The Virgin Mary (Catholic VS Protestant View)

Thank you for your response. The Early Church Fathers had always regarded Mary as the Mother of God and had always venerated her. Here are some examples: GREGORY the WONDERWORKER "For Luke, in the inspired Gospel narratives, delivers a testimony not to Joseph only, but also to Mary, the Mother of God, and gives this account with reference to the very family and house of David" (Four Homilies 1 [A.D. 262]) GREGORY the WONDERWORKER "It is our duty to present to God, like sacrifices, all the festivals and hymnal celebrations; and first of all, [the feast of] the Annunciation to the holy Mother of God, to wit, the salutation made to her by the angel, "Hail, full of grace!'". (ibid., 2. PETER of ALEXADRIA: "They came to the church of the most blessed Mother of God, and ever-virgin Mary, which, as we began to say, he had constructed in the western quarter, in a suburb, for a cemetery of the martyrs" (The Genuine Acts of Peter of Alexandria [A.D. 305]). "We acknowledge the resurrection of the dead, of which Jesus Christ our Lord became the firstling; he bore a body not in appearance but in truth derived from Mary the Mother of God" (Letter to All Non-Egyptian Bishops 12 [A.D. 324]). Constantine could not have made up this term because he never started Catholicism but converted to Catholicism in his deathbed. The term Mother of God is not a pagan origin because such person like Gregory the Wonderworker already described Mary as the Mother of God in the year 262 while Constantine was born after that year. We agree that Islam is a false religion for rejecting Jesus so I do not take their Quran into heart because if I do then one day, I might soon be brainwashed that Jesus is not God. The term Mother of God comes from the Greek word, Theotokos, which means God-bearer. The word Trinity is not in the Bible so why do people believe that term? Mary is the Mother of my Lord (Luke 1:43) as what Elizabeth said. It would have been confusing but who is the main key in the word 'Lord'? It is Jesus Christ. Mary is the Mother of the Person of Jesus who is God so if follows, she should be called the Mother of God as what Elizabeth said and how the Early Church Fathers describe her. The New Testament is originally written in Greek. The term 'full of grace' in Luke 1:28 translates in Greek as KECHARITOMENE which means "having been graced" which means the Blessed Mother had been fully graced before and continued to receive graces. The word KECHARITOMENE cannot be found elsewhere but Luke 1:28. Mary also wondered what sort of greeting the Angel Gabriel exclaimed to her (Luke 1:29). Stephen from Acts 6:8 is full of grace but it translates to PLERES CHARITOS (temporary filling of grace in some point of life) which does not have the same translation as KECHARITOMENE. Besides, Stephen received the graces prior to his martyrdom. Romans 3:23 does not refute Immaculate Conception. It only refers to personal sins, not original sin. The word 'all' translates to PANTES which derives from PAS which means we cannot force to mean exactly 100% all. Why is that? Because in some verses like Luke 2:10, not all people were happy with the Birth of Jesus (Herod was not). If all is literal, then Jesus should be included. It only translates as "a number". Luke 2:24 which talks about the Presentation also does not refute Mary's Immaculate Conception. In Luke 2:21, Jesus was to be circumcised after eight days. If Jesus is sinless, then it is a question of why he needed circumcision. Circumcision is freeing of sin (Isaiah 51:2). He also wanted to be baptized (Matthew 3:13-17). It is then an answer that they are Jews who follow the Mosaic law. Not only sinners needed a savior but everybody does. Consider this analogy: If you are walking near a mud pit that you have not noticed and you almost fall into it but somebody grasp your hand and pulled you before you go in, isn't that saving? So Mary was saved in a special way by God. She has to be sinless to carry Jesus. Mary was a type of the Ark of the Covenant which was highly revered. It is because the Ark contained the Word of God, Manna and Staff of Aaron which symbolize Jesus as the Word, the Bread of Life and the High Priest. The Ark was designed by God to be pure because God would dwell there much like how Jesus (God) dwelt in Mary. "Why is granted to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?" - Elizabeth "How can the Ark of the Lord should come to me?" - David David danced for joy in front of the Ark while John the Baptist leaped when he recognized Mary's voice. The Ark stayed in the house of Obed-edom for three months while Mary stayed in Elizabeth's house for three months. The Ark was returned to Jerusalem and placed in the temple where God's presence and glory were revealed. Mary presented Jesus in the Temple eight days after the Nativity. The word 'until' does not mean Mary lost her virginity after the birth of Jesus. It puts an emphasis that Joseph was never the 'real' father of Jesus. It means that Jesus was born out of virgin birth through the Virgin Mary. 1 Corinthians 15:25 says that Jesus "must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet." It does not suggest that Jesus would stop reigning after His enemies are under His feet. The 'brothers' and 'sisters' were never referred as the sons and daughters of Mary. It could mean that the 'brothers' and 'sisters' might be Jesus' half-siblings from Joseph's previous marriage. Jesus was 12 when He was missing and found in the Temple. The Holy Family could have had traveled to the festival with relatives, friends and acquaintances. Since they thought that Jesus would stay in the group , they did not need to check on Him every time because they went to the festival every year. Then they must have realized Jesus was indeed missing so they asked their relatives and friends if they had seen Jesus. They searched for him around for three days and finally founded Him in the Temple. Mary said that they "searched for Him in great anxiety". The story of Boy Jesus in the Temple is vague because it does not say much about the situation and does not disprove Mary's immaculate conception and being free from sins. I know this is a very long post but I hope you will response to it. Looking forward for your answer. SOURCES: http://www.defendingthebride.com... http://www.catholic.com... http://www.catholicbridge.com... http://www.catholicbible101.com... http://www.catholic.com... http://www.philvaz.com... http://www.catholic.com... http://www.biblefood.com... http://www.catholic.com... http://forums.catholic.com... THE BIBLE