By Rev (Dr) Dike Okafor
LAGOS AUGUST 20TH (NEWSRANGERS)-Few days ago, my attention was drawn to an online publication written by one Emmanuel Udom of www.newrangers.com, quoting Rev Dr Peter Kayode Odetoyinbo, the Bishop of the Abeokuta Catholic Diocese in Ogun state.
In the said publication, which went viral, the impression was that Mary, mother of Jesus Christ, founder of the Christian religion was actually the intercessor for world peace. Well I read the story carefully and love it. But, as a student of life, I would like to know and understand comprehensively the truth about the claims of the Catholic Bishop regarding Mary, the Mother Of Jesus being an intercessor.
As a trained and certified Theolosian of many years standing, I know that this falsehood has been widely accepted over the years while the truth has been concealed. As far as I am concerned, the doctrine of the Catholic Church on Mary is false. My Bible teaches that there is only one mediator and that is Jesus Christ. This is contained in Hebrew 12:24, which read: “And to Jesus, the new mediator of the convenient and there is no idea or a concept that applies that Mary is a meditrix. After the upper room appearance the Bible became silent about Mary.”
I stand to be corrected, but objectively, the Bible never mentioned her death, talk less of her body being assumed to heaven. Is there any scientific or scriptural proof to this effect. As a wife to Joseph, having other children after, Jesus according to Mathew 13:55_56 is not the carpenter’s son. Is not his mother called Mary? and his brother James, Joses and Simon and Judas? And his sisters are they not all with us? Where then harth this mean all these things? How come that she remained a virgin? Mathew 12:46_50, Mark 3:31_35 and Luke 8:17_21.
According to the book, Spiritual Theology by Fr Jordan Aumann, OP, page 61, he wrote: As long as you have not learned to know Mary and have not given your heart to her, you will remain in darkness because you can receive the Holy Spirit in her and only through her. The church whose language is ordinaryly mysterious since she is obligated to speak in the manner in which God himself has spoken, teaches us that no grace, no power, no love, indeed nothing absolutely comes to us from God except through Mary. And that is admirable a sublime truth.
The then Church calls Mary the spouse of the holy ghost. Mariology Mariolatary is a field of study that asked evidence apart from theory can be derived from that source showing anything super sensory about matter ‘Dei hence Matar Dei Orapronobis’ Jesus said that no one has gone to heaven except He that came from there. Where is mother Mary now, hence an intercessor. Nobody has the right to question the authority of any religious organisation because you cannot just fathom it’s depth. But whatever information that is sold out for public consumption and digestion we must investigate to avoid the mistake Papa Adam made. Strong meat is meant for those who by reasons of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. Hebrew 5:14. Objective criticisms can only throw more illuminations Thank you.
Rev (Dr) Dike Okafor, PhD, is a Lagos based Cleric.
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