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This week in Christian History

May 25, 1521: "Holy Roman Emperor Charles V pronounced Martin Luther an outlaw and heretic for refusing to recant his teachings while at the Diet of Worms (held the previous month)." (StudyLight.org)

May 26, 1700: Birth of "Nicholas Zinzendorf was born of Austrian nobility. His father died shortly after his birth, and he was raised by his grandmother, a strong supporter of the Lutheran reform movement known as Pietism. At age six, Nicholas became aware of Christ's love, and devoted his life to the Savior. Delivering the valedictory at his school, he spoke on the unity of Christian believers. This was fitting, for he would later invite persecuted believers of many backgrounds to settle on his large estate. The community became known as Herrnhut. Because of their diverse backgrounds the people bickered. Zinzendorf intervened, the spirit was poured out and a new unity resulted. Out of it came the first Protestant mission movement supported by a powerful prayer partnership." (Christianity.com)

Faith in action, in contrast to the first item.

May 26, 1899: "Future President William McKinley, 56, wrote in his notebook: 'My belief embraces the Divinity of Christ and a recognition of Christianity as the mightiest factor in the world's civilization.' (McKinley had been "born again," at age 10, during a revival meeting, and later joined a Methodist church.)" (SLO)

"...Christianity as the mightiest factor in the world's civilization..." - not science, not politics, not any other "religion', only the renewal of the human mind by becoming acquainted with the real life that comes from the touch of Jesus Christ on the life of a man or woman.

Christianity remains the one true faith that holds the key to regeneration of broken lives, relationships and all human hope. It is the only faith that will be rewarded with eternal life because Jesus Christ broke every chain - even the power of death!

There is no other that can make this claim - and while the Christian faith is rightfully exclusive, it is offered to all who walk on this earth - Muslim, Buddhist, Hinda, Wiccan - and invites them to come and be set free from the darkness that enslaves all who do not know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name..." (John1:12, KJB)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6ncg2pLYks

May 28,1725: "English founder of Methodism John Wesley wrote in a letter: 'I can't think that when God sent us into the world He had irreversibly decreed that we should be perpetually miserable in it.' " (SLO)


May 28, 1818: "Former president Thomas Jefferson set forth in a letter to a Jewish journalist his opinion of religious intolerance: 'Your sect by its sufferings has furnished a remarkable proof of the universal point of religious insolence, inherent in every sect, disclaimed by all while feeble and practised by all when in power. Our laws have applied the only antidote to this vice, protecting our religions, as they do our civil rights, by putting all on equal footing. But more remains to be done.' "

What is the outcome of Jefferson's claim when he wanted to put "all (religions) of equal footing"? Can "laws" actually give real protection and equality to all, as Jefferson envisioned? Can Christians freely practice and promote their faith today in North America? Has the gospel of "tolerance" ever been more boldly promoted and broadly diminished to the point where "civil liberties" are increasingly restricted to those who hold Biblically based opinions?



May 29, 1453: "Constantinople, the capital of Eastern Christianity from A.D. 324, fell to the Turks. The city afterward became the capital of the Ottoman Empire and was renamed Istanbul. Its conquest marked the end of the Middle Ages." (SLO)
 
June 1,1793: "Birth of Henry Francis Lyte, Scottish clergyman who wrote the hymns 'Abide with Me' and 'Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken.' " (StudyLight.org)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deJDkU6qiGE

June 2, 597: "Augustine, missionary to England and first archbishop of Canterbury, baptized Saxon king Ethelbert. Afterward, the Christian faith spread rapidly among the Angles and Saxons." (SLO)

June 3, 1926: Bob Childress "Headed for the hills" and people found life in more ways than one under the sound of his preaching...

http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1901-2000/bob-childress-headed-for-the-hills-11630742.html

June 3, 1930: "Missionary linguist Frank C. Laubach wrote in a letter: 'As we grow older all our paths diverge, and in all the world I suppose I could find nobody who could wholly understand me excepting God.' " (SLO)

God is not just some distant, detached figure who set things in motion and then stepped back to watch it spin - He is someone who wants to communicate with each one of us. The writer of Hebrews said it this way -

"Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help. " (Hebrews 4: 14-16 The Message)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbypf10Nq4Q

June 4, 1820: "Birth of Elvina M. Hall, American Methodist poet who authored the hymn, 'Jesus Paid It All' (a.k.a. 'I Hear the Savior Say')." SLO)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr3yoUJg7SU

June 5, 1961: "English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter: 'Any fixing of the mind on old evils beyond what is absolutely necessary for repenting of our own sins and forgiving those of others is...usually bad for us.' " (SLO)

In Philippians 3:13,14, Paul said this about dwelling in the past - "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (NIV)

Regardless of your past, Jesus Christ can move you past it to a better future. There is nothing in anyone's life that he has not seen and felt! When He died on the cross, he saw all of the wrongs ever perpetrated in this world - including yours and mine, absorbed them into himself and offers each one of us freedom from them - and heal their nasty consequences - if we simply accept the freedom that he offers in their place. And when He left the tomb, he left all those things back there, buried. Why waste what He offers to you and I?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPkMbhydU9I

June 7, 1811: born this date - "James Young Simpson was born at Bathgate, Scotland. He graduated from the University of Scotland as an MD, discovered the use of chloroform as an anesthetic and made great improvements in gynecological procedures. Asked before a group of scientists what was his greatest discovery, he replied, "That I was a sinner and Jesus died for me." He was active in the Scottish Free Church." (Christianity.com)
 
1886: Twenty-two Uganda Martyrs

June 3rd, 2013 Meaghan

(Thanks to Meaghan Good of the Charley Project for the guest post. -ed.)

On this date in 1886, thirteen Catholic men and boys, as well as nine Anglican Christians, were burned alive in Buganda, a kingdom in modern-day Uganda. Most of them pages at the royal court, they had been martyred for their faith.

The kingdom of Buganda came in contact with Europeans in the 1860s; Arab traders had been doing business there a few decades before that. Christian missionaries arrived in Buganda in 1879. In the next few years many court officials converted.

King Muteesa I tolerated Muslims, Catholics and Protestants and played them off against other for political gain, but his sixteen-year-old son, Mwanga II, who ascended the throne in 1884, was a different story altogether. He saw Christianity as a serious threat to his authority and cracked down on its influence.

Mwanga expelled many missionaries ordered converts to renounce their faith on pain of death. He had James Hannington, the Anglican Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa, executed in October 1885.

Between 1885 and 1887, Mwanga ordered the deaths of 45 Christian men (22 Catholics and 23 Anglicans). Collectively they are known as the Martyrs of Uganda. Most of them were young. (One of the boys who would die on this day was all of fourteen years old.)

Joseph Mukasa was the first of the Martyrs to die. A page and personal attendant to King Muteesa, he became majordomo after Mwanga took the throne, and had permission to criticize the king. He had converted to Roman Catholicism in 1882. Mukasa had strongly urged Mwanga to spare Bishop Hannington's life.

For his pains, Mukasa was himself executed and his body burned only two weeks after Hannington. The chief page, Charles Lwanga, became majordomo in his place.

That very same day, Lwanga went and got himself baptized. He was a Catholic catechist, and he anticipated the cup he was about to quaff. The Dictionary of African Christian Biography records:


The following day, the king assembled all the pages and demanded under pain of death that they confess their Christian allegiance. All of them, Catholic and Anglican, except for three, did so. Mwanga was baffled by the solidarity and constancy of the young Christians, but hesitated to carry out his threat to kill them all. Several times in early December the king attempted to intimidate his pages, in spite of visits from the Catholic and Anglican missionaries. On one occasion, Lwanga exclaimed that, so far from helping the white men to take over the kingdom, he was ready to lay down his life for the king.

After the fire in the royal palace on February 22, 1886, Mwanga moved the court temporarily to his hunting lodge at Munyonyo on the shore of Lake Victoria. Here Lwanga continued to protect the pages … and to prepare them for possible martyrdom. By this time, Mwanga had obtained the consent of his chiefs for a massacre of the Christians. Meanwhile, Lwanga himself baptized five of the most promising catechumens. On May 26 … the pages entered the royal courtyard to receive judgement. Once again, they were called upon to confess their faith. This they did, declaring that they were ready to die rather than to deny it. Mwanga ordered them all, sixteen Catholics and ten Anglicans, to be burnt alive at Namugongo.

Several of the condemned were killed before the main event. The oldest, Matthias Kalema, aged about fifty, was dismembered alive and pieces of him were roasted before his eyes. He died slowly and horribly over the course of three days, finally expiring on May 30. Three others collapsed during the march to the execution site in Namugongo and were killed on the spot.

One of them, however, was inexplicably spared at the last possible moment. Denis Kamyuka was pulled away from the fire by some of the soldiers. It's worth noting that Kamyuka appears to have been among the youngest of the group, around thirteen or fourteen; perhaps his executioners took pity on him for this reason. It is from his testimony that we know the details of what happened to his friends.

Everyone prayed and recited the catechism on the way to their deaths. Each of the pages were bound and wrapped up in reeds before being placed alive in the bonfire. The exception was Mbaaga Tuzinde, the son of the chief executioner; his father, who had pleaded for him to renounce his religion and offered to hide him, ordered that he be clubbed to death before being put into the flames.

Charles Lwanga, their leader, was burned separately from the others and was allowed to arrange his own pyre. As the executioners taunted him he said, "It is as if you are pouring water on me."
 
In a glowing description of humanity, the Psalmist David said

"What is mankind that you are mindful of them,

human beings that you care for them?

You have made them a little lower than the angels

and crowned them with glory and honor." (Psalms 8:4,5, NIV)

Yet when we read brutal accounts such as the one above, we have to wonder if David knew what he was talking about. (He did, actually, but humanity doesn't always affirm it)

How could humans behave in such barbaric fashion - literally butchering a fellow human alive and burning each other alive - if we are indeed made "a little lower than the angels"?

The answer lies in this - the further a society moves away from true Christian faith, the more they behave like the animals which have no conscience or moral compass. Or in many cases, even worse, because with our higher level of intelligence we are capable of inflicting worse treatment on each other than the animals can contrive.

For example, when have you seen any species routinely and deliberately killing its own unborn?

In your assessment, is the west becoming more Christianized, or moving away from Biblical understanding and practice?

Finally, the direction a nation takes in simply the collective action of all of its individuals.

Which way are you and I moving it?
 
June 8th, 1978: Alexander Solzhenitsyn gives the commencement speech at Harvard University. In it, he decried the complacency of the West, having his own focus and initiatives honed fine by the rigors of his imprisonment in the Soviet gulag.

In his ensuing book "Gulag Archipelago", Solzhenitzen said this: ' "Bless you, prison, for having been in my life!" He could say this because in prison he had recognized his spiritual danger and found time to consider the claims of God and Christ. "God of the Universe! I believe again! Though I renounced You, You were with me!" he wrote in a poem.' (Christianity .com)

http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1901-2000/solzhenitsyns-commencement-speech-11630842.html

Faith is not strengthened in comfort, nor is discipleship encouraged by a life of ease. What of our soft, rich lifestyle here in the West? How does it affect our view of God and discipleship? Why is the church in decline in North America, but growing in China where Christians are persecuted?
 
June 15, 1215, King John signed the Magna Carta in Runnymead, England to stave off a revolt against his rule by barons unhappy with his heavy-handed rule. " Archbishop Stephen Langton, a man so holy it was said he put all Rome to shame, was the document's main architect." (Christianity.com)

http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1201-1500/great-charter-for-england-11629819.html

Today, the impact of this ancient document is still very much felt - it is the basis of democratic government and the parliamentary process and the foundation of constitutional law.

Ironically, as a result of its success in establishing checks and balances between governments and the people by whom they are elected to serve, we have become complacent in protecting those very rights and freedoms that it was designed to protect.

Mr. Thomas Jefferson is credited with having said this, "the price of Liberty is eternal vigilance.", indicating that it is the duty of every citizen to guard against the steady, insidious creep of grasping, government bureaucracy.

For most of us, it is far easier to just sit back and allow "legislators" to make new laws that slowly erode our liberties, rather than become engaged in becoming influential in the process. Sometimes, because of indifference, while at other times just not understanding how much power we are actually capable of wielding as free citizens in a democracy or republic.

This act was largely made possible because of the actions of a determined "churchman", Archbishop Stephen Langton.

June 16, 1654: "Queen Christina, a convert to Roman Catholicism, abdicated her Swedish throne to devote the remainder of her life to religion and art." (StudyLight.org)

June 17, 1963: "English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter: 'Has this world been so kind to you that you should leave it with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.' " (SLO)


June 18, 1830: "Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane was born at Edinburgh, Scotland. She was orphaned at an early age, and in poor health throughout her short life. Nevertheless, she was known for her humanitarian relief of the poor and sick in her community. (Because she spent most of her money for charity she was known as "The Sunbeam." Few Scottish poets were female, but Elizabeth was one of those few. One of her poems, "The Ninety and Nine" came to the attention of Ira D. Sankey (Moody's associate) and he composed music to it and sang it with good effect. Clephane also wrote "Beneath the cross of Jesus." " (Christianity.com)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30Xgpw1f-fw

June 19, 1910: "In Spokane, Washington, under sponsorship of the Spokane Ministerial Association and the YMCA, Father's Day was observed for the first time." (SLO)

http://www.christianity.com/bible/bible-study/a-day-for-father-11630692.html

June 20, 1776: "Anglican clergyman and hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'A Christian is not of hasty growth...but rather like the oak, the progress of which is hardly perceptible, but in time becomes a deep-rooted tree.' " (SLO) ( Some would rightly say that I provide solid evidence of the "slow growth" part :oops: )

June 20, 1820, "Father German wrote Ianovskii from the islands..." (C.c)

Would each of us be so fortunate to have such a mentor - http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/father-german-wrote-to-a-disciple-11630382.html

June 21, 1639: "Birth of Increase Mather, early American theologian. He published nearly 100 books, and is credited with helping end executions for witchcraft in colonial America." (SLO)
 
June 23, 1775: "Anglican hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'True religion is not a science of the head so much as an inward and heartfelt perception.... Here the learned have no real advantage over the ignorant.' " (Christianity .com)

Yet how often do we attempt to reduce the Christian faith to a set of decrees or commands? Indeed, Jesus Christ called for a noticeable change in those who would be his followers, yet our efforts to conform to a set standard will always result in disappointment, if not outright failure.

This "perception" of which Newton spoke could be described as listening to the voice of the Spirit which Jesus said he would send in his stead, as a "comforter", after his ascension. And what a comfort the Spirit proves to be to those who are listening for and are responsive to his guidance!

As much as it troubles and aggravates the rationalist's mind, the presence of the Spirit is not something that can be measured or quantified, but rather is sensed or felt.

Elliot Eisner said this in his book "The Arts and the Creation of Mind":
'Not everything that matters can be measured, and not everything that is measured matters'."
 
June 29, 1900, "Pastor Meng Died because He Wouldn't Run" Christianity.com)

http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1801-1900/pastor-meng-died-because-he-wouldnt-run-11630661.html

Such a thing - a man being killed for his faith in Christ - couldn't happen today in our civilized world, could it?

Just this week, upon meeting an older disciple of Jesus whom I had not seen for years, he spoke of his faith and how society in general has turned away from Biblical values. He made mention of the reality that a faithful Christian will increasingly come under attack from those in society who hate our way of life and thinking.

He concluded by pointing out that Hitler did not have to go out and recruit those who would carry out his murderous plans; he found them everywhere, living right among those whom he wanted eliminated. They turned against their neighbors and former friends, sacrificing them for their own personal gain and preservation.

We agreed that the "veneer of civility" worn by society is very thin - one small scratch of adversity and the ugly side of human nature is exposed, just as it was during the lifetime of Pastor Meng.

The "Boxer Rebellion" which, in 1900, claimed the life of Meng and countless others, was fomented by the "Boxers", the Western name given to a Chinese, nationalist secret society also known as "Righteous and Harmonious Fists".

How ironic - yet not surprising - that some of the worst atrocities committed in history were given lofty and worthy-sounding names. Today, we see millions of innocents murdered in the name of "choice".

And we call ourselves "civilized"?

Although Meng was exonerated posthumously, the evil deed of the Boxer rebellion remains as a dark blot in Chinese history.
 
July 6, 1415: "Martyrdom of Jan Hus, Czech reformer, who was condemned for heresy and burned at the stake because of his outspoken appeals for church reform and for political and religious rights for the common people." (StudyLight.org)

It is said that "You can't fight city hall". While the statement in itself is not true (because you CAN fight city hall), we know that the statement means that opposing the institution or establishment is fraught with personal risk and comes at a very high price.

Any organized group - religious or secular or social - is susceptible to taking wrong turns and thus will sometimes need to be confronted and challenged to return to its proper mandate or goals.

However, because it is broken and selfish human nature that causes such deviations, it is not surprising that speaking truth to power is often an unpleasant and even dangerous proposition.

History demonstrates that most of a population will meekly stand by and, under the deceptive illusion of self-preservation or the bondage of fear, allow a tyrant to gradually extinguish their liberty and life.

Others, who have a strong sense of justice and insatiable appetite for freedom from tyranny, will stop at nothing to correct the wrongs that come from misguided authority, even to the point of self-sacrifice, just as Jan Hus demonstrated 599 years ago today.

Hus stood by his strong condemnation of wrongful Church practices and said "I would not, for a chapel full of gold, recede from the truth."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u62uYEssk7o

The church of Rome did not take kindly to the well-deserved criticism he offered and quieted his voice with flames.

Today, those who challenge equally unBiblical Church positions, whether Roman Catholic, Protestant or Anabaptist, will find that their dissent is no more welcome than that given by Jan Hus.

Jesus had this to say about how we should view authority that wrongfully threatens us: "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28, NASB)

His words contain both an encouragement and a warning - first, we need not fear the temporal effect of the hatred of evil powers, and second, we DO need to give deepest respect to the One who can judge and reward or punish our innermost motives and being.

For a more detailed account of the life, activities and death of Jan Hus, read here -

http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1201-1500/john-hus-faithful-unto-death-11629878.html

http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/john-hus.html

July 7, 1959: "English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter: 'I "believed" theoretically in the divine forgiveness for years before it really came home to me. It is a wonderful thing when it does.' " (SLO)

July 9, 1530: "German reformer Martin Luther wrote in a letter: 'This is a definite sign that we are God's children, because we are men of peace.' " (SLO)

Wow, I'd think that more than a few of those who witnessed the martyrdom he imposed on those with whom he disagreed would find those words more than a bit ironic...

July 11, 1533: "Clement VII excommunicated Henry VIII for divorcing Catherine of Aragon, and afterward marrying Anne Boleyn. Two years later, Henry broke with Rome and established the Anglican communion as the national religion of England." (SLO)

While men of power can forge their own rules and systems when the status quo doesn't suit them, their lessers seem to get by with merely ignoring those restraints which prove inconvenient to their personal wants and goals.

Both, however, will find in the end that there is one just Ruler who, while very patient, will ultimately hold all accountable for their actions.

Our Creator God knows each one of us - our struggles, our hopes and our failures - and offers redemption and renewal, and a quality of life that begins now and lasts forever!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_FQgtXU1pU
 
A real test? July 13, 1778: "Anglican clergyman and hymnwriter John Newton wrote in a letter: 'It is perhaps the highest triumph we can obtain over bigotry when we are able to bear with bigots themselves.' " (StudyLight.org)

July 16, 1944: "German Lutheran theologian and Nazi martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in a letter from prison: 'One has to live for some time in a community to understand how Christ is "formed" in it (Gal 4:19).' " (SLO)

It is within the context of community that we become aware of our own faults and shortcomings, creating in us an awareness of the need to grow in virtue and maturity that reflects the kind of life that Jesus lived and empowers his followers to live. Becoming a follower of Christ does not mean instant perfection, but is merely the first step toward a journey into his likeness.

July 17, 431: "The Council of Ephesus adjourned. This third of the 21 ecumenical councils of the Church condemned Nestorianism and Pelagianism, and defined Mary's title as 'theotokos'('Bearer of God'). (SLO)

Interestingly, later theologians have rightly questioned the condemnation of Nestorious, concluding that he was merely addressing an over-emphasis of the position of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

This ancient debate is a prime example of reading into Scripture things that are not there, and asking questions that cannot be answered through human understanding. The intellectual strivings of theologians do not always helpfully contribute to the growth of faith.

Indeed, not infrequently, the intellectualizing of spiritual concepts result in stunting real development of Christian nature in those who call themselves his followers, exchanging experience for mere head knowledge. What good is "knowing" without a corresponding "doing"? Wow, what a challenge I find this to be...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7pDDG-VaFI

July 18, 1876: "American philosopher and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson noted: 'Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than material, that thoughts rule the world.' " (SLO)

July 19, 64 - "Nero Unleashed First Wave of Terror" against Christians

http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1-300/nero-unleashed-first-wave-of-terror-11629580.html
 
TexasBred said:
Do you agree with the position of Nestorious?? Mary was bearer of Jesus but NOT bearer of God??
Click to expand...

Well, TexasBred, if I had a full understanding of the intricacies of the Trinity, I could supply you with an answer. However, I think you will agree that such things are beyond the realm of human comprehension, naturally. But my limitations do not preclude me from being a trinitarian

So I bring this statement to you again - "This ancient debate is a prime example of reading into Scripture things that are not there, and asking questions that cannot be answered through human understanding. The intellectual strivings of theologians do not always helpfully contribute to the growth of faith."

Because of our human limitations, anything beyond that is a useless battle in semantics with no beneficial outcome.
 
http://orthodoxwiki.org/theotokos


The title Theotokos

1. Adoption at the Third Ecumenical Council

As a title for the Virgin Mary, Theotokos was recognized by the Orthodox Church at Third Ecumenical Council held at Ephesus in 431. It had already been in use for some time in the devotional and liturgical life of the Church. The theological significance of the title is to emphasize that Mary's son, Jesus, is fully God, as well as fully human, and that Jesus' two natures (divine and human) were united in a single Person of the Trinity. The competing view at that council was that Mary should be called Christotokos instead, meaning "Birth-giver to Christ." This was the view advocated by Nestorius, then Patriarch of Constantinople. The intent behind calling her Christotokos was to restrict her role to be only the mother of "Christ's humanity" and not his divine nature.

Nestorius' view was anathematized by the Council as heresy, (see Nestorianism), since it was considered to be dividing Jesus into two distinct persons, one who was Son of Mary, and another, the divine nature, who was not. It was defined that although Jesus has two natures, human and divine, these are eternally united in one personhood. Because Mary is the mother of God the Son, she is therefore duly entitled Theotokos.

Calling Mary the Theotokos or the Mother of God (Μητηρ Θεου) was never meant to suggest that Mary was coeternal with God, or that she existed before Jesus Christ or God existed. The Church acknowledges the mystery in the words of this ancient hymn: "He whom the entire universe could not contain was contained within your womb, O Theotokos."

The title "Theotokos" continues to be used frequently in the hymns of the Orthodox Church.

2. Translating the word Theotokos While some languages used by various Orthodox churches often have a single native word for Theotokos, it gets translated into English in a number of ways. The most common is Mother of God, though God-bearer and Birth-giver to God are also fairly common. There are difficulties with all these translations, however. The most literally correct one is Birth-giver to God, though God-bearer comes close. Theophoros (Θεοφορος) is the Greek term usually and more correctly translated as God-bearer, so using God-bearer for Theotokos in some sense "orphans" Theophoros when it comes time to translate that term (for St. Ignatius of Antioch, for instance). The main difficulties with both these translations for Theotokos is that they are a bit awkward and difficult to sing.

The most popular translation, Mother of God, is accurate to a point, but the difficulty with that one is that Mother of God is the literal translation of another Greek phrase which is found on nearly all icons of the Theotokos: Μητηρ Θεου (Meter Theou), usually in the standard iconographic abbreviation of ΜΡ ΘΥ. Additionally, a number of hymns employ both Theotokos and Meter Theou—translating both as Mother of God can yield some rather nonsensical language, and it destroys the distinction that the hymnographer intended.

The usage that seems to be dominant in English-speaking Orthodox churches in North America is to adopt the original term itself into English (something English speakers have traditionally done with foreign words almost since the earliest known history of the language), transliterating it simply as Theotokos. British usage gives preference to translating Theotokos as Mother of God.
 
If the more traditional Protestants would confess with us as Catholics: If Jesus Christ is one, eternal and unchangeable divine person—God—and Mary is his mother, then Mary is the Mother of that one, eternal and unchangeable person—God.
 
It seems to me that it was very necessary at that time to go against Nestorius' idea of Christotokos and keep Teotokos to preserve the long held belief that Jesus was both God and man. Jesus was both God and man at his conception, and did not later become God.
And it was not a matter of reading scripture differently, as scripture was not the only guideline that the church had, but the long held teachings of the church.
As Paul says: 1st Timothy 3:15 "But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God. The pillar and ground of truth."
Or another translation: "But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God. The pillar and foundation of truth."

Maybe Nestorius was not treated justly in this matter, but that is a different subject.
 
"...as scripture was not the only guideline that the church had, but the long held teachings of the church."

Martin, when church teaching and action contravenes the Scripture upon which it is supposedly based, what is a person to believe and practice?

Scripture ALONE is the basis for our faith and practice, not the traditions of men - Jesus said this to the Pharisees - "And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

"'This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men."

And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!" (Mark 7:6-9, ESV)

When your Roman Catholic ancestors were burning. torturing and drowning my ancestors for their faithful obedience to Scriptural teaching, were they following Scripture?

No, they were standing in defense of corrupt and unGodly human tradition.

And the Roman Catholics - to my knowledge - have never acknowledged the immense injury that they committed against those who pointed out their wrongheaded and unBiblical ways.

Ironically, there are those in my Anabaptist tradition that have followed the same path as that which their former oppressors took and taken what was once a joyful and spontaneous obedience to Christian principles and turned it into a legalistic dogma. Thus, they show that all man-made institutions are fallible and corruptible.

I believe that you are most sincere in your faith, but remind you that ultimately we will all be judged by our obedience to following the Living Word, Jesus Christ, and not by our allegiance to the dictates of an institution.
 
Martin Jr. said:
Of course, you are going by the idea of "Bible alone" an idea which was not heard of in the first 1500 years of Christianity.
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Except for what Jesus Himself said in the Mark 7 passage quoted above, if that counts for much.

This is what never ceased to amaze me about some hyper-conservative affiliations from the past - they simply could not see themselves and their dogmatic attitudes as being the exact same as displayed by the Pharisees that Jesus rebuked.
 
Mark 7 is talking about something very different than what the Catholic Church calls Tradition.

Now when the pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed hands. (For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews, do not eat without carefully washing their hands, keeping the tradition of the elders. And on coming from the marketplace they do not eat without purifying themselves. And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed, the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, "Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands? He responded, "Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: "This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."
He went on to say, "How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'Whoever curses father of mother shall die.' Yet you say, 'If a person says to father or mother, 'Any support you might have had from me is qorban' (meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother. You nullify the word of God in favor of your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many such things."
He summoned the crowd again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come from within are what defiles."
 
burnt said:
Martin Jr. said:
Of course, you are going by the idea of "Bible alone" an idea which was not heard of in the first 1500 years of Christianity.
Click to expand...

Except for what Jesus Himself said in the Mark 7 passage quoted above, if that counts for much.

This is what never ceased to amaze me about some hyper-conservative affiliations from the past - they simply could not see themselves and their dogmatic attitudes as being the exact same as displayed by the Pharisees that Jesus rebuked.
Click to expand...

Jesus taught "scripture alone" when not one single book of the NT canon had yet been written? There were more than a few Catholic burned, drawn and quartered and gutted during this time as well. You condemn tradition and you overlook or do not accept what St. Paul said about sacred tradition (the oral teachings of the apostles....not the traditions of men). Were not the teachings of Jesus which were later recorded into scripture nothing more than "oral teachings" and then scripture actually says not all of the teachings of Jesus are in the scripture?? Much tradition that many if not all churches practice is not included in scripture.

St. Paul mentions tradition several times in his epistles, reminding both Timothy and the Thessalonians to stand fast to the traditions he taught them. In his Second Letter to Timothy, Paul wrote: "Take as a model of sound teaching what you have heard me say, in faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the rich deposit of faith with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us" (1:13-14). Later, in the same letter, he further instructs Timothy, "You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2:1-2). It seems clear that the apostolic Tradition, the oral teaching of the apostles, was to be preserved and transmitted from generation to generation. St. Paul doesn't write to Timothy and say, "This is all you need for salvation"; rather, he writes Timothy to entrust to other faithful men, who will be able to instruct others, what he preached, and Timothy heard, before many witnesses.

In the Second Letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul is just as explicit: "So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter" (2:15). Either by word of mouth or letter.

Were the brethren to stand firm and hold the oral Tradition that St. Paul taught only for that one generation? Did the Holy Spirit tire and decide to safeguard the transmission of only the written record of Jesus' and the apostles' teachings? Obviously not!

Scripture is clear that the spoken record of apostolic teaching, what we Catholics today call Holy Tradition, has been handed down and preserved for us. Good and faithful men, the bishops of the Church, have handed on to us the teachings of the apostles, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
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