Yes, I actually downloaded the iCATHOLICfm iPhone app last weekend and have been testing it. It works great. Lately, I haven’t been able to get the EWTN station on Time Shift Radio, so this new app has been a blessing. Thanks for the post comment!

Trip

More about the origin of the Bible is available in my post Where Did The Bible Come From at http://www.optionc.net/essays/where-did-the-bible-come-from/

To go beyond that post, however, here is some further information.

Catholic and Protestants originally included the same number of books in the Bible, as can be seen in English by the 1609 Douay Rheims Version (Catholic) and the 1611 King James Version (Protestant). The chief difference in these editions is that Protestants moved some Old Testament books into a section labeled “Apocrypha” which they placed at the end of the Old Testament.

Later in history – in the 1700s and 1800s – Protestant Bible publishers gradually began issuing editions that excluded the so-called Apocrypha, eventually making the 66-book Bible the standard among Protestants at the end of the 1800s. However, Catholic Bibles to this day include all of the original books. Note that the division of books in the 1600s was different than today: the 80 books found in the KJV equate to the 73 books in modern Catholic editions. For example, the KJV divided Daniel, Song of the Three Children, Story of Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon into separate books, while Catholic Bibles consider them all to be chapters of the Book of Daniel.

The original edition of the KJV is available on the Internet for viewing at:
http://sceti.library.upenn.edu/sceti/printedbooksNew/index.cfm?TextID=kjbible

To see the table of contents, go to this page:
http://sceti.library.upenn.edu/sceti/printedbooksNew/index.cfm?TextID=kjbible&PagePosition=36

Reprints of the 1611 Edition of the KJV can also be purchased in print from several publishers, including this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Bible-Version-Bonded-Leather/dp/1565638085/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1280194505&sr=1-1

One excellent resource – which also happens to be free, since it is now in the public domain – is the book entitled How We Got The Bible by Henry Graham. It was published in 1911, which was the 300th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible. Now that we are only a few months away from the 400th anniversary of the KJV, you might find it to be a fresh read in spite of it being nearly a century old. Read it online at:
http://www.catholicapologetics.info/apologetics/protestantism/wbible.htm

Best,

Trip Cox

This issue that the bible says even “saved” people can lose their salvation all the way up until their last breath is one of the major and fundamental differences between Catholicism and Protestantism.

Being “saved” is a process and progression that takes place throughout our lives, not something that takes place at one point in time.

Thanks for the feedback. Below are answers to your questions. I hope you find them helpful!:

1. Why is Mary (that is, if indeed the Catholoics are referring to Mary the Mother of Jesus) still being referred to as Virgin??

We refer to Mary as the Virgin Mary because we are told in Scripture that she was a virgin when Jesus was conceived (Luke 1:27). Protestants often assert that Mary lost her virginity after the birth of Christ, but this does not appear to be the case after a closer look at the data. See my post on Mary’s Perpetual Virginity (due to the length of the content, I wanted to avoid having it in this comments field).

2. Can a woman who is a virgin before conceiving her first child still remains a virgin therefore??

Sure. I don’t see any requirement that a virgin who conceives must necessarily start having intercourse thereafter.

3. Where and when in the Bible were the Believers commanded or instructed to worship Mary??

There is no place in the Bible that instructs us to worship Mary. Catholics do not worship Mary. We only worship God.

4. When the Mary become an Advocate to plead on behalf of anyone with Jesus??

During her earthly life, Mary is shown as an intercessor at the wedding feast in Cana, where she intercedes on behalf of the wedding party and asks Jesus to work a miracle (John 2:1-3 and following).

Just as the Jewish queen-mother (i.e., the mother of the king) is honored by her son the king and intercedes on behalf of others to her son (see 1Ki 2:13-20), we believe that the heavenly queen mother Mary can intercede on our behalf to her son the King of Kings.

The Bible also tells us to intercede in prayer for one another: “pray for one another … the prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects” (James 5:16); “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men” (1 Timothy 2:1). If the prayer of those on earth are beneficial, even though we are not yet perfected, how much more powerful will the prayers of the perfected saints in heaven be!

5. Which verse of the Bible calls Mary, the Mother of God??

The title “Mother of God” is not in the Bible — although some might say that Elizabeth’s greeting to Mary as “mother of my Lord” (Luke 1:43) has the marks of a claim for Christ’s divinity. Mary is called Mother of God because:
1. Mary gave birth to Jesus
2. Jesus was God incarnate from the moment of his conception
3. Therefore, the person to whom Mary gave birth was God incarnate
The teaching that Mary is Mother of God is intended to protect Christ’s Divinity, not elevate Mary to some improper pseudo-deity status. The title was developed in response to a heresy that claimed that when Jesus was born, he was not fully God.

6. In Revelation 12 vs 1 – 6, who is the woman that brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne? Who is this Male

This woman’s child is the Messiah; therefore, the woman is Mary. Since the dragon is an individual (the devil) and the child is an individual (Jesus), the woman must also be interpreted to be an individual (Mary). It is also possible that the woman could be a symbol for God’s people (Israel or the Church), just as Adam represented humanity (Romans 5:19) and Jacob represented all of Israel (Psalm 44:4). Given this biblical notion of “corporate personality,” the woman in Revelation 12 should be understood as both an individual (Mary) and a symbol for the people of God.