Hey!, Wanna See Some Sin?
"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgressions and . . . their sins." Isa. 58:1
5. Idolatry
Page 5.d.: Literal, or "religious" idolatry
The Orthodox "Devotion" to Mary
The Anglican/Episcopalian "Devotion" to Mary
Modern Protestants on Mary
The Evangelical View of Mary
The Methodist View of Mary
The Presbyterian View of Mary
The Lutheran View of Mary
It is not our purpose here to judge or to condemn anyone. We all judge or condemn ourselves by our personal choices and actions. We are all answerable to God, not to one another. Our purpose here is to point out the meaning of certain words regarding the sins of idolatry. And in that context, to look at related, official church doctrines and established "traditions".
To place anything or anyone in place of, or ahead of God is to commit idolatry. Most of the world does that through materialism and the pursuit of happiness. Some commit idolatry in more than one way.
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Page 5.d.Orthodox, OCNA 1,030,000 adults (U.S.A., 1998)
The Orthodox "Devotion" to Mary"The Orthodox Church, on the other hand, has a great veneration for the Most Holy Mother of God that is both beautiful and rooted solidly in the theology of the Incarnation and liturgical prayer. The Orthodox Church constantly honours the Mother of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ in her daily Horologion, with Canon prayers and Akathists (the forerunner of the Catholic litany) and through such private devotions as the 150 "Hail Mary's" as practiced by St Seraphim of Sarov.
There are, in fact, more than one thousand miraculous Icons of the Mother of God that are venerated both universally and locally by the Orthodox Church, including several western icons such as that of "Our Lady of the Scapular" in Horodyschenske in Ukraine (at a former Roman Catholic monastery), "The Three Joys," "The Immaculate Mother of God" and, yes, one actually called the Icon of "Mezhehirya" or, in Croatian, "Medjugorje" near Kyiv, which was no relation to the events at Medjugorje today.
Miraculous appearances and apparitions of the Mother of God are well-known in Orthodoxy, especially the dramatic rescue of cities and monasteries through apparitions where Our Lady extends Her Mantle or Pokrova of protection over the people. Many miraculous Icons, in fact, are associated with such apparitions.
There have been Orthodox faithful who have been devoted to Our Lady of Lourdes, especially Russian Orthodox emigres who were also inspired by the pentitential devotion of La Salette and of St Therese of Lisieux while in France. However, one should remember that the Orthodox Church has no doctrine of the Immaculate Conception since She does not believe that Original Sin involves contracting the actual guilt of Adam's Sin, but only the consequences of that sin. A number of Russian Orthodox who were at Lourdes therefore understood the words, "I am the Immaculate Conception" to refer to the Immaculate Conception of Christ Himself in the Womb of the Mother of God, which, as our Horologion signs, became "More spacious than the Heavens for it contained Him whom the universe cannot contain." This was therefore a private devotion for some Orthodox faithful."
http://www.unicorne.org/orthodoxy/articles/alex_roman/marionology.htm
Overview of Ukrainian Orthodoxy (emphasis ours)
"The second largest is the Orthodox Church in America, with more than one million members; it was given independent status by the Patriarchate of Moscow... 1970... "
http://www.adherents.com/Na_480.html
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Anglicans/Episcopalians, 3,451,000 adults (U.S.A., 2001)
The Anglican/Episcopalian "Devotion" to Mary
"Are you surprised that Anglicans honour Mary? Why?
In the English speaking world there is hardly a place of any size which does not have a church named after her. In small towns and great cities alike you will find churches consecrated to S. Mary, or named after one or other of her mysteries, such as the Annunciation or the Assumption. She is by far and the most popular and beloved of all the saints. So don't be surprised any longer! The Anglican Church, in common with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, has a great love and veneration for the Blessed Virgin Mary.""The Society is dedicated to the glory of God and in honour of the Holy Incarnation under the invocation of Our Lady, Help of Christians.
To love and honour Mary.
To spread devotion to her, in reparation for past neglect and misunderstanding, and in the cause of Christian Unity.
To take Mary as a model of purity, personal relationships and family life.Members promise to keep a simple RULE OF LIFE, which involves:
The regular use of recommended prayers and devotions to Mary (such as the Angelus, the Rosary, the Litany and Anthems of Our Lady).and a commitment to Christian service, where possible, in the name of the Society.
Praying for departed members of the Society and offering Mass for them.
Taking part in the Mass on the principal Feasts of Our Lady.We have always given the Blessed Virgin Mary a special place of honour amongst the Saints who surround us in that great "cloud of witnesses" (Hebrews 12:1).
All over the world there are Anglican churches with a chapel or an altar called the "Lady Chapel" after Mary's ancient title of Our Lady, retained by the Church of England's Prayer Book of 1662, which also honours her with five special feast days each year in the Kalendar. The same Prayer Book declares the Church of England's acceptance of the doctrines decided on by the early Councils of the Church, one of which (the Council of Ephesus in A. D. 431), defined Mary as being "The Mother of God", insomuch as her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.
We believe that there is something incomplete in our Christian Faith if we do not love and honour the Mother of Jesus.
In 1635, for example, Anthony Stafford published 'The Female Glory: or the Life and Death of our Blessed Lady, the Holy Virgin Mary, God's own Immaculate Mother.' In this book, approved by the Bishop of London, and officially defended at the insistence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the mystical titles of Our Lady are used, the rosary is recommended as an aid to prayer, and the Assumption is taught:
The Society of Mary springs from two similar societies founded in 1880 and 1901 respectively, which united in 1931. It has members all over the world and is no longer confined to Anglicans. In fact, the number of Roman Catholic members has been steadily increasing over the last fifteen years."
http://www.allsaintsbrisbane.com/som.htm (emphasis ours)
Anglican / Episcopalian Church - An Introduction
"The Anglican church is composed of the Church of England and seventeen other autonomous national churches, including the Protestant Episcopalian church. Two centuries before the Reformation began, the Oxford don John Wycliffe was translating the Bible into English, denying the supreme authority of the pope, and proclaiming the Priesthood of all believers. When King Henry VIII was denied an annulment of his marriage to Catherine by Pope Clement VII, Henry repudiated the authority of the pope, and proclaimed himself head of the Church of England, which eventually opened the door to reform in the British Isles.Anglicans retain Catholic tradition while accepting the basic insights of the Protestant reform. The Anglican communion is a worldwide fellowship, and is the third oldest and third largest family of Protestant churches.
Episcopalians are the American Anglicans. The name Episcopal comes from the Greek word episkopos, which means "bishop.""
http://www.seekersway.org/seekers_guide/anglican_1_a.html (emphasis ours)
There are an estimated 3,451,000 adult Episcopalian/Anglicans in the U.S. (2001)
http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html
The Anglicans For Mary Webring Homepage
"Its Mission: Anglicans for Mary Webring seeks to bring together Anglicans and the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Internet.While there are many, many, sites of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Internet, most of them (an understatement to be sure) are Roman Catholic or a variety of Eastern Orthodoxy. There are very few sites highlighting Anglican devotion to Our Lady. I have been blessed by having been given the opportunity to create my own cyberspace in honor of Mary, and have a strong desire to seek other sites expressing Anglican devotion to Our Lady. I feel it is important for Anglicans and Anglo-Catholics the world over who love Our Mother to express their devotion, not only in their lives, but in the marketplace. And what is the Internet if not a nearly infinte marketplace of ideas? So, if you're an Anglican, and have a love for our Mother, this is the webring for you.
The beginning: This webring stated out as a project for my personal homepage honoring Our Lady of Walsingham. I wanted to do something special to celebrate the first anniversary of my site's existence on the Web. It is also a consequence of my devotion to Our Lady, my awareness of who she is, what she does for us in Heaven, and my desire to further promote her devotion in the Anglican Communion. I have spent many hours searching the 'Net for Anglican sites for Mary, but have been disappointed. I made this webring, then, to be a place where Anglicans who love Our Mother and who do have pages devoted to her unbeknownst to me, can link together. I want to increase my fellow Anglicans exposure to the richness of our catholic heritage that is ours by virtue of our inclusion in the 'One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church" founded by Christ and entrusted to His Disciples, the Apostles, and their successors. .And, since my desire is also to increase Anglicans exposure to Marian devotion, as expressed in the historical cult of hyperdulia, I gave my webring the name "Anglicans for Mary".
As Catholics, Anglo-Catholics have a love for the saints, and a special place in our hearts for Mary, the Blessed Virgin and Mother of our Lord; a love that is shared by our Roman Catholic and Orthodox brothers and sisters."
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/4752/anglicanformary.html (emphasis ours)
"Of course, there are several thousand Anglican churches dedicated to St Mary."
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/aw/aw94/lastword.html
From an Anglican "Hail, Mary" sermon:"Many Anglicans do use this prayer [Hail Mary], but we sometimes tend to be self-conscious about it, or think of it as an affectation; something which is foreign to our Anglican understanding of the Christian faith. This despite the fact that there are more churches in England dedicated to St Mary the Virgin than to any other saint or commemoration - and England is quite unusual in this regard compared to continental Catholic countries.
As we celebrate today this festival of Mary, Mother of the Lord, it is worth looking briefly at this prayer, and the tradition of devotion to Mary which lies behind it."
http://www.pastornet.net.au/jmm/abss/abss0144.htm (emphasis ours)
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Modern Protestants on Mary
"The modern age has sometimes, strangely enough, been called the Age of Mary both by religious and non-religious sources. For instance, a Time cover story on Mary reported in December 1991 that "A grass-roots revival of faith in the Virgin is taking place worldwide. Millions of worshippers are flocking to her shrines, many of them young people. Even more remarkable are the number of claimed sightings of the Virgin."
Appearances of Mary are reported from all over the world, often from credible sources. The messages coming from these reported appearances are generally consistent with each other and simply repeat the Gospel themes of conversion, repentance, fasting and prayer.
In addition to this recovery of Mary at the grassroots, there have been at least three other significant developments in the area of Marian doctrine and devotion: non-polemical studies of the New Testament, the formation of ecumenical groups and the pilgrimage to historic Christianity undertaken by many Fundamentalists and Evangelicals.
The focus on "neutral" New Testament studies has brought about collaboration between Liberal and conservative biblical scholars, both Protestant and Catholic, in the evaluation of Mary in the New Testament. The best known result of this joint quest was the book Mary in the New Testament written by a team of Catholic and mainline Protestant scholars. The most notable Anglican contribution is the book The Blessed Virgin Mary. A conference of Anglican and Eastern Orthodox theologians resulted in the important work The Mother of God. Other ecumenical investigations into Marian doctrine include a series of conferences between Catholic and Lutheran scholars that resulted in the book The One Mediator, The Saints and Mary. The Ecumenical Society for the Blessed Virgin Mary has published a number of books of dialogue including Mary's Place in Christian Dialogue, Mary and the Churches and Mary in Doctrine and Devotion. Meanwhile exegetes like Ignace de la Potterie, Aristide Serra and Rene Laurentin have been providing us with major new insights into the role of Mary in both the Old and the New Testaments."
http://mariology.com/sections/modern.html (emphasis ours)
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The Evangelical View of Mary
John De Satge [Evangelical]:
"I believe that just as we may see in the theological life of the Virgin Mary, as the Scriptures describe her, a model of justification by faith so we may view the beginning and the end of her story which later traditions, held in different ways by Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic have added on to the scriptural deposit, not a distortion from it, but as congruent with it and so as legitimate extensions."
John de Satge, Down to Earth: The New Protestant Vision of the Virgin Mary (Consortium Books, 1976), 112-3.
http://mariology.com/sections/modern.html (emphasis ours)
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The Methodist View of MaryNeville Ward [Methodist]:
"It does seem clear that the first-century people who put together the four gospels found that they could not do justice to the mixture of the divine and human in Jesus without saying some very remarkable things about his mother. Their minds were continually drawn to her. Because they felt that to Jesus was given the name that is above every other name, these early Christians sensed an extraordinary mystery about her. They knew as well as we do that the influence of a mother over a child is absolutely incalculable for good or ill. If Jesus was who they thought he was, then who was she?
The earliest Christian communities did not stay long in this realm of question and mystery. Very soon they found themselves surrounding Mary's memory and her presence in the communion of saints with a unique love and thankfulness. Nowadays the birth and infancy narratives, dated in the first century by scholars, are seen as a kind of paean of praise to God and to Mary for Jesus. Since then there has poured through the life of the Christian church an amazing flood of gratitude and love for her whose existence was the slender thread on which, for believers, hangs so much of life's joy and meaning."
J. Neville Ward, Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy (Cambridge, MA: Cowley Press, 1985), ix, x.
http://mariology.com/sections/modern.html (emphasis ours)Methodists - 8,333,770 (1999)
http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html
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The Presbyterian View of Mary
Donald Dawe [Presbyterian]:
"The place of Mary must be understood not only in the unfolding dialogue of the Church with traditions, confessions and dogmatics but in relation to the unfolding of piety with its affective and actional affirmations of faith.
In the joyful celebration of what God has done through the Virgin Mary, we come back into contact with affective dimensions of faith that have been blunted by modernity. Mary in her femininity expresses those dimensions of faith that have been lost in a male dominated piety. Mary as the Mother opens the emotionally profound realm of family life and home to divine renewal by being the faithful mother. Mary in the communion of saints points all saints to that obedience that is the true measure of faith with her words, 'Do whatever he tells you' (John 2:5). Mary in all these aspects is not the substitute for Christ, she is the bearer of Christ in this time, just as she was in first century Palestine. Mary is a continuing witness to the mystery of that intertwining of divine initiative and human response out of which redemption is formed. When this mystery is no longer contemplated, where her openness to God does not nourish and enlarge our openness to God, faith in her Son wanes. Mary in her virginity is not simply the protection of the confession vere Deus vere homo as an intellectual formula but as an affective reality for faith. She is the eternal Bearer of Christ.
In the Virgin Mary, we hear the needed word of truth. God has taken the initiative for human salvation. It is not our doing but his gift. Yet it is a gift that has entered our time and place. Mary Virgin is the continuing witness to the divine initiative while Mary Mother makes of this divine initiative a flesh and blood fact in our lives. Mary is God's 'No' to the secular religion of human apotheosis. She received by the Holy Spirit the gift of the salvation that no human power could create. As such she is the living expression of sola gratia. She is the prototype of every believer. Her, 'Yes' to God's call is the opening of the way to salvation. So we join in saying, 'Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.' But this is not a fact sealed off in the first century. She still stands before us, through the witness of Scripture, in the power of the Spirit as the Mother who bears and protects her Son. Just as in her womb, and in her home she bore and protected her Son from the forces of a despising society and a murderous king, she now bears and protects the mystery of his being in our midst. Without her the redemptive mystery of her Son is lost. With her it is received with joy."
Donald Dawe, International Ecumenical Conference: "Looking Forward", One in Christ, 1980, 1-2, pp.82-3.
http://mariology.com/sections/modern.html (emphasis ours)
Presbyterians 5,596,000 (USA, 2001)
http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html
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The Lutheran View of Mary
Charles Dickson [Lutheran]:
"Luther referred to Mary as "God's workshop" and went on to say, "As the Mother of God, she is raised above the whole of humankind" and "has no equal". Contrast this with the modern Protestant attitude that criticizes Marian devotion in the belief that it detracts from the central and unique place Christ occupies in human salvation and you begin to get a picture of the current crisis of division.
What Protestants have had difficulty understanding are the intentions of Catholic teachings about Mary. In the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption teachings it has not been the intention of the Catholic Church to elevate the Blessed Virgin Mary to deity status but rather to show her as the shining model of genuinely Christian hope. It is the hope for all humankind. Such a rereading and enlightened understanding on the part of the Protestant community will help to refocus the attention of the entire Christian world on Mary, not as a point of division, but as the real bridge to unity for us all."
Charles Dickson, A Protestant Pastor Looks at Mary (Huntington, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor, 1996), 109-110.
http://mariology.com/sections/modern.html (emphasis ours)
Lutherans - 7,652,838 (2000, Evangelical and Missouri Synod combined)
http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html