Catholics Are Quick to Say that Mary Isn't the Same Queen of Heaven Condemned in Jeremiah

It's only normal that Catholics are quick to respond that they're not praying to the pagan Queen of Heaven (such as Ashtoreth or Ishtar) or that Jeremiah 7 and 44 doesn't condemn praying to Mary at all. I could agree with Catholics that Mary isn't Ishtar or Ashtoreth. Far from it, the earthly mother of Jesus was an exemplary example of godliness that every mother should follow. However, Catholics have unknowingly elevated her to the position of a pagan goddess. They could argue all they want with some doctrines like Mary was ascended bodily into Heaven and was crowned the Queen of Heaven. The doctrine is not found in the Bible nor even historically there. It was a later doctrine that Pius XII declared in 1950. Since Catholics believe that the Pope is granted special immunity from doctrinal error by the power of the Holy Spirit - they have to believe it because the Pope said it. 

A better study of the Bible in the New Testament will point that Mary never invited people to herself. John 2:1-11 has Mary even telling people to do what Jesus tells them to do. Yet, Catholics want to use that scene to prove that Mary intercedes even when she didn't otherwise. Mary was telling people to follow Jesus' command. Jesus even rebuked her politely. The Good News Translation even has Jesus telling Mary politely not to tell Him what to do and that His time had not yet come. Yet, Catholics have read that passage and inserted the Catholic priest's interpretation into the Word of God. Yet, some pseudo-Catholic apologists even say, "The Bible belongs to God!" and teach stuff not found in the Word of God! These pseudo-Catholic apologists also told born-again Christians that they reject God's Word to keep their own tradition. Yet, they reject the principle of Sola Scriptura without even knowing what it stood for. Nowhere in the Bible are we told that we should pass through Mary for salvation. Worse, people like Abraham Arganiosa of The Splendor of the Church blog have developed a rather stubborn mindset when he loves to mock born-again Christians by saying that they allegedly hate Mary. 

It's already a common error by some Catholics that born-again Christians downplay Mary. Again, far from it as great Protestant preachers like Arthur W. Pink praise Mary as a mother to model and an excellent woman. Pink also wrote this of Mary in "The Seven Sayings of the Savior":

6. Here we see a universal need exemplified. How different is the Mary of Scripture from the Mary of superstition! She was no proud Madonna but, like each of us, a member of a fallen race, a sinner both by nature and practice. Before the birth of Christ she declared, "My soul does magnify the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior "(Luke 1:46-47). And now at the death of the Lord Jesus she is found before the Cross. The Word of God presents not the mother of Jesus as the Queen of angels decked with diadem, but as one who herself rejoiced in a Savior. It is true she is "blessed among [not "above"] women," and that by virtue of the high honor of being the mother of the Redeemer; yet was she human, a real member of our fallen race, a sinner needing a Savior.

What born-again Christians are pointing out is that the Mary of Catholicism is not the Mary of the Bible. The born-again Christian doesn't hate Mary but as the late Anthony Pezzotta says, loves Mary the biblical way. In Acts 2, Mary was last seen praying with the apostles and not being prayed to by the apostles. After Acts 2, Mary's life becomes rather silent except for her acquaintances. Peter, whom Rome says is their first Pope, ends up preaching the Gospel not mentioning a word about Mary. None of Peter's writings mention Mary at all. Mary is an important historical figure yet the apostolic letters leave her out for some unexplained reason. Paul never mentioned Mary at all either. However, Paul would mention James the Lord's brother (Galatians 1:19). I would just assume Mary was probably still attending church at Peter's assembly until the day God called her home. Mary was probably instrumental in bringing her natural children by Joseph (who probably died at that time) to the knowledge of the Lord. Mary continues to stand out as a godly woman. However, Catholics have elevated Mary beyond the godly woman that she is. The Mary of Catholicism just doesn't match the Scriptures at all. Most of the Scriptures used to defend her so-called "immaculate conception" are rather taken straight out-of-context or eisegetical analysis. 

The title "Queen of Heaven" isn't Scriptural either. The "Queen of Heaven" can refer to more than one pagan goddess depending on the country. Many times, this Queen of Heaven was portrayed as the all-powerful queen of the gods. Astarte the wife of Baal was the Queen of Heaven for the Canaanites and Phoenicians. Many countries would have different figures called the Queen of Heaven. The Egyptians had Isis the consort of Osiris. The Greeks had Hera (whom Romans call Juno) the spouse of Zeus (whom the Romans called Jupiter). China has Wang Mu Niang Niang the Queen Mother of the West is the wife of the Jade Emperor. India has Indrani the wife of Indra. Japan has Amaterasu the goddess of the sun and the wife of Tsukuyomi. The confusion goes as the story of one version of the Queen of Heaven differs from every nation. The Bible never called Mary with the title of a pagan goddess. Praying to Hera or Indrani is no less sinful than praying to Astarte. Praying to the Catholic Mary who's also titled the "Queen of Heaven" is still idolatry even if Catholics claim they're asking Jesus' earthly mother to pray for them. 

The problem for Catholics with their devotion to Mary is no less different from what people were saying in Jeremiah 44:17-19:

17 We will do everything that we said we would. We will offer sacrifices to our goddess, the Queen of Heaven, and we will pour out wine offerings to her, just as we and our ancestors, our king and our leaders, used to do in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Then we had plenty of food, we were prosperous, and had no troubles. 18 But ever since we stopped sacrificing to the Queen of Heaven and stopped pouring out wine offerings to her, we have had nothing, and our people have died in war and of starvation.”

Catholics will admit that they don't consider Mary as a goddess but they're already (without knowing it) treating her like one. How often is Mary in Catholicism invoked like she's the goddess Gayatri of Hinduism or Guan Yin of Buddhism? How often is it a common sight for a Catholic in mortal danger to be praying to Mary instead of God? Catholics may still affirm that the Trinity is eternal yet they insert Mary into a picture. They make a Trinity a quartet without even knowing it. Some of them even consider that their devotion to Mary was the reason behind their prosperity. What's so sad is that Catholics unknowingly worship a pagan goddess who they believe is Jesus' earthly mother. They stubbornly still insist that their devotion to Mary is a good thing even when it's plain out idolatry. I doubt it Mary the mother of Jesus in His humanity would wish to be called the Queen of Heaven. 

Mary has been such a faithful would have known of the sins of the people in the past. I would even assume Mary spent time studying the Old Testament Scriptures without dreaming one day she would be instrumental in fulfilling those prophecies. Luke 1 even tells us Mary was later frightened with the message of the angel Gabriel. Mary always considered herself the handmaid of the Lord and accepted His will. I don't think Mary would even be happy to be called the Queen of Heaven knowing that it was an idol worshiped that also helped contribute to the downfall of Jerusalem. True, Mary may not be any non-existent goddess who is called the Queen of Heaven. However. Mary would never accept such a title because she knows where glory belongs to - to God and God alone. Mary would just shun such a title. A shame really that this new Queen of Heaven should even be named after the godly Mary when this new Queen of Heaven is nothing like that godly woman and beloved sister-in-Christ! Yet, some Catholics will still cry foul and say that born-again Christians "hate" Mary as they continue in this unbiblical practice that will never bring them closer to Christ.