Distorted Devotions
By Dwight Longenecker
What do you do when a Protestant Christian challenges
Catholic devotion to Mary as being excessive and distorted? My favorite
correspondent came up with some Catholic quotes that were real showstoppers.
Among others he quoted Pope Pius IX who, in Ubi Primum,[i],
wrote these words in praise of Mary:
From
our earliest years nothing has ever been closer to our heart than devotion‑-filial, profound,
and wholehearted‑-to the most blessed Virgin Mary. Always
have We endeavored to do everything that would redound to the greater glory
of the Blessed Virgin, promote her honor, and encourage devotion
to her.... Great indeed is Our trust in Mary. The resplendent
glory of her merits, far exceeding all the choirs of angels, elevates her to
the very steps of the throne of God. Her foot has crushed the head
of Satan. Set up between Christ and His Church, Mary, ever lovable
and full of grace, always has delivered the Christian people from their
greatest calamities and from the snares and assaults of all their enemies,
ever rescuing them from ruin.... The foundation of all Our confidence,
as you know well, Venerable Brethren, is found in the Blessed Virgin
Mary. For, God has committed to Mary the treasury of all good
things, in order that everyone may know that through her are obtained
every hope, every grace, and all salvation. For this is His will, that
we obtain everything through Mary.
My Protestant friend
made the point that if Pius IX’s references to Mary were replaced by references to Jesus Christ,
the quote would be uncontroversially Christian. As it is, he protested,
it says things of Mary that should be said only of God. Was it true that nothing was
closer to Pius IX’s heart than devotion to Mary? Could it be true
that the foundation of all [his] confidence” is Mary?
Is it really through her that we obtain “every hope, every grace and all
salvation”?
On the face of it, this is rather
difficult to answer. Pius IX’s words do seem excessive. But when you put
them into context the emphasis changes. First of all, the quotation in
question is part of Pius IX’s letter to the world bishops consulting with
them about the wisdom of defining the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
In other words, he is speaking within a Marian document. Second, Pius IX
is expressing his own opinion and love for Mary. He is not making a formal
doctrinal pronouncement. Third, this statement has to be placed within
the context of the whole worship and life of the church. Taken on its own
it sounds like Pius IX worships Mary. Taken in its context its clear that
he doesn’t. When the words are read closely it is clear that he is referring
ultimately to Jesus Christ. He is the foundation who is found “in Mary.” Jesus
Christ is the one who is the source for “every hope, every grace and all
salvation” and he comes to us through Mary.
Pius IX’s words can be explained, but there
are two underlying points to remember when discussing Marian devotion with
non-Catholics. First of all, if we are confronted with florid language
about the Blessed Virgin we mustn’t apologise. Devotion to Mary has been
part of the worship of the Church from the earliest days. There are many
examples of what might seem like excessive language about Mary from the
first centuries of the church. Here is just one sample from the writings
of Athanasius:
O noble Virgin, truly you are greater than
any other greatness. For who is your equal in greatness, O dwelling place
of God the Word? To whom among
all creatures shall I compare you, O Virgin? You are greater than them
all. O [Ark of the New] Covenant, clothed with purity instead of gold!
You are the Ark in which is found the golden vessel containing the true
manna, that is, the flesh in which divinity resides. Should I compare you
to the fertile earth and its fruits? You surpass them…If I say that heaven
is exalted, yet it does not equal you…If we say that the cherubim are great,
you are greater than they, for the cherubim carry the throne of God while
you hold God in your hands.[ii]
Protestant Christians
look to Athanasius as a hero of the faith. He’s the one who defended orthodoxy against the heretics.
He’s the one who stood up against the whole world in defence of the Christology
that Protestant Christians embrace today. If some Christians object to
Catholic veneration of Mary as being excessive or distorted then they are
not only disagreeing with Pope Pius IX in 1849 but also with Athanasius
in the fourth century.
Furthermore,
proper devotion to the Blessed Virgin was considered to be a sign of
a proper understanding
of the Incarnation and a full devotional life for Jesus Christ. It may
not be those who honor Mary, but those who neglect her who are distorting
the historic faith. Those who dishonor Mary should pay attention to Epiphanius
who also writes from the fourth century that “who dishonors the holy vessel
[Mary] also dishonors his Master”.[iii]
The main problem with the Protestant criticism
of Catholic devotion to Mary is their basic mindset. They see the whole
question in terms of “either-or” not “both-and”. Because Catholics venerate
Mary, non-Catholics assume that this devotion must take the place of proper
devotion to the Lord Jesus. A powerful analogy can be used to show non-Catholics
how strange this seems to Catholics.
If an Evangelical Christian believes that devotion to
Mary replaces proper devotion to Jesus ask him to imagine what it would
be like if he discovered that another Christian group thought Evangelicals
were in grave error because of their emphasis on the Bible. Ask him to
imagine that these fictional Christians accuse Evangelicals of neglecting
Jesus because of their devotion to the Bible.
These hypothetical Christians
say, “You evangelicals
stress the Bible to the neglect of Jesus. You call your churches ‘Bible’ churches
and have ’Bible’ colleges instead of ‘Christian’ churches and colleges. Inside
your church you don’t have pictures of Jesus, you don’t have any crucifixes;
and you don’t have the Stations of the Cross. Instead, all you have is
a big central pulpit to preach the Bible.”
The accusers could go on
and point out that “The New
Testament says the early Christians ‘devoted themselves … to the breaking
of the bread’ (Acts 2:42) and that the way to remember Jesus and proclaim
his death is through the Eucharist (1 Cor. 11:24-26); yet you Evangelicals
have the Lord’s Supper once a month, or even less often, and the main feature
of your church service is a long Bible sermon. You have removed the cross
of Christ and replaced it with the Bible.”
These accusers say, “You
Evangelicals even have a formal doctrine named sola Scriptura. This
man-made dogma is a later distortion and addition to the Christian faith—something that is unheard of both in
the Scriptures themselves and in the early church. This dogma (which you
treat as infallible) states that the Bible and not Jesus is the only source
of Truth. You teach your children to memorize Bible verses instead of receiving
Jesus in communion. You teach them to sing, ‘The B-I-B-L-E, / Yes that‘s
the book for me. / I stand alone on the word of God….’ Notice how they
are not to stand alone on the sure foundation of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 3:11),
but on the Bible instead! Evangelical preachers say that there is no way
anyone can come to God without believing the Bible. They declare their
undying love for the Bible instead of Jesus. They say how their lives are
totally dedicated to preaching the Bible instead of the cross of Christ.”
If someone were to make this charge
a good Evangelical might well snort with dismay and bewilderment. How could
someone so misunderstand his position? Surely they are doing it on purpose!
The good Evangelical would patiently explain to his critic, “You have misunderstood
completely. Sola Scriptura doesn’t set the Bible in opposition to
Jesus. It does exactly the opposite: it helps us to glorify Jesus. Don’t
you see that we love the Bible because it gives us access to our Savior?
It’s true that we believe people need to know the Bible, but that’s because
the written Word and the incarnate Word are inextricably intertwined. You
can’t have one without the other. It is really Jesus we worship and proclaim
through the Bible. If you just look at our whole practice and teaching
with an open mind you would see how misguided and mistaken you really are.”
But the critic of the Evangelical
won’t have it. He replies, “No, no. That all sounds very plausible, but
you will never convince me. I just know that you worship the Bible instead
of Jesus, and all your clever word play just goes to show how blind you
really are.”
To prove his point, the critic then
says, “I know you Evangelicals worship the Bible instead of Jesus. Just
look at this quotation I found that proves it. This comes from an Evangelical
one of your classic theological text books.
“You see,” the critic continues with a flourish, “your
famous Evangelical leader says that it is not Jesus, but the Bible that
is his ‘one comfort’, his ‘true guide’, and ‘God’s best and richest gift
to mankind’? It just shows that Evangelicals worship the Bible and not
the Lord.”
Of course this is a ridiculous distortion of
the Evangelical view, but the extended analogy may help Protestants understand
how Catholics feel when they make similarly extreme charges about the Catholic
devotion to Mary.
In the face of such
charges Catholics reply, “Are
you serious? How can you possibly make such a fundamental and basic mistake
about what we believe? We don’t venerate Mary on her own, but because she
has given us our Savior and because she constantly leads us to him. If
you took time to study our whole teaching and practice you will see how
this is true.”
In debate with non-Catholics we should admit
that some Catholics may over-emphasize Mary, just like some Evangelicals
may take extreme views on the Bible. But we should also admit that both
Catholics and Protestants warn against such dangers, and as we ask them
to understand our point of view we should also try to honestly understand
theirs.
Dwight Longenecker is editor of The Path
to Rome and co-author of Challenging Catholics—A Catholic-Evangelical
Debate. His book Our Lady? is another debate with Evangelical,
David Gustafson. It will be published in 2003 by Brazos Press.
