Tract: Why Is Mary Crying?
Claim: Devotion to Mary doesn’t please her. It breaks her heart.
The Big Question: Is that true? Lets find out.
Above is a nice example of appeal to emotion. Its interesting what Jack Chick wants to achieve by appealing to the emotions of his readers using such words as Poor Mary. Her heart is broken Really?
Well, the faithful are doing what Mary herself prophesied in the Bible concerning how generations to come would honor her. See for example:
For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. (Luke 1:48 KJV emphasis mine)
The question one should sincerely ask himself/herself, Am I also part of the generation that call Mary blessed as she said in the Scriptures? Think about this deeply.
Of course she knew this and she also knew that God is with her.
Here, Jack Chick presents some half-truths and misrepresentation to achieve his anti-Catholic propaganda.
Chick says, In Luke 1:46-47, Mary had already admitted that she needed a Saviour. . . Lets examine that verse in context.
And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
(Luke 1:46-55 KJV)
Here Jack Chick refused to quote the Bible because that was not what the text says. Did Mary categorically said she needs a Saviour? Mary said And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Mary’s spirit rejoiced in God her Saviour because God has already saved her for the great mission of Mary as the bearer of God the Son, in other words, God preserved Mary from sin in advance for the sole purpose of her bearing the God-man Jesus Christ.
Concerning Mary bringing her sin offering, that doesn’t necessarily indicate that she was a sinner in anyway. It was only out of her humility that she willingly went to be purified and also she doesn’t want to create any scandal. If you doubt this, why was Jesus Christ himself also circumcised? Did Jesus the Saviour of the world need circumcision because he was unclean? Did Jesus also required to be baptized by John the Baptist because he need salvation? Think about these prayerfully.
In this conception, and in this child-birth, there was nothing impure, nothing sinful, nothing that had to be purged, for this offspring is the fount of purity, and is come to make a cleansing of sins. What is there in me for a legal observance to purify—in me, who, by this immaculate parturition, am become most pure? Truly, O Blessed Virgin, thou hadst no need for purification; but had thy Son need of circumcision? Be thou among women as one of them, for so too is thy Son among men. St. Bernard (Serm. 3 On the Purification)
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23 KJV)
Jack Chick quoting Saint Paul to indicate that Mary was a sinner is quite dishonest on his part. If all means all in that text, then Christ would not be an exception in the first place. Think about it. The original Greek word used for all was pantes which means many.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22 KJV)
The Bible makes it very clear that not all have died for example Enoch and Elijah and also not all will make it to heaven. This proves that all doesn’t always means every single person. Think about this seriously.
Mary’s tears would end if Jack Chick and others like him stop distorting the biblical truth.
Another nice appeal to emotion in a very concealed form by Mr. Chick 🙂
Firstly, we should be aware that it is impossible to make an image of God, who is a pure Spirit, invisible, having neither form nor limit.
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. (John 1:18 KJV)
Also, the Bible makes it clear that NO ONE can see God and live:
And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. (Exodus 33:20 KJV)
According to the Bible, when Moses went up to Mount Sinai, to receive the law, the people of Israel rose against Aaron. They said:
And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. (Exodus 32:1-4 KJV)
It is the making of graven images and the worshiping of these images as a god which God forbids.
Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. (Deuteronomy 4:15-19 KJV)
The ten commandments affirm that God forbids the worship of graven images as a god.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; (Exodus 20:4-5 KJV)
Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 19:4 KJV)
Thou shalt have none other gods before me. Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, (Deuteronomy 5:7-9 KJV)
We have seen from the context of the above Bible passages that the creature should not be worshiped instead of the Creator. Let us now see passages in the Bible where the Living God commands the making of images. The first instance is the making of the Ark of the Covenant. Here, God said to Moses,
And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. (Exodus 25:17-21 KJV emphasis mine)
Again, God commands the making of bronze serpent.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. (Numbers 21:8-9 KJV emphasis mine)
Do you see how God can use images to reveal His glory and bless people, if and only if it is not worshiped as a god?
Is Mary embarrassed because people are honoring her? Lets see. . .
Isn’t it written in the Bible that we should honor our mother and father? Did Jesus Christ obeyed this commandment or did he reject it? Did Jesus Christ honor his earthly mother, Mary and His heavenly Father God? Yes he did. How do I know that ? This is because Jesus Christ, the Word of God came to fulfill the law and the prophet as He said:
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (Matthew 5:17-18 KJV)
So that clearly proves that Jesus honored Mary because it was part of the commandment of God that he came to fulfill.
The Bible clearly makes this clear:
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. (Exodus 20:12 KJV)
Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 19:3 KJV)
Honour thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. (Deuteronomy 5:16 KJV)
For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. (Matthew 15:4 KJV)
Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Matthew 19:19 KJV)
For Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or mother, let him die the death: (Mark 7:10 KJV)
Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. (Luke 18:20 KJV)
Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) (Ephesians 6:2 KJV)
If Jesus honored Mary then who are you to refuse to honor her? Are you too proud to submit? Are you better than Jesus? Didn’t the Bible clearly states that we should imitate Jesus Christ? Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1 KJV) Remember that Mary said that behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. (Luke 1:48 KJV) Think about these things.
Is Mary the Mother of God?
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14 KJV)
This is the very first indicator of Mary as the mother of God. Of course, Mary is a creature and did not create God. That is not the point over here. She is a creature that God the Father chose to bring forth His only Begotten Son. In other words Mary is the Mother of God the Son since Jesus is God
Also, Saint Paul reminds us:
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Galatians 4:4-5 KJV)
The Scripture didn’t say Mary sinned either. Again I shall repeat what I’ve said already since Jack Chick likes to be repeating things in the hope of convincing/confusing his readers.
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23 KJV)
All doesn’t means all but many as indicated in the original Koine Greek word used for all, pantes
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:22 KJV)
The Bible makes it very clear that not all have died for example Enoch and Elijah and also not all will make it to heaven. This proves that all doesn’t always means every single person. A great case for Mary’s sinlessness as taught by the Catholic Church.
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; (1 Timothy 2:1-5 KJV)
Catholics asking Mary to pray for them is just like asking a fellow Christian to pray for you, the only difference here is that Mary is closer to God, although we are all members of the same Body of Christ.
Praying to Mary neither takes away the sole mediatorship of Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church has never taught that Mary is the Mediator between God and men! The Blessed Virgin Mary’s intercessory prayer to Jesus on behalf of us is only possible because of Christ and her relationship to us through His Mystical Body, the Church.
The fact, that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, was made clear when Saul of Tarsus was persecuting the Church and Christ Jesus revealed to him on his journey to Damascus that he was persecuting Him.
And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. (Acts 9:3-5 KJV)
Jack Chick and his propaganda continues. Quite funny!
Mary interceded at the wedding feast at Cana and because of her powerful intercession Jesus Christ had to perform His very first miracle even though His time hasn’t come. See how power the Mother of Jesus intercession can be? Lets read from the Bible:
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him. (John 2:1-11 KJV)
Is Mary the Queen of Heaven?
In the Old Testament times, the Queen of Israel was not the King’s wife. This is because the king had many wives (harem). The Queen was rather the kings mother. Examples:
And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron. (1 Kings 15:13 KJV)
Jehu met with the brothers of Ahaziah king of Judah, and said, Who are you? So they answered, We are the brothers of Ahaziah; we have come down to greet the sons of the king and the sons of the queen mother. (2 Kings 10:13 NKJV)
Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart. (Song of Solomon 3:11 KJV)
Say to the king and to the queen mother, Humble yourselves; Sit down, For your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory. (Jeremiah 13:18 NKJV)
Wait, did I read, a counterfeit virgin that Satan created. Since when did Satan obtain power to create? This is highly unbiblical! These are highly un-Christian tales that Jack Chick wants you to believe. He has now shifted far away from the Bible as you can now see. Very interesting and most deceptive tactics by Mr. Chick.
Jack Chick has made two misleading statements, one concerning Confession and the other the Celibacy of the Priests. All these are biblical as I shall point you to in a moment. Jack Chick has demonstrated once more that he is a false preacher who uses lies to promote his version of the good news.
Confession is derived from the New Testament and not from Semiramis and Nimrod as Chick would like you to believe. See for example:
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. (James 5:16 KJV)
Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained. (John 20:19-23 KJV emphasis mine)
The question is how would the apostles remit sins if they are not first confessed? Its obvious they are not mind readers, are they?
Also concerning Celibacy see:
But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mothers womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heavens sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. (Matthew 19:11-12 KJV)
Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. (1 Corinthians 7:1 KJV)
For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. (1 Corinthians 7:7-8 KJV)
Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. (1 Corinthians 7:27 KJV)
The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying, Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land; They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. (Jeremiah 16:1-4 KJV)
Again this has nothing to do with the Blessed Virgin Mary. These are unrelated to Catholicism.
Another claim without any proves. A good example of anti-Catholic propaganda there. So unfortunate.
Jack Chick doesn’t seem to respect Africa at all. This is so silly a comment for him to make. What? Roman Catholicism came to existence around 300 A.D. says who? This is the most absurd statement I have come across in this tract.
No Catholic believes only Mary can get him/her to heaven. This is another crafted lie by Jack Chick. At least he should be bold enough to provide some authentic Catholic sources that supports his claims. Mr. Chick has no sources in his tracts because there are no such silly claims by the Catholic Church. Jesus Christ himself says that, I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:5 KJV) And I was taught all these and more in the Catholic Church. How can Jack Chick be making such a false claim? Mary herself says that, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. (John 2:5 KJV) If Mary tells us Catholics in the Bible to do whatever Jesus our Lord tells us to do. How can this preacher be making up lies in his so-called gospel tract? Jesus also gave His mother to us Christians at the foot of the Cross. We read:
When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. (John 19:26-27 KJV)
The devil is happy to see false preachers like Jack Chick distorting truth and misrepresenting the Holy Bible.
Jesus Christ didn’t refer to the Catholic Church in Revelation 18:4. Jack Chick now puts words into our Lord Jesus mouth. This is a big sin and he needs to repent now!
© 2011 Godwin Delali Adadzie