What happened to Mary?
In general, Protestants do not pray to Mary. Why not? What happened?
The following are excerpts from the book "A Protestant Pastor Looks at Mary" by Charles Dickson.
Contrary to popular thought among both Catholics and Protestants, many of the early reformers did not seek to devalue the place of the Virgin Mary in God's plan of salvation history. It was the people and events which followed that are primarily responsible for this unfortunate turn...
What did Luther really believe about Mary? For an answer to that question, we must search through his original writings...First, Luther referred to Mary as "the workshop of God"...
Luther believed in the help of the Virgin Mary for all worthwhile endeavors....Not only did Luther believe Mary helped Christians who call on her for assistance, he also supported prayers to her. Again, in his commentary on the Magnificat, he wrote, "O Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, what great comfort God has shown us in you by so graciously regarding your unworthiness and low estate."
For those who would follow in the faith, he desired a continued honor of Mary by stating, "the Virgin Mary means to say simply that her praise will be sung from one generation to another so that there will never be a time when she will not be praised."
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If, as Mary has said in her messages, God the Father has sent her to us, a beautiful gift from God Almighty, how can we ignore this gift?
posted by MEDLOOK | 6:28 PM
2 Comments:
Hi,
You said:
Luther believed in the help of the Virgin Mary for all worthwhile endeavors....Not only did Luther believe Mary helped Christians who call on her for assistance, he also supported prayers to her.
You wouldn't by any chance happen to know the citation would you? Ie in which of his works/lectures or sermons I can find this in?
I'm glad I found your blog. I plan on visiting it often, as there are alot of things apparition-wise that I struggle with on a theological level. And it will be nice to approach the issue from a "protestant" perspective for once.. I don't know if you're up to that (ie if you're interested in a "theological" discussion)...if not...that's okay too.
I found your blog through Darel's site (The Orthodox Lutheran Webpage).
I have alot of stuff on Mary too.
Cheryl,
Thanks for visiting. In Charles Dickson's book, he says...
"In his letter to Prince john Frederick, duke of Saxony, in 1521 as a prologue to his commentary on the Magnificat of the first chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, he(Luther) wrote, "May the tender Mother of God herself procure for me the spirit of wisdom profitably and thoroughly to expound this song of hers."...Again, in his commentary on the Magnificat, he wrote, "O Blessed Virgin, Mother of God, what great comfort God has shown us in you by so graciously regarding your unworthiness and low estate."
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