heaven, it is not as big an issue to us. By the way purgatory was made up by the Catholic Church to make money to build those awesome cathedrals in Europe, but there is nothing about purgatory in the Bible. So while Protestants respect Mary, we do not need to worship or honor her with special prayers and the like.

Answer 5

Most of the Early Protestant Reformers had no problem with calling Mary Mother of God

Answer 6

Luther died a Catholic. He was reformed in the matter of FAITH not WORKS being the measure of salvation - but his theology of Mary was lacking.
Consider this statement you attribute to him.
"
Mary is the Mother of Jesus and the Mother of all of us even though it was Christ alone who reposed on her knees"
THIS is wholly unBiblical

and this
"There can be no doubt that the Virgin Mary is in heaven. How it happened we do not know. And since the Holy Spirit has told us nothing about it, we can make of it no article of faith . . . It is enough to know that she lives in Christ."

Of course she is in Heaven - she got there by GRACE! AS all believers will be.

It is very important that you understand Luther was glimpsing the light through the darkness of Romanism but he never left the Mother Church.

You might find the book below of interest.

Answer 7

AS far as I know they still do
They call her the Blessed Virgin Mary

Answer 8

Protestants are more focused on the Bible and lean on it word for word. They don't usually consider it safe to engage too many other spiritual ideas or doctrines outside of those pages.

Answer 9

Because protestant fundamentalists today don't know who Luther was...but maybe some saw the movie.

Answer 10

Mary was blessed because she was chosen above all women to bear Christ as her son. It was because of her humility and purity.

But she is not to be praised.

She most certainly is in heaven because she was a saved woman. But she was not sinless. Remember when she described Christ as her saviour? She would not need one if she was perfect.

Martin Luther did not get everything right. No one does.