Something about Mary
There are those who “envision a coming clash of civilizations which they are ever more ready to see as a confrontation between Islam and the West. But here in America, Muslims and Christians are factually in a position to show that the circumstances of democracy can just as well foster a dialogue among the believers in the one God,” Cardinal William Keeler of Baltimore said in Washington, Dec. 8, 1995, in an address to an interreligious banquet in his honor sponsored by the American Muslim Council. The council gave Keeler its Mahmoud Abu Saud Excellence Award for 1995. In his acceptance, the cardinal urged Muslims and Catholics to work together to promote “a restoration of basic moral teaching in the public schools”; oppose all forms of pornography, “especially that directed at children”; and approach media leaders and advertisers “regarding immorality and violence in the media.” Noting that the interfaith banquet was held on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Keeler said: “Catholics are delighted to learn that there are more verses in the Qur’an — 34 of them — which name the Blessed Virgin Mary than there are in the whole New Testament.” He said that while Muslims do not believe that Mary is the mother of God, they hold her in great esteem. Keeler said that although a “radical difference in faith forever separates us” with regard to Mary, “it paradoxically also holds us forever in conversation.”
In 1854 Pope Pius IX gave official voice to the belief of Catholics that “the Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God … preserved free from all stain of original sin” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 491).
(”The Imrans” III:35). Indeed, to Mary herself, according to the Qur’an, the angel said, “God has chosen you and made you pure (”tahharaki”), and he has chosen you above the women of the universe” (”The Imrans,” III:42). For according to the “Qur’an”, Mary, “a saintly woman (”siddigh”) (The Table V:75) was destined, together with Jesus, her son, to be “a sign (”ayyah”) to the universe” (”The Prophets” XXI:91), to play a unique role in the history of salvation.
Christian tradition also records, of her purification, of the annunciation, of her virginal conception of Jesus and of the birth of her son, the Messiah. It is no surprise then that just over 30 years ago the fathers of the Second Vatican Council, in their historic document “Nostra Aetate” (Oct. 28, 1965), wrote:
Upon the Muslims too the church looks with esteem. They adore one God, living and enduring, merciful and all-powerful, maker of heaven and earth and speaker to humankind…. They also honor Mary, his virgin mother; at times they call on her too with devotion (No. 3).
For Christians she is the all-holy “Theotokos,” the mother of God, the mother of Jesus Christ, the Son of God incarnate. For Muslims she is the mother of Jesus, the Messiah, “who was no more than God’s apostle and his Word, which he cast to Mary: a spirit from him” (”Women” IV:171). While this radical difference in faith forever separates us, it paradoxically also holds us forever in conversation with one another. And this conversation can, and should be, as the Second Vatican Council taught Catholics, a “jihad”, a “striving for mutual understanding.” And the council fathers went on to say of the Christians and Muslims together, “On behalf of all peoples, let them make common cause of safeguarding and fostering social justice, moral values, peace and freedom” (”Nostra Aetate,” 3).
The first point that is addressed here is the social one, which of course we all have concerns with in regards to morality and the betterment of our world. But a social gospel is not why God sent His son to die. He was sent for our salvation, and salvation only comes by hearing the Word of God. Again the emphasis is all wrong, the cross is not being discussed here, but rather social issues and Mary.
We also have a very good example of ‘Dialetical Synthesis’ which I spoke at length about in my last post called:
‘Emerging Church - Rick Warren - and the New World Order’
In that post, I talk about how the ‘Social Gospel‘ will be the vehicle to bring about a ‘New World Order’. And how it will be done is by using a philosophical and scientific concept called ‘Dialectical Synthesis’. Walter Rauschenbusch was a Fabian Socialist who stated in 1893 that “the only power that can make socialism succeed, if it is established, is religion.” Religion was only a means toward achieving socialism.” Today in many Protestant as well as Catholic churches, one is more likely to hear a message about the need for “social action” than the need to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in order to be saved and go to heaven.
What we have in this dialogue between a Catholic and a Muslim is a prime example of two opposites that have found a complimentary base in which to discuss. ‘Dialectical Synthesis’ is being utilised here to build bridges to activate a social cause. Here is a brief outline of ‘Dialetctical Synthesis’:
Sir Julian Huxley, the first director-general of UNESCO, wrote in UNESCO: ITS PURPOSE AND ITS PHILOSOPHY (194 
that “the task is to help the emergence of a single world culture….Two opposing philosophies of life confront each other…Applying this approach to values, it has been possible to logically-derive human values by dialectic synthesis of the complementary values of western religious systems and eastern ethical systems…Dialectic synthesis, at the core of postmodern natural philosophy, is accomplished by juxtaposing complementary opposites and seeking a concept that embraces both sides of the argument. This formal approach to scientific thought exemplifies how simple thought can solve problems made “complex” by the political and spiritual dualism that has divided “the people” in the western world for millennia.
Now let us get to the common ground shared by both Muslim’s and Catholic’s. The two sides of the same coin is what is going to be pushed (the coin is the social agenda), and although the two religions will never agree on the Sonship of God found in Jesus and His purpose of His life and death and subsequent ressurection, that is not the thing being discussed here. That is not even considered, even though we are told explicitly to boast only in the cross, the cross is put on the back burner, in fact it is not even seen at all because you can be sure that that will cause division and division is not how to move forward toward an utopian world. (Please note: this should not surprise us that the Catholic Church would not push this because for centuries they have denied the power of the Cross and have held it ransom to the eucharist and to the priests magic words that turn the wine into blood and the bread into the flesh of Jesus). This is not the gospel, it is not even Christian as no gospel is being preached, but it is a humanitarian cause that is being amplified above and beyond the gospel of Christ — the Good News.
The Two Sides of the Same Coin.
There is some evidence in the Koran that Mary is venerated and in fact in the Koran Jesus is never spoken of as ‘the son of God’ but rather ‘the son of Mary’. The muslim’s call Mary ‘Our lady’ just as the Catholics do, and she is venerated as an ‘holy saint’ as well.
In the Bible the Old Testament speaks of a ‘Queen of Heaven’ and not in favourable terms but rather shows how the Jews went after other God’s and in this case the Goddess and became idolaters:
Jer 44:17-19 But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
Jeremiah then aswers them saying that the reason for their desolation is because of the idol worshipping.
Jer 44:22-23 So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day. Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.
They sinned against the Lord and worshipped other gods. Jeremiah warned them that they will have a curse befall them if they didn’t repent from their ways.
They didn’t change their ways and they continued to be united with pagan gods and became unequally yoked with other gods from other religions. God takes this very seriously.
The interesting thing is that a false god is a false god no matter what religion or mask it chooses to wear. Allah, the moon god will never unite with the Holy God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Mary (whose actual name in hebrew is Miriam, Mary is the Greek version of the Hebrew name. Miriam was a Jewess and not a Greek) was never intended to be venerated or worshipped or prayed to as a saint. Mary was a sinner and and rejoiced in God’s salvation. She was not without sin otherwise why would she then rejoice in her need for salvation? Mary also offered a sin offering in the form of two turtledoves when Jesus was eight days old which shows that she was indeed a sinner. Jesus is the only one without sin or blemish.
The Mary of the Koran and the Catholic Mary is not the Mary of the bible, but has more in common with the ‘Queen of Heaven‘ which the bible explicitly says is a pagan goddess that is not to be worshipped. False god unity is what is happening within this dialogue between Muslims and Catholics.
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For more inside information on the ‘Social Gospel‘
Wikipedia on the ‘Social Gospel‘ ‘Christian Reconstructionism‘ ‘Dominionism‘ ‘Kingdom Now Theology‘
