One of the main catholic teachings about Mary is that she stayed a virgin her entire life...(Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 510)What does the Bible say about that though? The two main passages that mention these brothers and sisters are stated below:
Matthew 12:46-47 states:
46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.Matthew 13:54-56 states:
54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?Those passages seem to state that Jesus had brothers and sisters. However, we must look at the context of the verses to see just what exactly it means by "brothers" and "sisters". In Greek, the word for brother is �adelphos� and sister is �adelphe�.
In both of these verses, if the brothers of Jesus are not brothers, but His cousins or other disciples, then who is His mother and who is the carpenter�s father? In other words, �mother� here refers to Mary. The carpenter in Matt. 13:55, refers to Joseph. These are literal. Yet, the Catholic theologian will then stop there and say, "Though �carpenter�s son� refers to Joseph, and �mother� refers to Mary, �brothers� does not mean brothers, but "cousins." This does not seem to be a legitimate assertion. You cannot simply switch contextual meanings in the middle of a sentence unless it is obviously required. The context is clear. This verse is speaking of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus� brothers. The whole context is of familial relationship: father, mother, and brothers.
Another issue about Mary is that catholics pray to her and other saints. A lot of catholics don't necessarily consider it praying to them, but actually just talking to them. If you examine it closely though, it really is praying. An excerpt of the conclusion of the Rosary prayed by millions is: �Hail, holy Queen [of heaven], Mother of Mercy! Our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping, in this valley of tears.� Despite the rejections of saying they are praying to Mary or saints the Catholic Church does encourage praying to Mary as these excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church prove: �Beginning with Mans unique cooperation with the working of the Holy- Spirit, the Churches developed their prayer to the holy Mother of God� (Catechism 2675).
When we look in the Bible we find that prayer is directed to God alone. To set up a person as a recipient for our prayers, no matter how great they are, is making them out to be a deity. Asking a saint to help and guide or protect is something only God can do. There is not one place in the New Testament that people pray to Mary or saints in the early church. The apostles never wrote of it in the book of Acts or the epistles. There is no Old Testament or New Testament teaching of praying to the dead and while they may be very much alive in heaven the Bible categorizes them as dead because they are no longer with us here on earth after their body is put to the ground. Deut. 18:10-12 tells us about a medium, someone who calls on the dead. All these have to do with contact, talking and communicating with spirits, which is strictly forbidden. They are in a different place than earth, and fallen angels (demons) love to deceive by convincing people they are their dead relatives, or that they are Mary or Jesus speaking to them. For more information on who to pray to, please visit my Prayer Page.
The Bible makes it very clear in Acts 4:12: "Neither is there salvation in ANY other: for there is NONE other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." The Scriptures clearly teach that it is to Jesus alone we are to pray...no one else is capable of saving you.