News-Record.com

"The first lesson is that God has chosen Mary to lead us to Jesus".......................................

as a "bible believing" Christian, the above quote saddens me and devalues His life and His atoning work..
Jesus said "Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."............
Jesus said " Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
" For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus"....................
did you notice Jesus Himself didn't mention mary at all. He led the sinless life, he was 100% obedient to Gods every commandment, He willing gave His own life for our salvation. mary has no part in salvation and i challenge someone to show scriptural proof otherwise. to believe that mary has more power and authority that Jesus Christ is absurd and to believe so makes one an apostate and a liar. mary was a very special woman who was chosen by God to conceive His Son, she was a chosen vessel by God to accomplish His plan, she was/is nothing more and to worship her is idolatry. it is the Holy Spirit who lead us to Jesus Christ not mary.

Certainly, all Christians should love, honor and respect Mary, as the mother of their Savior; but I must agree with Buz, that there is NO biblical warrant for doing anything more than following her faith and obedience - in the same sense that we honor all those chosen by God to participate in the coming of Messiah and establishment fo the Church - John the Baptist, Peter, Elizabeth, Paul, Anna, et al. And while I respect the sincerity of those who embrace Mary-worship, I see no place for it in the theological truths revealed in Holy Scripture, and consider it a hindrance rather than a help to true faith.

Even though Roman Catholicism is generally orthodox in its creedal theology, and the educated, academic exponents of the church focus more on the essential elements of the Faith, it is riddled with such an array of errors and accretions that the vital truths of the evangelical message are either obscured or undermined altogether. Marianism is one of those errors; along with rejection of sola fide/gratia, priestly celebacy and transubstantiation. This is not to say that modern Protestantism does not have its own doctrinal deviations in both liberal (John Spong)and fundementalist (Fred Phelps)circles .

Unless the essential truths of the Gospel of grace are being preached and taught, there can be no saving faith and biblical/apostolic orthodoxy - only dead, legalistic, impotent religionism, no matter how "pious" it may appear on the surface.