Part of the issue is one of language. “To pray” simply means “to ask.” Protestants typically use the word “pray” in a restrictive sense, limiting it to requests made only to God. Catholics sometimes use the word “pray” in a less restrictive sense, allowing its use for requests made to God, but also to other people and to angels. When we pray to God, there is an aspect of worship combined with the asking. When we pray to others, it is merely asking, with no element of worship.

The less-restrictive usage of “pray” is what we find in the Bible, most apparent in the older English translations, like the Protestant King James Version. (The Catholic Douay-Rheims Bible has similar passages, but for this article, I’ll limit citations to the KJV.)

Several verses in the KJV record people praying to God (no surprise there!), but also people praying to other people, people praying to angels, people praying to others asking them to pray to God for them, and even an occurrance of God praying to man. Let’s take a look:
 
PRAY CAN MEAN TO ASK GOD FOR SOMETHING:

“And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.” (Genesis 24:12 KJV) [One of Abraham’s servants to God]

“And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.” (Judges 16:28 KJV) [Samson praying to God]

“And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17 KJV)

“Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.” (Acts 8:22 KJV) [St. Peter telling Simon the Magician that he needs to pray to God for forgiveness]

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23 KJV) [St. Paul praying for his readers]

At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.” (2 Timothy 4:16 KJV) [St. Paul praying for those who forsook him]

PRAY CAN ALSO MEAN TO ASK ANOTHER PERSON FOR SOMETHING:

“Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee” (Genesis 12:13 KJV) [Abram to his wife Sarai]

“And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.” (Genesis 13:8 KJV) [Abram to his nephew Lot]

“Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.” (Genesis 13:9 KJV) [Abram to Lot]

“And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.” (Genesis 16:2 KJV) [Sarai to Abram]

“And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of the people of the land, saying, But if thou wilt give it, I pray thee, hear me: I will give thee money for the field; take it of me, and I will bury my dead there.” (Genesis 23:13 KJV) [Abraham to Ephron (the son of Zohar the Hittite)]

“And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:” (Genesis 24:2 KJV) [Abraham nearing death, telling his servant to go get a wife for Isaac]

“And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:” (Genesis 37:6 KJV) [The patriarch Joseph to his brothers]

PEOPLE CAN PRAY TO OTHERS ASKING THEM TO PRAY TO GOD FOR THEM:

“Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.” (Jeremiah 21:2 KJV) [King Zedekiah sent Pashur and Melchiah to Jeremiah to ask him this. They prayed to Jeremiah that he would pray to the Lord for them]

SOME EXAMPLES OF MAN PRAYING TO ANGELS:

“Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree” (Genesis 18:4 KJV) [Abraham to the “three men” who were angels of the Lord]

“And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.” (Genesis 19:1–2 KJV) [Lot to the angels who visited him at Sodom]

EXAMPLES OF GOD PRAYING TO MAN:

“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.” (Isaiah 5:3 KJV) [God is asking those in Jerusalem to render a judgement]

“And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 1:9 KJV) [The wording here could indicate that Malachi is asking people to ask God for his graciousness; but the “saith the LORD of hosts” at the end could indicate that God is praying (asking) us to pray to Him.]

SOME ADDITIONAL NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLES:

“And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.” (Luke 14:19 KJV) [from Jesus’ parable of the Marriage Feast; here, Jesus is putting the expression “I pray thee” in the mouth of one of the people in the parable as he addresses another person]

“And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?” (Acts 8:34 KJV) [the Ethiopian eunuch to the deacon Philip]

“Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldest hear us of thy clemency a few words.” (Acts 24:4 KJV) [the orator Tertullus speaking to the governor Felix against Paul]

“Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.” (Acts 27:34 KJV) [Paul speaking to the soldiers and others who were shipwrecked with him]

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20 KJV) [Paul and Timothy writing to fellow Christians]

My earlier posts did not include a relevant detail, which I noticed recently while re-reading Exodus: not only did God command that sculpted images and religious art be used in worshipping Him (cf. Ex. 25:1, 18-20; Ex. 26:1), he also gave a special charism – a charismatic gift – to certain Israelites to make these items:

Ex. 31:1-6 — The LORD said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bez’alel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oho’liab, the son of Ahis’amach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you.”

Ex. 36:10-19 continues this thought, with God saying “let every able man among you come and make all that the LORD has commanded.”

So if you encounter someone claiming that religious art or statues violates God’s commandments, point out these verses. Why would God send his Spirit to people and command them to make artistic works for worship if it would be sinful?

The church was called the “Catholic Church” within the first 75 years of its existence. We see this in the writings of Ignatius of Antioch, a disciple of St. John the Apostle. He calls the church “catholic” to distinguish it from the heretics of his day: “Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church” (Epistle to the Smyrnaeans 8, written in A.D. 107).

Ignatius also describes the church in very “Catholic” ways, such as its belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist: “…the Eucharist is the self-same body of our Savior Jesus Christ which suffered for our sins, and which the Father in His goodness afterwards raised up again” (Epistle to the Smyrnaeans, 7). He also writes of the Episcopal leadership of bishops, priests and deacons: “…nobody’s conscience can be clean if he is acting without the authority of his bishop, clergy and deacons” (Epistle to the Trallians, 7).

Irenaeus of Lyons, writing around A.D. 190, notes that the Bishop of Rome has authority over the other bishops throughout the world: “…it is a matter of necessity that every Church should agree with this Church, on account of its preeminent authority” (Against Heresies, 3, 3, 2).

Another important point about the early church: It is a fact of history that Christians were under the pastoral care of the Church’s leaders and did not look to the Bible alone as their authority. Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t, because the Bible was not yet formed. For the first 15 or 20 years of the church’s existence, none of the New Testament books had been written. And it was not until centuries later that the bishops of the church determined, under the Holy Spirit’s guidance, which books belonged in the Bible. The Council of Hippo (A.D. 393) created the list of the Old and New Testament books, which is the same as the Roman Catholic list today. The Council of Carthage in A.D. 397 formulated the same list of canonical books, and it is this council that many Protestant Christians take as the authority for the New Testament canon of books. Interestingly, the Old Testament canon from that same council is identical to Roman Catholic canon today (46 Old Testament books; in the 16th Century, Protestants removed 7 Old Testament books).

So it is clear that well before the time of Constantine, the church was certainly Catholic – in name, in hierarchy and in practice. Constantine gave the Catholic Church status as an officially recognized religion within the Empire; he did not create it.

Do you really think little miss Mary was a virgin?

Yes, I do – we are told in Scripture that she was a virgin when Jesus was conceived (Luke 1:27). Surely you believe that as well.

Christ had numerous brothers and sisters from his mother Mary

I’m sure you are referring to Matthew 13:55-56 where it is written, “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?”

Like you, I once thought that this showed that Mary and Joseph had other children after Jesus was born. But I later learned that the early Protestants – including giants like Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli and John Wesley – all believed in the perpetual virginity of Mary. Consider these quotes:

• Luther: “It is an article of the Faith that Mary is the Mother of the Lord and still a virgin…Christ, we believe, came forth from a womb left perfectly intact.”
• Zwingli: “I esteem immensely the Mother of God, the ever chaste, immaculate Virgin Mary.”
• Wesley: “I believe… he [Jesus Christ] was born of the blessed Virgin, who, as well after as she brought him forth, continued a pure and unspotted virgin.”

Seeing how these men – certainly not Catholics! – viewed Mary, I had to modify my opinion. It seemed that the idea that “brethren” and “sisters” meant Jesus’ half-siblings was a fairly modern innovation in Protestant circles.

What are we to make of the “brethren” then? In Biblical times, “brethren” or “brothers” can refer to any male kinsmen. For example, Abraham was Lot’s uncle (cf. Genesis 14:12), but in Genesis 14:14 and 14:16 Lot is called Abraham’s “brother.”

Returning to the “brethren” in Matthew 13:55, James and Joses are also mentioned in Matthew 27:56 as being the sons of another Mary; perhaps they are sons of Mary’s sister, also named Mary, who was the wife of Clopas mentioned in John 19:25.

The Biblical use of the term “brothers” or “brethren” to refer to extended relatives – plus the mention that James and Joses were sons of another Mary – makes the claim that Jesus had biological half-siblings very weak indeed.

You may also be familiar with Matthew 1:25, which says Joseph “knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son.” In our modern usage, the word “till” or “until” frequently implies a change of state after an event occurs. But in Biblical times, that was not the case. Other passages in Scripture help make this clear:

• Luke 1:80 – “And the child [John the Baptist] grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.” But John the Baptist remained in the desert even after his ministry began.
• 1 Timothy 4:13 – “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.” Does that mean that they were to ignore reading, exhortation and doctrine after Paul arrived?
• 1 Corinthians 15:25 – “For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.” Does this mean that Christ will cease to reign after he has put all enemies under his feet? No, Christ’s reign will continue.
• Hebrews 1:13 – “Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?” Will Christ no longer sit at the Father’s right hand after his enemies are subdued?

Seeing in these passages how “till” or “until” does not necessitate a change of state after an event occurs, Matthew 1:25 is seen in its proper light. The sacred author was emphasizing Mary’s virginity, not making a statement that it ended at some point in the future.

When discussing the “authenticity of the 1611 translation,” remember that the 1611 edition of the King James Bible contained 80 books, not 66. The first 66-book KJV was published in 1885. That original 80-book KJV had the full canon, which also matches the Catholic bible. Modern groupings of those same 80 books typically are printed as 73 books. Christians should be encouraged to read the complete Bible, not the stripped-down 66-book versions.

For more info, check out the 1611 entry on this timeline: “English Bible History: Timeline of how we got the English Bible”:

1611 AD: The King James Bible Printed; Originally with All 80 Books. The Apocrypha was Officially Removed in 1885 Leaving Only 66 Books.

In reality, next to the person of Christ, Scripture attends to no topic more than the warning to Christians not to fall away from the faith and lose their salvation. In fact, every book in the New Testament, with the possible exception of Philemon, in some way or other suspends the outcome of our eternal destiny based on the duration and degree of our faith and obedience. Scripture offers absolutely overwhelming evidence that a believer can fall from the salvation he once possessed. (Quote taken from page 275)

Sungenis goes on to list “a representative sample [of verses] from each book of the New Testament” to prove this point. Below are the citations which begin on page 275 and run for several pages. I’m only listing the citations below, not the full text of each passage. However, a mouse-over ought to show the verse in a popup window:

Matthew 7:21-23; 10:22, 28, 33; 24:12-13; Mark 9:43; 10:21-23; 13:22; Luke 8:13; 12:43-46; John 12:47-48; 15:6; Acts 13:43, 46; 20:29-30; Romans 2:6; 8:12-13; 11:20-22; 1 Corinthians 3:17; 4:5; 6:8-9; 9:27-10:6; 10:11-12; 15:1-2; 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2; 11:3; 12:21-13:5; Galatians 5:19-21; 6:7-9; Ephesians 5:5-6; Philippians 3:10-16; Colossians 1:21-23; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15; 3:6, 14; 1 Timothy 4:1; 5:15; 6:10-19; 6:20-21; 2 Timothy 1:15; 2:12; 2:17; 4:10; 4:16; Titus 1:16; 3:10; Hebrews 2:1; 3:1-6; 3:12-14; 4:1; 4:11-13; 4:14; 6:4-6; 6:11-12; 10:26-27; 10:35-38; 12:1, 3; 12:14-17; 12:25, 29; James 1:14-16; 1:21-22; 2:13-14; 4:4; 5:9; 1 Peter 4:17-18; 5:8; 2 Peter 1:9; 2:20-22; 3:14-17; 1 John 2:24-26; 2:28; 2 John 8; 3 John 9-11; Jude 5; Revelation 2:5; 2:10; 2:16; 2:23; 2:26; 3:3; 3:11; 3:16; 3:21; 16:15; 22:12; 22:19

The comment seems to imply that in order for something to be true, it must be simple. Complex ideas that can’t be explained in four easy steps must therefore be false. But the claims that truth is always simple and complexity means falsehood is rubbish. Is trigonometry false because it is complex?

To the charge that Catholics lack a “simple plan of salvation”, I point to these resources that do a fine job succinctly explaining salvation from a Catholic perspective:

• The Catholic Information League provides evangelistic comic tracts on various topics. One entitled “Salvation Sound Bites (from the Catholic Catechism)” is especially clear and concise. Dave Armstrong has written a few and he lists endorsements of these tracts from Karl Keating, Fr. Peter Stravinskas and others (look under the “Catholic Organizational Affiliations” subheading in his literary resume).
• Catholic Answers has an excellent outreach brochure named “God’s Love for You” that is widely circulated in print and available on their web site. See also their resource “How to Become a Catholic”.

More similar resources exist, but these are a few that came to mind. Feel free to post others in the comments if you have some to recommend.

But take heart! The good news is that Catholics neither (a) consider Mary to be a goddess nor (b) worship her.

Catholics think that it is appropriate to call Mary the “queen of heaven” for two reasons:

• Her son is the King, making her the queen mother. More than just an honorary role, the queen mother was an office in the Davidic kingdom. As one Protestant encyclopedia explains, “The gebhirah, or queen mother, occupied a position of high social and political importance; she took rank almost with the king.”
• The Bible depicts her as “wearing a crown of twelve stars” in heaven (Revelation 12:1), which is appropriate given her role as the queen mother of Christ the King.

But does the title’s pagan usage make it inappropriate to apply in a Christian context? By all means no! Just because the title was applied to a false queen of heaven in the Old Testament does not mean that the title cannot be used for the true queen of heaven.

There is strong Biblical precedent for this in the title “king of kings”. In the Old Testament, two pagan rulers were called “king of kings”:

• Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon – Daniel 2:37 and Ezekiel 26:7.
• Artaxerxes, king of Persia – Ezra 7:12

In spite of the pagan use of “king of kings”, we appropriately apply the title to Jesus Christ, our ultimate and true King of Kings, in 1 Timothy 6:15, Revelation 17:14 and Revelation 19:16.

So we see from Scripture that it is certainly appropriate to call the Blessed Virgin Mary “Queen of Heaven.”

Angels & Demons is a thinly-veiled, but brutal attack on the Catholic Faith that will again shake the faith of potentially millions of people who know little about Catholic teaching and Catholic and Western history. It is full of half-truths, historical inaccuracies, and outright lies.

Answering Angels & Demons, by Mark Shea is an electronic book provided for free to help you answer the errors contained in the book and movie. Please feel free to download this resources and share it with your friends, family and neighbors.

Just go to http://answeringangelsanddemons.com/ to get it (PDF, 23 pages).