Section 1

(Salvation, Jesus, Faith, The Bible & Interpretation)

 

Section 2  (Tradition, Church

Fathers,

Baptism)

 

Section 3  (Chrism, The Church, Apostolic Succession, Eucharist -

Qurbana)

 

Section 4  (Intercession,

Prayers for the dead, Priesthood, Confession)

 

 Section 5  (Death cont.., St. Mary, The Cross, Saints, Fasting & Lent, Written-Prayers,  'Brothers') 

   

40 Questions Answered

 

STIGNATIOUS.COM

Section 5

 

DEATH / PRAYERS FOR THE DEPARTED

 

110. Why should we pray for the dead?

111. Isn't prayers for the dead a later addition by the Church?

112. Let us assume that a person lived a sinful life openly. when he dies should we pray for him too? 

113. Who can benefit from our prayers?

115. What are the objective of prayers during burial of the dead?

        - Refusing to pray for the faithful departed: Biblical or not? -

 

 

SAINTS

 

116. Is there a special section called saints?

117. Is it not heresy to pray for the mediation of Saints because Christ is the only mediator?

118. Where are the Saints and what can they do?

119. Are Saints omnipresent to hear everyone's prayers?

120. We can pray directly to Jesus Christ. Why request to Saints?

121. The Syrian Orthodox Church reveres the remains and antiques used by Saints? Isn't this superstitious

        and against the Bible and God?

122. The Holy relics with the Syrian Orthodox Church.

 

 

MARY THE MOTHER OF GOD

 

123. Isn't it wrong to praise Virgin Mary and to call her mother of God? 

124. Since it is referred in the Bible that Jesus had 'brothers', how can we call St. Mary a virgin?

125. Can we call St. Mary 'mother of God' and if so, is she a Goddess?

127. Isn't the prayer 'Hail Mary full of grace...' against the Bible?

 

 

THE CROSS / FESTIVALS

 

128. Doesn't your Church keep icons and idols and worship them?

129. You have festivals marked by big celebrations. Wasn't this copied from other religions?

130. Respecting the cross and kissing it etc... are all against the Bible and against the Ten Commandments-        Comment.

What does the Cross signify?

131. The bells, candles, other lamps in the church and burning of incense - are they not copied from the

        gentiles?

132. Prostrating in prayer, praying on ones death anniversary and offering sacrifices on that day, and the use

       of gold among church members are all against God. Aren't they all copied from the gentiles?

 

 

FASTING AND LENT / WRITTEN PRAYERS / BROTHERS

 

133. I hear your church has Fasting and Lents? Is this in the Bible? In fact St. Paul says: "One person

       believes that one may eat any thing, while the weak person eats only vegetables..., the one who

       abstains should not pass judgment on on who eats (Rom.14:3)

134. Your church encourages offerings and vows. Isn't this a bribe to please God?

135. Your church has written prayers. Isn't it better for one to compose their own prayers than to read from

        someone else's prayer?

 

Conclusion

 

Appendix A - Did Jesus Have any 'Brothers'?

 

 

 

PREVIOUS (Section 4) 

 40 QUESTIONS ANSWERED

                                       

 

 

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

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. 

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?

 

Refusing to pray for the faithful departed: Biblical or not? (click here)

 

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.  Is there a special section called saints?

 

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:

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?

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: 

  Even God Himself orders people:

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. 

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.

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

 

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?

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:

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) 

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).

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)

 

St. Ephraim (AD 306 AD 373) - He has written much about Virgin Mary the mother of God and sings, “In the womb of Mary the Infant was formed, who from the eternity is equal to the Father …… This Virgin became a Mother while preserving her virginity; And though still a Virgin she carried a Child in her womb; And the handmaid and work of His wisdom became the Mother of God”(711) “You alone and your Mother are more beautiful than any others; For there is no blemish in you, nor any stains up on your Mother. Who of my children can compare in beauty to these.” (719)

 

Alexander of Alexandria (AD 328) -  “…After this we acknowledge the resurrection of the dead, of which Jesus Christ our Lord became the firstling; who bore a body not in appearance but in truth, derived form Mary the Mother of God.” (680)

 

St. Gregory of Nazianz (AD 330 –389) - “If any one doesn’t agree that Holy Mary is the mother of God, he is at odds with the Godhead. If any one asserts that Christ passed through the Virgin as through a channel, and was not shaped in her both divinely and humanly, divinely because without man and humanly in accord with the law of gestation, he is likewise godless.” 

 

St. Ephiphanius (AD 374): “For this is the Holy Savior who came down from the heaven, who deigned to fashion our salvation in a virginal workshop,…. Who did not change His nature when He took on humanity along with his divinity? Who took on the human flesh and soul; being perfect at the side of the Father and incarnate among us, not in appearance but in truth, He reshaped man to perfection in Himself became flesh, not ceasing to be God, not changing divinity into humanity, but with the proper fullness of His divinity and with the proper Person of God the Word” (1087)

 

St. Jerome (AD 408) - “Do not marvel at the novelty of the thing, if a Virgin gives birth to God, …… “

 

St. Cyril of Alexandria: “I have always amazed that some are utterly in doubt as to whether or not the Holy Virgin is able to be called Mother of God. For if our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how should the Holy Virgin who bore Him not be the mother of God?  But perhaps you will then inquire: “Tell me, then, was the Virgin the Mother of His divinity?” And to this we will respond that His living and enhypostate Word is confessedly begotten to of the very essence of the God and Father and has His subsistence with out beginning in time, always co-existing with the Father who begot Him, co-subsisting and co-discerned in Him and with Him. And in these last times of the age, when He was made flesh, that is, when He was united to a body having rational soul, He is said to have been also in fleshly manner of a woman (2059). We confess that the Holy Virgin is the Mother of God “(2060).

 

St. John Cassian (AD 429)  “ let us prove by divine testimonies both that Christ is God and that Mary is the Mother of God “ (2054)

 

 

127.  Isn’t the prayer ‘Hail Mary full of grace….’ against the Bible?

 

We will take each sentence from the prayer and see if it is against the Bible or not. The prayer in dispute is:

 

    Hail Mary Full of grace, Our Lord is with thee. Blessed art Thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, our Lord, Jesus Christ. O Virgin Saint Mary, O Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at all times, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

[In Syriac - ‘slom leck Mariyam Malyas Thybooso.’  Slom is a greeting (hail=greet) word among Jews. This is how it became Hail Mary…]

 

 Elizabeth who was filled with Holy Spirit said:

How can what the angel and a person filled with the Holy Spirit said be against the Bible? The next sentence is a request to Virgin Mary to pray for us. We have seen from the previous questions that, Mary is the mother of God, and that saints are living in Christ, and that we should intercede through them.

 

 

128.  Doesn’t your church keep icons and idols, and worship them?

 

No, we don’t keep or worship any idol. It is grossly incorrect. Idolatry means the worship of an image held to be the abode of a superhuman personality. It is true that we have pictures in our churches, but we don’t pray to it and we don’t believe those pictures have any holy power from God present in them. They are pictures of people whom we love. I am sure that many of our family albums have our loved one's pictures. Do we believe that these pictures have any supernatural powers? The currency of England (‘Pound') has the picture of their patron St. George on it. Are they praying to the coins? No, it is meant as a respect to the patron. Likewise we keep pictures of people who lived and died for Jesus Christ in our churches because of our respect for them. We don’t pray to these pictures.

 

 

129.  You have festivals marked by big celebration? Wasn’t this copied from other religions?

 

No, we have seen that the early church celebrated the memories of saints as solemn days (or death anniversaries). This tradition is continued even today. The most important aspect of this is our prayers for the saints, and our request for their prayers for us. 

 

 

130. Respecting the cross and kissing it etc... are all against the Bible and against the Ten Commandments - Comment.

 

Traditional churches through out the world respect the cross. It is only the modern Christian communities who speak against the cross. Yet my duty is to teach all, against all such interpretations and arguments, however irrelevant it may be, and however small the community may be.

 

The proponents of this argument quote one of the 10 commandments. “I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods beside me” Exodus (29:1-3). They suggests that respecting the cross (to make, respect, and bowing to a cross) is against this law of God. In the book of Exodus we can see that God asked Moses to erect a bronze snake” and commanded to look to it to be saved. Wasn’t it against the commandment of God? Again Moses made a propitiatory and cherubim and prayed to it (Exodus 25:22, 2 Samuel 6:5, 14). So didn’t Moses and the people there break that law (i.e. the 10 commandments).

 

People bring all sorts of arguments against the truth. Recently I read that the churches took the cross from the gentiles, as they had something similar to a cross. The same article states that Christ was not crucified on a cross but on a single piece of wood. The Bible clearly states that His hands were nailed and that He was crucified along with two criminals.

Saying all this, we never explained what the cross is, what it signifies, and why we use it as a respected symbol. We can always make a case against the cross by arguing that it was used to crucify Jesus and instead of respecting it, we should hate it. Then why is it that we respect the cross?

 

What does the cross signify?

 

A cross signifies the essence of the gospels. We make a sign of the cross by bringing down the hand from the forehead to the chest and from chest to the left shoulder and then to the right shoulder. Moving your hand from forehead to the chest signifies that Jesus came down from heaven to earth for our sins, and moving the hand from chest to the left shoulder says that his beloved people were under the sins of Satan, and by moving from the left to the right shoulder signifies that Jesus liberated us from the shackles of Satan to the status of children of God.

 

This practice of signing ourselves with the cross did not develop in the church over a period of time as is alleged. The early church members had this practice.

 

Tertullian (AD 155) “We take anxious care lest something of our Cup or Bread should fall upon the ground. At every forward step and movement, when coming in and going out, when putting on our clothes, when putting on our shoes, when bathing, when at table, when lighting the lamps, when reclining, when sitting, in all the ordinary occupations of our daily lives, we furrow our forehead with the sign of the cross.” (367)

 

St. Cyril of Jerusalem (AD 315 - 386) St. Cyril who was the Bishop of Jerusalem has written about the cross on which Christ was crucified and was discovered by Queen Helane from Jerusalem. “The Holy wood of the Cross among us seen to the present day and now fillings almost the whole world by means of those, who in faith, take away from here portions of it.” 

 

St. Jerome who was the contemporary of Queen of Helena says “Prostrate before the cross, she worshipped as though she saw the Lord hanging thereon.” The Biblical Encyclopedia says that it is certain that the Christians made the sign of the cross on themselves in the 2nd century. 

 

Mar Baselious (AD 329-379) says that ‘the apostles established the practice of crossing themselves. Before dining they used to draw a cross on the food. Soldiers would cross on his forehead. When we pray or when we read the Bible or when we preach we will do a cross. During the time of Baptism we draw a cross on the forehead and chest. Also one would do a cross in our prayers (Majority of the modern churches do not sign themselves a cross). Eusebious has stated that there were crosses with jewels embedded in it during his time (4th century).

The cross reminds the church that it is the basis of Christianity and all of the sacraments. When we bow and kiss the cross, it is a kiss in respect to Jesus Christ who died on the cross for us.

 

 

131.  The bells, candles, other lamps in the church, and burning of incense -- Are they not copied from the gentiles?

 

Most people try to evaluate or interpret without reading the Bible properly. One Christian community which propose this view use drums and other musical instruments inside the church. So the argument finally falls down to this, if one uses a bronze bell inside the church, it is anti-Christian, but a drum-set is Christian. What a contradiction? Any way, I was just pointing out the fallacy of the argument. Now let us examine the Bible and see why this is so.

 

The bell is rung to remind believers about the time of prayer, and also during the important parts of the celebration of Eucharist.

 

There is an argument against candle burning and incense. Let me quote from the Book of Exodus “You shall order the Israelites to bring you clear oil of crushed olives, to be used for the light so that you may keep lamps burning regularly.  From the evening to morning Aaron and his sons shall maintain them before the Lord in the meeting tent, outside the veil, which hangs in front of the commandments. This shall be perpetual ordinance for the Israelites though out their generation.”  (Exodus 27:20-21)

 

[In fact, Exodus has so many orders from God as to what a priest should wear, how to pray, what to do etc... Readers are requested to read Exodus in full]

 

Please refer to Luke 1:9. “According to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. Then the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering.” This means people continued to do what the Lord ordered for generations and it was done even at the times of Zechariah, father of John the Baptist.

 

Jesus Christ did not stopped this either. He went to the temple and asked the business people to go out, but never stopped these customs ordered by God.

 

The apostles continued this, and it existed throughout the apostolic times. They also used candles and incense, as was the tradition. In the revelations of John, incense and candles were not against the Lamb (Christ):

 

“Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a gold censer. He was given great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones on the golden altar that was before the throne. The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of Angel.” (Rev 8:3-4)

 

Again “From the throne, came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Seven flaming torches burned in front of the throne which are seven Spirits of God” (Rev 4:5).

 

Use of all these in our prayers also has symbolic meanings. Our Lord said “I am the Light of the world.” So when we pray to Him:

 

1.  We should be lighted by our Lord

2.  We should be free from our darkness of sins.

3.  Like a candle which burns itself to light others, you should burn yourself for Jesus Christ and be useful to others.

4. Like the incense, which melts to spread the fragrance, we with our good deeds should be pleasing to others. “Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” (Mat. 5:16)

 

We have seen that the candle lights, incense, etc... are ordered by God for each generation, and that it was practiced by the generations up to the apostolic times, and that it was continued by the apostles and the early church.

 

 

132. Prostrating in prayer, praying on ones death anniversary, offering sacrifices on that day, and the use of gold among church members are all against God. Aren’t they all copied from the gentiles?

 

Prostrating (kneeling):

  Celebration of death anniversary:  

  Use of gold ornaments by members:

 

The church members use gold. The church does not encourage any one to use gold. Nor do I believe that, using too much gold ornaments is something that should be appreciated. For a Christian, simplicity should be the motto. But using gold ornaments is not against God. The Bible says that God is not against gold or its use (Exodus 28, 5:6, 8, 13, 14:15, 22-24, 26-27, 33-34).

 

I recently heard from one Protestant pastor that ladies in their community couldn’t wear gold ornaments as it is against God. Abraham the father of all nations, gave his daughter-in-law Rebecca, ornaments (“Then he brought our objects of silver and gold and articles of clothing and presented them to Rebecca”). Since Abraham did this, and God expressed no displeasure, why should we ban woman from wearing it?

 

Again St. Paul says, “Similarly [too] woman should adorn themselves with proper conduct, modesty, and self control, not with braided hair styles and gold ornaments or pearls or expensive clothes but rather as befits women who profess reverence for God with good deeds.” This is the sentence quoted by some who teach that, gold should not be used. But what this sentence says is, it is not ornaments or dress that matters to God, but good deeds.

 

 

133. I hear your church has Fasting and Lents? Is this in the Bible? In fact St. Paul says “One person believes that one may eat any thing, while the weak person eats only vegetables...,the one who abstains should not pass judgment on one who eats” (Rom 14:3).

 

In 1 Tim 4:3 it says, “They forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving, by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected when received with thanks giving, for it is made holy by the invocation of God in prayer.” Since St. Paul said this, why fast?

 

When we analyze a sentence from the Bible, we should explore its context too. This means who said it, where it was said, and in what context. If you don’t keep these factors in mind when one quotes, one makes erroneous conclusions. By quoting 1 Cori. 7:12-13, one can easily prove a point that a Christian can have a non-Christian spouse. But we all know that St. Paul made this arrangement not as a rule forever, but only for early Christian conversions. 

 

The church says that one should fast like how our Lord and apostles did, and should remain faithful to the ways they taught us to fast and pray. St. Paul says, “to mortify the deeds of the body” (Rom 8:13) and “Now those who belong to Christ have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires” (Gala 5:24) and again “Put to death, then, parts of you that are earthly;” (Col 3:5). What does he mean and how does one follow this? Fasting and Lent helps us to fulfill this. We have seen people like, Moses, Elijah, David, Nehamiah, Esther, Daniel, the disciples of John, Hanna, and the early Christians, Cornelius, apostles, St.. Paul, the Israelites and above all our Lord fasting. Our Lord showed us the need for fasting and taught us how to fast. “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.” (Mat 6: 16-18).

 

Fasting should be in the name of God and for God. “There up on this word of Lord of hosts came to me. ‘Say to all the people of the land and to the priests; when you fasted and mourned in the fifth and in the seventh month these seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted?’” (Zach 7:5)

 

It should be for humbling of the soul (Psalm 35:13, 69:10). God ordered Adam to take Lent. The apostles fasted when they anointed the ministers (Acts 13:3, 14:23). From the above we can easily understand that it is God’s order and every one loved by God fasted. Therefore the Syrian Orthodox Church also follows it. This is not something that was created in the later centuries but was practiced from the time of Adam till this day. Again in AD 180, Irenaeus recorded that this practice existed a long time before his period.

 

If you belong to a Christian community, who still find it difficult to obey what our Lord taught and practiced, and from the teachings of the apostle and prophets, I can bring in more evidence from their own church leaders. Anglican’s one of the early Protestant churches says that fasting existed in the early church in their own book of common prayers.

 

In the book of common prayers of the Anglican Church it is recorded that the Big Lent of preparation is observed before Easter. This was being observed from the apostolic period, as is testified by St. Irenaeus (AD 180). Protestant Bishop Beveridge says that St. Eusebius, Athanasius, Basil, Augustin, Cyril etc.. testify that fasting and Lent were instituted by apostles and was practiced. Thertullian talks about fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays.

 

[Note: The Syrian orthodox church observes lent on all Wednesdays and Fridays except those between Easter and Pentecost and also on five other occasions, the larger of those during the fifty days before Easter. Others are ten days before Christmas, three days of Nineveh, five days before the death anniversary of St. Mary, and three days in honor of the apostles]

 

Prayer is to be said seven times daily. At dawn (when God created light), at 9 am (when Jesus was judged by Pilate), at noon (when He was crucified), and at 3 pm (when He died and the whole nature trembled), at the dusk and at bedtime (for a peaceful night). Those for whom it is in-convenient to pray seven times, it is split into two groups, one group of prayers in the dawn and the other at dusk.

 

Regarding fasting and Lent, some people criticize it by quoting –“Any thing that goes into the mouth does not defile man”, which is what our Lord said. But such critics may well remember that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit through their mouth, which defiled not only themselves but also the whole human race.

 

 

More on Lent

 

Lent is not mere fasting alone, but contains 1) Prayer 2) Fasting 3) Self Restraint 4) Charity and other good deeds 5) Confession.

 

What is fasting? How can we accomplish this? When should we observe fasting?

 

Let us look into the Bible

 

  From the New Testament

 

From the Old Testament 

Therefore, Lent is necessary. Our Lord commanded it. It was there during the Old Testament time and was continued by the apostles and continues in the Lord’s Church for ones spiritual growth.

 

 

134.   Your church encourages offerings and vows. Isn’t it a sort of bribe to please God?

 

Please refer to the following passages from the Bible.

Jesus Christ taught us to bring offerings to the altar (church). “If it happen therefore that while you are presenting your offerings upon the altar, and right there you remember that your brother has any grievance against you, leave your offerings there upon altar, and first go and make peace with your brother, and then come back and present your offering” (Mat 5:23). Jesus Christ did not scoff at the widow who gave her offering to the church but praised her! (Again refer to Nehemiah 13:10,12 Malachi 3:10). One has to understand that offerings are not bribes, but an act of thanksgiving and sacrifice.

 

 

135. Your church has written prayers. Isn’t it better for one to compose their own prayers than to read from someone else’s prayer?’

 

I assume that these critics do not use any written prayers. What makes these critics think that their prayer is what our Lord desires? What makes them think that it is complete? Isn’t it pride to think that one is complete in all aspects of their own created prayers?

 

Even the apostles asked our Lord to teach them what to pray. Instead of telling them to pray according to how they like, our Lord taught them what to pray and they prayed what was taught to them (Mat 6:9-13). Some Christian communities have too much spiritual pride to the extent that they don’t even utilize the prayers used by the apostles.

 

“In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your father knows what you need before you ask them.” (Mat. 6:7)  This is what our Lord said about prayer. Therefore it is obvious that ‘not all forms of prayers are good’. 

 

In that context, the prayers used by the Church were written by the apostles of Jesus Christ, by their disciples, by early church fathers that learned from them, and were in most instances martyred or had suffered for Jesus Christ. The church can trace its prayer’s back to the time of St. John.

 

Our prayers are authored for each occasion and you can compare our church’s prayers with your own or with anyone else’s and you will see that our prayers are complete and special. You will realize how meaningful these prayers are. If you are not convinced we can prove it. We encourage you to read our prayers and you can decide for yourself.

         

The church has not confined anyone to written prayers. We have prayers seven times a day and have special prayers for each day of the week. But if you want you can pray 24 hours a day and no one will stop you from doing that. In fact if you can do this, it is well and good.

 

“Written prayers are an aid to prayer as they are very rich in their contents and were written down by people of greater spirituality than ourselves. Mechanical repetition or parrot-like recitations of written prayers are not what is expected of the faithful, but slow praying with real concentration. Written prayers prevent us from our natural tendency to be selfish in submitting our own needs before God without a penitential heart.”

 

 

GLORY TO GOD

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

When I was about to write the conclusion, our Lord showed me this passage from the Bible. “The disciples approached him privately and said, Tell us when will this happen, and what sign will there be of your coming and of the end of age?”

 

Jesus replied by saying, “see that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, I am Messiah, and they will deceive many…”. “Many false prophets will arise and deceive many and because of the increase of evil doing, the loved, many will grow cold. But one who preserves to the end will be saved. And this gospel will be known through out the world as a witness to all nations and then the end will come.”  

 

I am just an agent fulfilling the last sentence mentioned above by our Lord. From the Apostolic times, the whole Christendom had abided by the true faith. From the 18th century, newer thoughts, interpretations, and teachings surfaced, which attracts even the elect, bombarding them with ‘Christian messages’ through radios, television sets, and through other mediums. We can see that this period is almost towards the end. There are false teachers and teachings everywhere, deceiving people in the name of Jesus Christ. Be very cautious. Unfortunately, it is not enough to believe in Jesus Christ or to be a Christian. One has to believe in everything that the apostles taught; otherwise you have been mislead.

 

Jesus Christ came to save us and established a church and an administration. During our Lord’s time, some people did not believe in him and crucified him. Even during the apostolic times, there were people who taught against the apostles and propagated their own interpreted Christian views. This continues even today, but at a larger scale.

 

If you feel that you need to believe in what Jesus Christ and the apostles taught contact us. Our Lord is waiting for you, each one of you.

 

Please Visit

http://sor.cua.edu/

 

Contact:

Syrian Orthodox Churches

Coptic Orthodox Churches

 

References 

 

Appendix A

 

 

Who are these "Brothers"? (Did Jesus have any brothers?)

 

The Greek word for "brothers" is  "adelphos", and is a compound word. Adelphos   à  A   + delph . "A" means 'same' and "delph" means 'womb'. So some Protestants argue that these  "brothers" of Jesus must be from the same womb as Himself and thus are children of Mary, His mother. 

 

However, this is an etymological fallacy. The derivation of a word, its etymology, will give you the history of a word, but does not necessarily give you the correct definition of that word. For example, Plato (429 -347 BC) in his LAWS XI 924 E for his model state: "That brother [ADELPHOS] who is born of the same father or of the same mother … " Therefore, the word  "adelphos" cannot necessarily mean from the same womb.  Plato also uses the same word to mean  "kindred” or “relatives."

 

In which manner is this word used in reference to Jesus Christ? Was it used in terms of its etymological meaning or was it used to mean as defined by Plato? Let us consider other versus where the word "adelphos" is used, and try to understand in what context this word is used.

 

The phrase "His mother's sister," in John 19.25  [verse quoted below], is a reference to mother of the sons of Zebedee a.k.a  Salome, (Mat. 20:20), Luke 5:10. This is evident when we compare Matthew 27:56, Mark 15:40, and John 19:25 [see quotes below]. These passages show a consistency whereby each of these three Gospels lists all three women at the cross, besides the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 

However, we know that Mary and Salome were cousins (see family tree below). So this is an example of "ADELPHOS" (the feminine version of the word in this case), being used with a wider definition than just children from the same womb.

 

Blue color or number (1) is used to refer to Mary, the mother of our Lord.

Pink or the number (2) is used to refer to Mary Magdalene.

Red or the number (3) is used to refer to Mary the mother of James.

Green or the number (4) is used to refer to Salome - the mother of sons of Zebedee. 

In the book, The Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God by Bishop Ullathorne (page 82), it states that St. Hippolytus, the martyr, in Apud Niceph. L. ii. C. 3, records that Salome, Zebedee’s wife, was the mother of James and John.  He also records that Salome and the Blessed Virgin Mary were cousins. The fact that they are called "sisters" in the Bible shows that the word "sister" had a less restricted meaning and included close relatives (The Greek word used in the Bible is the feminine version of ADELPHOS).

               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

King Herod and his brother Philip are called ADELPHOS in Mark 6.17. Yet we know that they are not from the same womb [as the derivation of that word might suggest]. Their father King Herod the Great, had four wives and they were born of different mothers.

 

 

This brings us to a conclusion regarding our discussion about the true meaning of the word 'adelphos'. We can see that it is used to represent relatives. Therefore, the reference to the 'brothers and sisters' of Jesus does not mean that Mary had other children.

 

 

PREVIOUS (Section 4)  

40 Questions Answered

                                                                                           

Feedback


 

Copyright © 2002 St. Ignatious Syrian Orthodox Church.  All Rights Reserved. 

webadmin@stignatious.com