110. Why should we pray for the dead?
We pray for the dead for the same reasons as when praying for a living person! Why can’t living individuals pray for themselves? Why should we pray for others? The reason is, Jesus has asked us to pray for others. (He did not say to pray only for the people alive!) The apostles also asked us to pray for others. Examples (Luke 22:32, 23:34, John 17:19-24)
We are obliged to pray for:
All human beings: “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men” (1 Tim 2:1). This does not say that prayers should be limited to the people alive. It says all people, dead or alive.
For Administrators and Leaders: “For Kings and all who are in authority” (1 Tim 2:2)
For people who are against you: “for all had forsaken me. Do not hold this against them.” (2 Tim 4:16)
Pray for the people who ministers or works for Jesus Christ (2 Cori 1:11, Phil 1:19)
Pray for the church members (Eph 1:16, 3:14-19, Philip 1:4)
For the sick and those in sufferings (James 5:14)
Is it fair that one prays for a person while he is suffering and on his death bed (during the last moments of his life) and stops all prayers the moment that person dies! Which is more important, his breath or his soul? As Christians we are concerned about his soul.
We have seen from the previous questions that people who have died in Jesus Christ are blessed, conscious, and that they live with Jesus Christ and praise Him. They are invisible to us, but can see us, because they are with Him. In the Lord’s sight, we as well as the dead are alive. Thus we pray for the dead who are still alive before God.
111. Isn’t prayer for the dead a later addition by the Church?
No. There are evidences in the Bible (2 Maccabee 12:39-45): “On the following day, since the task had now become urgent, Judas and his men went to gather up the bodies of the slain and bury them with their kinsmen in their ancestral tombs. But under the tunic of each of the dead they found amulets (in the Peshitta version the word - gold - is used) sacred to the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. So it was clear to all that this was why these men had been slain. They all therefore praised the ways of the Lord, the just judge who brings to light the things that are hidden. Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. The noble Judas warned the soldiers to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen, He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not excepting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray and offer sacrifice for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.”
This book is not in the Protestant Bibles. This book is one of eleven canonical books originally included in the Old Testament used by Jews living outside Palestine, but not by the Jews in Palestine. In the 4th century when the church fathers decided which books were canonical to include in the New Testament, they decided that these eleven books were also canonical and that they should be included in the Old Testament, as was done by Jews outside Palestine. But in the 15th century and later when the Protestants printed the Bible, they omitted these eleven books saying they are apocryphal (i.e. not inspired scripture). However the universal Church still considers these eleven books as canonical.
Who is Maccabee? In BC 333 -167 Alexander the great invaded Jerusalem. Later the Ptolomis of Egypt invaded and ruled Palestine. The Septuagint was made during that period. A Greek king by the name Antiochus captured the reign from the Ptolomies. His son Eppipaniyas tortured the Jews. But later, Mattathias son of Simeon, a Jew, captured the reign from the Greeks. His son was Juda Maccabeus. He was God fearing and very powerful. He conducted a Feast of Dedication of the Jerusalem temple (John 10:22). After Juda, Jonathan Simon invaded and captured the Zion fort in BC 144. Later John Hircanos Aristhabalos I became the king. But his successors fought each other for power and subsequently in BC 93 General Pompy (Roman) became the ruler of Jerusalem.
The books termed as “Apocrypha” are 1) Tobit 2) Judith 3) Ester ( Continuation) 4) Wisdom 5) Bar Assere 6) Epistle of Jeremiah 7) Baroch I
8) Baruch II 9)
Daniael (Continuation) 10) Maccabees I 11) Maccabees II . (All these books are included in my
Malayalam Translation of the Pshetha Syriac from the second century).
The book of Maccabee is a book filled with History, just like the Book of Judges and the Book of Exodus. Protestants decided to not include this book. The reason why they decided not to include this book could be for the following reasons:
Judas Maccaabi was defeated in a war and he soon found out that he was defeated because his soldiers were wearing amulets sacred to the idols of Tamnia, forbidden to Jews. He exhorted his people to keep away from sins and he penalized them for 2000 silver coins. This money was sent to Jerusalem as an offering for a compensatory sacrifice to absolve the deeds of the sins of the dead. This act was out of genuine faith and was according to the Jewish practices. That is why he celebrated the sacrifice for absolving sins of the dead. The Jews had a practice of praying for the dead at the end of their festival. Neither Jesus Christ nor the apostles banned or criticized this act. In addition, we saw the apostles praying for the dead. The liturgies used during the 2nd century also had prayers for the dead. What is quoted from Mcccabees does not agree with the belief of Protestants and therefore was excluded from the Bible.
Quote from Hoodaya Canon (Chapter 6:1)
Paul: -“The third day of the death should be celebrated with prayers and reading of psalms, because our Lord resurrected on the third day. On the ninth day for the memory of the alive and dead, and the 40th day as the people mourned the death of Moses. And then on the anniversary”
Adai: -“The apostles have decided that the memory of those
departed martyred in persecution in good witness to the name of our Lord should
be celebrated on the date of death”.
Tertullian (AD 155-240): - “We offer the sacrifices for the dead on their anniversaries (367). A woman, after the death of her husband, is bound not less firmly but even more so, not to marry another husband. Indeed she prays for his soul and asks that he may, while waiting, find rest; and that he may share in the first resurrection. And each year, on the anniversary of his death, she offers the sacrifice.“ (382)
St. Cyprian (AD250) (In describing the martyrs of the church) says that during their death anniversary, we should remember them and offer for them the Eucharist. (586b)
St. Cyril (AD 315-386) In describing the celebration of Eucharist, “Then we mention also of those who have already fallen asleep; first the patriarchs, prophets, Apostles, and martyrs, that through their prayers and supplications God would receive our petition; next we make mention of the holy fathers and bishops who have already fallen asleep, and, to put it simply, of all among us who have already fallen asleep; for we believe that it will be of very great benefit to the souls those for whom the petition is carried up, while this holy and most solemn Eucharist is laid out” (853)
St. John Chrysostom (AD 344-407): “Not in vain was it decreed by the Apostles that in the awesome Mysteries remembrance should be made of the departed. They knew that in this there was much gain for them”. (This is a statement made approximately 200 years after the death of St. John. Therefore, praying for the dead is an apostolic practice)
The early churches follow these apostolic practices even today, though there are some literary differences between the prayers. Claude Beauefort Moss in his book, "The Christian faith - An Introduction to Dogmatic Theology" states (p 440) “Prayer for the dead has been practiced in every age. It has never been rejected by the Church of England (note). It is found in the Epitaphs in the 17th and 18th Centuries. The objections raised to it in some quarters are the result of the eschatological theory of Calvin…”
112. Let us assume that a person lived a sinful life openly. When he dies, should we pray for him too?
The thief who had been living a sinful life was crucified and repented during his last minutes on the cross. So we don’t know whether a person had repented or not before his death. Only God knows this. Let us leave the judgment to God. We should not judge as we have no right to judge others. We pray for the dead so that God will bless them. It is a commandment from God that “Every one will be judged based on his own deeds.” God is not only just, but full of mercy and love. Until the day of resurrection, it is the time of mercy. Judgment doesn’t take place before this. Therefore in our prayers we beg for forgiveness and mercy for those who with hope in Christ, departed.
A Prayer from the Syrian Orthodox Church:
“O God! Full of mercy, renew your creation on the day of resurrection. Let them who died in your hope get relief and rest on the bosom of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and make them stand on your right side in the resurrection”
As shown earlier, in His house both the living and the dead
are alike. Both groups ‘live’. If we can pray for the people alive in this
world, we can also pray for the people alive in His nearness.
“For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s...... He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. “ (Rom 14:8,9)
“May he be blessed by the Lord who is ever merciful to the living and dead” (Ruth 2:20)
Since our Lord preached to people in the netherworld, it is a proof that He is sympathetic to the dead. (1 Peter 4:6 “For, for this cause the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, and live according to God in spirit.”)
As written by John “we have an advocate with the father, Jesus Christ, the righteous“ (1 John 2:1). Are we to think that Jesus Christ is an Advocate only for the living and not for those who are departed?
113. Who can benefit from our prayers?
Eligible: One who lived in Jesus Christ with a true belief and faith.
Not eligible: Those who lived in sin.
Here is a quote form the Rubrics of the Anglican Church during their cremation ceremony “The office is not to be used for any that dies un-baptized, or excommunicated, or have laid violent hands upon themselves.”
115. What is the
objective of prayers during the burial of the dead?
With death, the soul is separated from the body and the body turns to dust. At the end of the world, the body will rise and the soul will join it (John 5:28-29, Rom 6:5, 1 Cor. 15). Then he will be either punished or will receive everlasting life based on his acts. We should not have heretic views that only the saints will rise or that the soul will enter from one body to another and so on. After we rise from the dead, though there might be material changes to our body, everyone based on his good and evil deeds will be judged and then receive the blessings of God or punishments. This happens to us within our body. Therefore it is not lawful to bury the dead without prayers. We have hope for our resurrection (1 Thess. 4:3).
116.
In the early church the ones that believed in Jesus Christ and were baptized, and lived in Jesus Christ were called Saints. Now we call those who lived in Jesus Christ and who suffered for Jesus Christ, Saints.
117. Is it not heresy to pray for the mediation of Saints because Christ is the only mediator?
This question has been answered previously. (See section 4)
118. Where are the
Saints and what can they do?
This was discussed earlier. The following quotations will show that the saints who have died are having much more knowledge & understanding, and that they are living with the angels.
1 Cor. 13:12 – “For now we see through a mirror, darkly; but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (The dead will see our Lord and will receive wisdom)
“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad” (John 8:56). (i.e. Abraham wanted to see the day of the Savior and he saw it – which means that Abraham is alive). John also wrote in Revelations that the souls of the dead are with the angels.
“They (angels) rest not day and night saying holy, holy, holy, the Lord God Almighty… The four and twenty elders fall dawn before Him, that sat on the throne and worship” (Rev 4:8-10).
"And one of the elders said to me, Weep out; behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Scion of David, has prevailed and open the book…" (Rev 5:5). "…. In the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Sprits of God sent forth into all the earth" (Rev 5:6). "twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, and everyone of them had a harp and a cup of god full of incense and these were prayers of saints" (Rev 5:8). "And I looked, and I heard as it were the voice of many angles round about the throne and the animals and the elders; and their number was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands" (Rev 5:11). "And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshiped him who lives for ever and ever" (Rev 5:11). "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the sake of the word of God and for the testimony of the Lamp which they had. And they cried out a loud voice saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth. And a white robe was given to every one of them; and it was said to them that they should rest yet for a little while, until the time should be fulfilled when their brethren should be killed also as they had been" (Rev 6:9-11).
“And another angel came and stood at the altar, and he had a golden censor; and abundant incense was given to him, that he might offer it with prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne “ (Rev 8: 3, 4).
"All angels fell down around the throne and elders” (Rev 7:11; 14:17). “And the four and twenty elders who sat before the throne of God on their seats fell upon their faces and worshipped God” (Rev 11:16).
"Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, even Moses pointed it out (for he referred to it at the Bush) saying, The Lord God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” , “God is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to him” (Luke 20:37,38). Since it is said God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, even though they were physically dead, it shows that they still live in God.
Even the saints who stay with the angels have the attributes of angels. Some of the characteristics of angels are:
There are many incidents both in Old and New Testaments where angels talked to men such as Joseph, Peter, Paul, Cornalious, etc... Angels talked to John (Rev 17:1, 19:9, 10:21, 5:6-9; 22:9-10). The saints also talked to John (Rev 5:5, 7:13, 10:8, 14:13)
The messengers will protect you from evil and prevent you form it. (Gen. 48:16)
The angels will pity and pray for the relief of the people (Zech 1:12)
The angels will rejoice about “a sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10)
They will minister to those who inherit salvation (Heb 1:14)
They act as a mediator between God and man. (Luke 1: 11-26, Mathew 3)
They praise God. (Isaiah 6:3)
If angels are endowed with all these abilities, the saints also have them. Are all these abilities inherent? No, God gives it to them.
Do saints (or people who lived in God) with exceptional abilities lose them when they are with Jesus? (i.e. if they had some abilities when they were alive, will those abilities be taken away or destroyed when they die?) If this is the case how can we say that the 'people who die in Jesus Christ are blessed?'
What abilities?
Blind prophet Abijah could recognize the wife of Jeroboam (1 Kings 14:4-6)
Elisha was able to learn what Arameans were thinking in their war against Israel (2 Kings 6:8)
He was able to find out the cheating of his servant Gehazi (2 Kings 5:25)
Peter was able to decipher that both Ananyas and Saphira lied to him. (Acts 5:1-11)
Again in James 5:16-18 it is stated “fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” So what does this mean? Should we request to a righteous man for his prayers? Again St. Paul told the Colossians "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" (Col 1:9). Will St. Paul who said this, cease to pray for us when he is with Jesus Christ?
119. Are Saints omnipresent to hear everyone’s prayers?
No. Only God is omnipresent. God has given them all these abilities so that God may use them. They can go anywhere in the company of our Lord (Revelations).
Stephen saw the heaven opened and Jesus on the right side of the Father. Stephen saw this not because he was omnipresent but because our Lord gave him this power or privilege. Also remember that St. Paul was elevated to the third heaven. How did all this happen? The saints were righteous people, God renders to them these abilities. Paul was just an ordinary man. But God gave him the power to show and perform unusual miracles (Acts 19:11). Through the hands of the apostles, God did many wonders and signs (Acts 5:12,14:13). Through His name they became powerful (Acts 3:6). James says, “My brethren take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. Indeed we count them blessed who endure….” (James 5:10-11). St. Paul said “Remember those who rule over you. Who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow considering the outcome of their conduct” (Heb.13: 7). "The ears of the Lord are open unto their prayers." (1 Pet 3:12)
120. We can pray directly to Jesus Christ. Why request to Saints?
This question arises out of misunderstanding. All of our prayers are to our Lord. All that we request to the Saints is ‘‘Saints, You lived in such Christian faith, and you dedicated your life to Jesus Christ, please pray to Jesus Christ for us so that our Lord will listen to our prayers." St. Paul requested to those that were alive to pray for him, as we generally ask others ‘to pray for us’. Likewise, we request the saints, who are alive with Jesus Christ to pray for us.
Jesus Christ has asked us to pray for others. St. Paul has taught us the same and we obey this, and the Saints do likewise. This means that the Saints pray for others also. All that we request to these Saints is that when they pray for others, let me also be included in those prayers.
We are not replacing our Lord by making requests to the
saints. The ones that raise this
question believe that people are praying to Saints. This is not so. We are
requesting the Saints to pray to our Lord for us. Saints are not equal to our
Lord. We honor the Saints because they
loved our Lord.
Some people say that since we request to saints, we decrease the respect given to God. It does not because they earned this saint hood by living and dying in Jesus Christ.
If one studies the Old Testament, we can see that some people are liked more and cared for by
God. Examples:
“Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Look not upon the stubbornness of this people nor upon their wickedness and sin” (Deuteronomy 9:27)
“I will shield and save this city for my own sake, and for the sake of my servant, David” (Issa. 37:35)
“The Lord said to me: Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me, my heart would not turn toward this people” (Jeremiah 15:1)
God to Abimelech (to return Sarah to Abraham) (Gen 20:7)
Lord to Eliphaz and two friends (with respect to Job, that what they did speak correctly concerning Job) (Job 42: 8)
Moses for His people (Exodus 32:11-13, Num. 11:2, 21:7, 8:1; Samuel 7:9, 12:19,
The prophets (2 Kings 19:5, Jeremiah 37:6, 7, 42:2, 9)
Abraham (Gen. 10:23-32, )
Judah for Banyamin (Gen. 44:33)
Elisha and Elijah for the children (1 Kings 17:22, 2 Kings 4:33)
Lot (Gen. 19:12-18)
God has asked us to pray for each other. This has been
discussed in the previous questions. This message can be seen again in Mat.
5:44, Rom. 15:32, 2 Tess. 3-1, 2:5-25, Eph. 6:18-20.
“But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you...” (Matt 5:44)
“… Join me in the struggle by your prayers to God and on my behalf" (Roman 15:32)
“Finally, brothers pray for us, so that the word of Lord may speed forward and be glorified “ (2 Tess. 3:1,2)
“And pray always, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit; and in that prayer be watchful at all times, praying constantly and supplicating for all saints.“ (Eph 6:18-20)
The church of Smyrna regarding the martyrdom of Polycarpus in AD 155: -“ He (Polycarpus) is now glorifying God, Father Almighty, and praising our Lord Christ along with apostles and saints… We worship Christ as Son of God. We love martyrs, as they are followers and disciples of Christ. God allows us to assemble happily and celebrate their death anniversary”
Dr. Moss, Anglican Bible scholar: - “Our prayers to the blessed dead (saints) for their mediation is called comprecation. It is quite common in very old liturgy. There is nothing theological against it … Direct invocation is a request to the saints to pray for us, like “O Virgin Mary, Mother of God pray to God for us sinners now and even at our death”. The whole Christendom followed this practice till the16th century”
The book of Common prayer –revision service (1509 - 49) - ‘The mediatory prayers to Virgin Mary, to the angels and saints were removed during the period of Cramer. Still in the morning prayers of Sunday, Wednesday and Friday there is a prayer “ Lord remember not the trespasses of ours or our fore-father’s" Even before the 4th century it was customary to hold commemorating festivals of the Saints Stephan, Peter and Paul, and on that day there was no fasting. Such festivals originated from the custom of the early church doing ministry at the grave of the martyr on their date of death.
Mosheim in his "Institute of ecclesiastical history", states that ‘the practice of holding commemorative festival of martyrs began from the beginning of the church’.
Tertullain and St. Basil (AD 369) have written that they observed the death anniversary of saints.
But one has to remember that if we live in sin and pray or request to mediate for His blessings, it is futile. Examples:
1. David prayed for his illegitimate child, but the child died.
2. If we pray for material gain (James 4)
3. If we pray without doing the will of the Father
4. If we pray without repentance. (Jeremiah 7:16,17, 11:4, 15:1 1 John 5:14-17)
From this we can see that the early church invoked the mediator-ship of Saints.
121. The Syriac Orthodox Church reveres the remains and antiques
used by Saints? Isn’t this superstitious and against
the Bible and God?
It is true that our church respects the remains of saints and antiques belonging to these saints because it is biblical. Let us refer to Acts 19:12, “So that even the handkerchiefs and aprons were brought from his (St. Paul’s) body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil Spirits went out of them.” If we had these handkerchiefs or aprons, what should we do? Respect them as did the apostles, or should we throw them away?
Again in the Old Testament similar incidents are seen.
“Then he (Elisha) picked up Elijah’s mantle which had fallen from him, and went back and stood at the bank of Jordan. Wielding the mantle, which had fallen from Elijah, he struck the water in his turn and said, “Where is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” When Elisha struck the water, it divided and he crossed over.” (2 Kings 2:13-15)
“Once some people were burying a man, when suddenly they spied a raiding band. They cast the dead man into the grave of Elisha, and every one went off. When the dead man came in contact with the bones of Elisha, he came back to life and rose to the feet “ (2 Kings 13:21).
Elisha was humble enough to respect the mantle of Elijah. Will modern fellowships that refuse to respect Holy Relics throw this mantle away? Elisha’s bones had the power to make a dead man alive. If we had these bones today, what should we do? Throw it away or respect it?
God gave Samson water from dried bones. So it is possible that God can give His blessings from bones too. God is all-powerful. If the remains had these abilities, it is God’s power.
122. The Holy relics with the Syrian Orthodox Church.
St. Ignatius was martyred for Jesus Christ in AD 107. He was thrown into a lion’s den. It is written in AD 110 that, "Only harder part of his Holy relics were left and these were conveyed to Antioch and wrapped in linen as an inestimable treasure left to the Holy Church on account of the grace which was in the martyr." (Faith of Early Church Fathers)
St. Thomas received a girdle from St. Mary but the church had lost track of the girdle over a period of time. The supreme head of our church, Patriarch H.H. Ignatius Apram discovered a letter sent by the people of Homis in 1852, to the believers in Mardin. The letter said that St. Mary’s girdle was discovered and is kept buried under the sanctum of the church in Homis. His Holiness opened the Sanctum and discovered writings on a marble plate. It was written ‘This church was built in the time of the preacher called Malaya, [Elijah] in AD 59.” They also found a stone vessel and a silver vessel. The girdle was found in it. As the news spread, researchers questioned its authenticity. They examined it and were unanimous in their opinion about its genuineness and about the age of the girdle. Now it is kept in the church with much respect.
Over a period of time the church remained, even though it's members were subjected to heinous persecution. Its membership declined dramatically. We were able to preserve these relics and also maintained St. Mark’s home as a church. It was here Jesus Christ established the Eucharist, and had his Last Supper. This is where the apostles received the Holy Spirit. The apostles declared this as the first church and St. James celebrated the first Eucharist. The church praises the Lord for this.
123. Isn’t it wrong to
praise Virgin Mary and to call her mother of God?
People interpret the Bible by taking sentences from here and there and come up with their own conclusions. If one reads the gospels by Matthew and John alone, he would say that Jesus Christ has not ascended to Heaven because this is not mentioned in these books. This fact is written in Mark 16:19, and in Luke 24:50, 51. The point I want to make here is that, one has to learn the Bible well to understand it properly. This is beyond the capability of ordinary human beings. The church can do it because the apostles interpreted it for the church (The Apostolic traditions).
In answering the above question, we have to look at:
1) Is Virgin Mary blessed?
2) Did she remain a virgin?
3) Because she gave birth to the Son of God, is she the mother of God?
4) What does the Bible say and what did the early Christians believe regarding this?
1) Is Virgin Mary blessed?
The group who argues that St. Mary is not blessed quotes:
a) Luke 11:27-28 or a twisted version of it “…. The woman from the crowd raised her voice, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts, which nursed you." But he said “No, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” If Christ said the word ‘No’ it means that St. Mary is not blessed. But the question is did He say ‘No’? The fact is that the word ‘No’ was added later. It is not found in KJV, or in Scofield, or in Peshitta Syriac, or in most of the translations. Isn’t it a grave sin that someone dared to add a word to our Lord’s words to insult one of the most blessed persons!
[“While he was saying these things, a woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice and said to him, Blessed is the womb which bore thee and paps which you have sucked. But He said, yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it.” (From KJV)]
Since a Protestant group proposes this argument let us look at what some of the prominent Protestant leaders say about this. “Christ doesn’t deny that his mother is blessed” (Dummalo, 753). “Jesus, response indicates that in the struggle against evil the important thing is not to give lip service to himself and his mother, but to hear the word of God and keep it” (Interpretors-1, Vol. Com 690)
b) Having said this, let us look into some verses from the gospels about St. Mary, to see if she is blessed or not
“… for behold all generations will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48)
“Elizabeth was filled with Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb”…”why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” “Blessed is she who believed for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord” (Luke 41-45).
“.. the angel said to her, “Rejoice highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women.” (Looking at all these sentences, isn’t it an unforgivable sin to insult St. Mary after using ‘NO’ for an ‘YES’ thereby twisting words used in the Bible. Even Elizabeth who was filled with the Holy Spirit called her blessed. Should we neglect her?)
But the Protestant interpreters will do much more. Here is a verse from the Bible to show how people can make things up or self interpret. This is from Luke 10:42. Jesus visited Martha and Mary. Jesus told Martha “Only one thing is needed,” The Interpreters Vol 1 Commentary says (P.689) “It is not clear whether the one which is needed refers simply to the number of dishes or has some spiritual significance” Why is the author ‘not clear’? It is because no one is there to enlighten him. Here we can see the importance of apostolic tradition?
c) Another verse twisted and is often used in the Authorized Version is John 2:4, “Woman, what have I to do with thee?”
The argument about the above sentence is 1) Jesus called Mary ‘woman’ which represents a lack of respect and 2) He asked ‘what relation between us?’
Before we come to a conclusion, let us look into a few more editions of the Bible and see if the author had altered anything?
KJV - “What have I to do with thee?”
Scofield Bible - “What have I to do with thee?”
Good News Bible - “You must not tell me what to do” (i.e. I know what to do!)
Good News for Modern Man - “You must not tell me what to do”
The Open Bible - “What does your concern to do with me?”
Latin Vulgate - “ Woman, what to me and to you “
Syrian Bible “ Mo Lee Ulehk” ( Mo=what, Lee=home, ulekh=and to thee)
What is it to me and to you, woman (Lamsa’s Peshitta Translation)
From the above, it is obvious that these Bibles do not support the view that Christ said, “what is the relation between us?”
I don’t think even the worst criminal would say to his mother ‘we have no relation between us.’ How can Jesus Christ who lived as a model for us, say that? Since we all are to take Him as the model, should we disrespect our mothers too? Not a chance. Any way, since the Protestants brought these kinds of interpretations, let us see what other Protestant scholars are saying about this, in their commentaries:
Burkit - “What is that to me and to the thee. - ie. never mind -Don’t be worried,”
Souter - “What is a little thing like that to you and me.”
George Philip, author of (a Syrian grammar ) - ‘Mo lee Ulek’ means “What to me and thee”
Rev. William Barkclay - (who was a lecturer in the University of Glasgow in New Testament literature) - “The Authorized Version translation of Jesus, reply makes it sound very discourteous. It makes Him say woman, what have I to do with thee. That is indeed a true translation of words, but doesn’t in any way give the tone. It means - Don’t worry, you don’t understand what is going on. Leave things to me and I will settle them in my own way. The word woman is also misleading. It sounds to us very rough and abrupt. But it is the same word Jesus used when on the cross. He addressed Mary as he left her to the care of John. So far from rough and discourteous way of address, it was a title of respect. We have no way of speaking in English, which exactly renders it, but it is better to translate it as 'Lady' "
Dummalow - “Woman or rather lady is in Greek, a title of respect, used even in addressing queens."
Dr. West cot –“The word in Greek used is ‘Gunai’. The Protestant scholars Liddcl and Scott in their Greek encyclopedia say this word is equivalent to Lady, and that this word is used with lots of respect, courtesy and love “
Richard, the Protestant Bishop of Dwablin, (Sermons on various subjects) says - “The word Gunai (=woman) as it is translated into English is not so hard and severe. In Greek literature, this word is used to denote queens”
In the first century AD, St. Ignatius had recorded that Virgin Mary is blessed. Even the people who raised this argument agree to this (Mariolatory, Page 7). The first church established by the apostles (Marks house) was in Mary’s name. The Church Fathers of the 1st Century have recorded that St. John had written a book and had kept it in Ephesus, and in that book it said that, “St. Mary’s death was in Greek year 374 or AD 63, and her memory should be celebrated three times a year.”
124. Since it is referred to in the Bible that Jesus had ‘brothers’, how can we call St. Mary a Virgin?
During the apostolic times itself, there were people who said that Jesus was the son of Joseph. In order to counter these people, the apostles themselves have said that Mary was a virgin. Later, ‘Helvidius’ proposed this heresy in AD 380. His account was that since it is said the ‘first born’ of Mary, it is possible that there might be sons after Jesus and that since it is written ‘he did not know her till Christ's birth’ - it means that later after His birth Joseph knew her. He maintained that after the birth of our savior, Mary came together with Joseph and that the persons whom the Bible calls brothers of the Lord were the children of this union.
Ever since the beginning of the church, St. Mary was hailed the mother of God (more evidences later). Just by thinking logically, since she was chosen to bear God, is there a chance that she can bear anyone else’s child? “Not possible if one thinks logically” says Protestant Bishop Bull.
Dummalow says that there are three opinions regarding the usage of "brothers"
1) One proposed by Helvidius
2) One by St. Jerome (AD 383)
3)
St. Ephipanus (AD 315)
We have already discussed about Helvidius.
St. Jerom :- He said that ‘brothers’ means sons of St. Mary’s sister Mary, who was married to Cleoppa.
Epiphanius said - "The half brothers of Jesus Christ. They are sons of Joseph, from his first marriage."
The latter two says that St. Mary had no other children.
There are many evidences that show that St. Mary was a virgin. From the second century it is believed, and said, (and written) that she was a virgin. Had she been a mother of a large family, it would be almost impossible that she would been called a Virgin. Looking at Luke 1:26-38 one can infer that, Joseph agreed to her being a virgin. If Jesus had brothers of names James, Jacob, Simon, and Jude, it is very unlikely that Jesus will entrust the care of His mother to John.
We can see in Luke 2:48 that Joseph is referred to as Jesus' father. But in Luke 33, 41, 43, it refers to them
as ‘Father and mother.’ The public
thought that Joseph was his
father (Luke 3:23). Likewise the public called Joseph’s sons from his
first wife (or Mary’s sister’s sons) Jesus’ brothers.
One of the arguments was that, since Jesus is referred to as the first born, there were other sons. This is incorrect. According to Jewish custom, one would call the first son as first-born whether or not that child had younger ones or not. Luke 2:22, Exodus 13:12, and Hebrew 1:6, all refers to first borns. In Hebrews 1:6, “He brings the first born into the world, He says: 'Let all the angles of God worship Him'.” So did this mean (based on the argument above) ‘more sons of God?’ Obviously not.
Mar Aprem’s prayers:- “He (Jesus) being the first born of God, by His love, became first born of Mary”
Since it is written that ‘She did not know men till His birth’, some argue that Joseph would have known her after His birth. This is also a guess based on false understanding of the language. In Psalms 110:1 it is written, “The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” Does it mean that Jesus Christ will change (i.e. will not sit at the right hand) after His Second Coming? These kinds of usages can be seen in 1 Kings 15:35, Genesis 8:5. So it is obvious that by interpreting as above, one gives a negative meaning to the real purpose of these sentences.
Most of you would have heard of St. Athanasius. He was the one who fought against the Heresy of Arius who said that the Son and Father are not equal, in the synod of Nicea and had suffered for this cause. Arius in his article written to the people, hails her as ‘Ever-Virgin Mary’ (767a).
St. Ignatius (AD 110) calls Mary, Virgin Mary (42)
Didymus (313AD –398) “for neither did Mary, who is to be honored and praised above all others, marry anyone, nor did she ever become the Mother of anyone else, but ever after childbirth she remained always and forever a spotless virgin” (1073)
St. Augustine of Hippo (AD 334) “A Virgin conceiving, a Virgin bearing, a Virgin pregnant, a Virgin bringing forth, a Virgin perpetual. Why do you wonder at this, O man? It was fitting for God to be born thus.”(1518)
St. Cyril of Alexandria (AD 423) “He kept his mother a virgin even after child bearing“ (2133)
St. Peter of Chrysologus (AD 405) “Where are they who think that the Virgin’s conceiving and the Virgin’s giving birth are just like those of other women? Theirs is of world and hers is of heaven. Hers is by divine power and theirs is by human weakness….A Virgin conceived, a Virgin bore, and Virgin she remains.” (2177)
Note that in many languages including Syriac, there is no word to denote ‘COUSIN’. In the English language, children from the same father and mother are termed 'brothers' and others 'brethern.' Refer to Mat. 3:31 – (Scholfields Bible), Mathew 12:46, Luk 8:19-20, Acts 1:14, where you would see the word being used is brethren. In Mark 6:3 the names of the brethern are given: James, Jose, Jude, and Simon. At the foot of the cross there were Mary Magdeline, and Mary of the mother of James and Jose (Mat. 27:56). The marginal note says that James and Jose were the sons of Alphacus. The 3rd person Jude, the author of the Epistles of Jude says that, he is the brother of James and Jose (1:1). Their mother Mary, had been a cousin of St. Mary.
All of the early church fathers who were persecuted and martyred and lived during the first and second century proclaims St. Mary as 'virgin mother of God', but people in the 20th century insults her and rejects her!
In order to prove that St. Mary is not a virgin, some quote Psalms 69:9. “I have become an outcast to my kin, a stranger to my mother’s children.” They argue that the whole of this Psalm is about Jesus suffering and so ‘my mother’ referred to here is St. Mary! If you read on, you can understand that ‘one is not willing to suffer‘ is being subject to exhaustion and suffering, and the next few sentences are full of curses on people who cause all this. Do you or can anyone ever think that our Lord, who taught us to pray for our enemies will do all that cursing? Then who are these 'brothers'? (see Appendix A)
125. Can we call St. Mary
'mother of God' and if so, is she a Goddess?
This question arises out of a lack of understanding of Christian Theology. God is a mystery and is difficult for us to interpret with our limited human logic. This is why the apostles taught us and warned us to guard against all other forms of teachings.
When we say that Mary is the mother of God, she is the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and is God. She was not the mother when the Word was formed from the Father. When the Word wanted to become body, He chose St. Mary. She carried Him in her womb, the Son of God, who is God. Thus she delivered God, Jesus Christ. If we argue that she gave birth to a human child, it is the same heresy as Nestor taught in the 4th century. The people who argue that St. Mary is not the mother of God, will not accept Nestor or his teachings. St. Cyril (AD 433) asks if Jesus Christ is God; then why is that the Lady who carried Him in her womb, and delivered Him, doesn’t become the mother of God?
Who started calling St. Mary the mother of God? It was the Holy Spirit, who first called her mother of God. “Elizabeth was filled with Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb”....”Why is the mother of my Lord should come to me?” “Blessed is she who believed for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord” (Luke 41-45). We have to observe that Elizabeth called Mary ‘Mother of my Lord.’ Even though Mary would have been of the age of Elizabeth’s daughter, Elizabeth called her mother of the Lord, when she was filled with Holy Spirit.
Now let us see what the Early Church Fathers believed and taught
St. Irenaeus (AD 140 – 202) - “The Word Himself, born of Mary who still was a Virgin, rightly received in birth the recapitulation of Adam, thereby recapitulating Adam in Himself (223). Consequently, then Mary, the Virgin is found to be obedient, saying: “Behold, O Lord, your handmaid; be it done to me according to your word”(224) ”The Virgin Mary…being obedient to His word, received from an angel the glad tidings that she would bear God” (256a)