1. "Mother of God" term to describe Mary is non-biblical, would also exclude the use of the Trinity, simply because it is not in the Holy Writ either. The question then to ask is: "Is the concept of Mary, the Mother of God, taught in Sacred Scripture?"
    
2. Mary is "mother of my Lord," and not the mother of God. The title "Lord," is a title of divinity for Jesus in the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 8:5 the term Lord was not used to refer to divinity, however, the very next verse says: "Yet to us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and through whom we exist." These verses clearly connection between Jesus the "Lord" and His being creator of all things. John 1:1-3 also connects Jesus as "God" to His being the Creator of all things: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with god, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made." Other Biblical references to the "Lord" referring to the divinity of Jesus: Genesis 1:1; and also, Mark 2:28: "So the Son of man is lord even of the Sabbath."

   In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 495, the Catholic Church says that Mary is the Mother of God precisely because Jesus Christ, her Son, is Himself God.
    

3. If Virgin Mary is the Mother of God, then Mary would also be the Mother of the Trinity: All these arguments can wrap up into one: the Incarnation. If Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and Jesus is God, then it follows that the Virgin Mary IS the Mother of God. If Jesus IS lord and NOT God, then we are talking about two persons: one, the human Jesus, son of Mary and the other the divine Jesus with no Mother. The Catholic Church teaches that Mary is the Mother of the second Person of the Holy Trinity, by virtue of the Incarnation. The Father and the Holy Spirit were NOT incarnated. Mary is NOT the source of the divine nature of the second Person of the Trinity – she is not the source of the soul – God is. Christ’s divine nature didn’t change in the Incarnation (Malachi 3:6, Numbers 23:19; James 1:17). Christ’s human and divine natures were completely united in the Incarnation, and Mary gave birth to this divine Person.

And why do Catholics offer devotions to Mary? Precisely because Mary is the Mother of God. See the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 3 "He was Conceived by the Power of the Holy Spirit, and was Born of the Virgin Mary." Note: The biblical references are very important. Not that you will need them but these can come in very handy if pressed for proof of the Mary being the Mother of God.

When most people think of Bible-Christians, they usually mean those in the Protestant denominations. They "own" the Bible, right? And the Church really does not want us to read the bible, right again? Well, wrong. Nothing could be further from the truth.

You will have to wait for the next issues! Note: This series of articles on Catholic Apologetics are based on research from several books. I really encourage you to read at least the following:

• ¹What Catholics Really Believe-Setting the Record Straight: 52 Answers to Common Misconceptions About the Catholic Faith, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1992, by Karl Keating, director Catholic Answers, a lay-run apologetics and evangelization organization, and editor of the magazine, This Rock. He is also the author of the best-seller, Catholicism and Fundamentalism.

• 2Nuts & Bolts: A Practical Guide for Explaining and Defending the Catholic Faith, Basilica Press, San Diego, 1999, by Tim Staples, a former Assemblies of God youth pastor who converted to the Catholic Church.

• ³Catholic Source Book, Harcourt Religion Publishers, 2000, by Rev. Peter Klein. Rev Peter Klein is a priest of the Diocese of Winona in Minnesota.
• ⁴Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, Huntington, Indiana, 1998, by Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas, editor. Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas is the author of eleven books and more than 500 articles. He is the founding editor of Catholic Answer and the administrator of St. John the Baptist Church of Bayonne, New Jersey. He likewise serves as adjunct professor of education at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

To read the rest of the series on Catholic Apologetics, please select one of the links below.

Apologetics Part 1: Catholic Practices and Traditions - Be Proud of Them

Apologetics Part 2: Catholic Devotion To the Virgin Mary

Apologetics Part 3: Bible Catholics?

Apologetics Part 4: The Catholic Beliefs Are Not Found in the Bible

Apologetics Part 5: Everything the Pope Says is Infallible

Apologetics Part 6: Catholics Are Not Born-Again - So They Are Not Saved

Apologetics Part 7: Catholics Worship Saints, Icons and Statues

Apologetics Part 8: Anointing the Sick with Holy Oil

Did You Know? Priestly Celibacy Is A Disciplinary Rule and not a Doctrine

Did You Know? That criticism of the Catholic Church comes from both the right and the left

Non-Catholic Criticism: Indulgences: A Catholic Can Buy Salvation

Non-Catholic Criticism: Communion of Saints - Why Catholics believe in Saints

Non-Catholic Criticism: Call No One on Earth Your Father

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