Marian Devotees Are Not Much Different from the People in Jeremiah 44

As I was reading the Bible today - I decided that a good post to further elaborate here would be on the subject of the Queen of Heaven. Okay, I could agree with Catholics who say that the Queen of Heaven in Jeremiah 7 and 44 is not Mary. Yes, it's not Mary the beloved earthly mother of Jesus and a great sister in Christ I hope to meet someday. However, the situation of Marian devotees is really not much different from the people in Jeremiah 44 who insisted on their worship of the pagan goddess, the Queen of Heaven.

Jeremiah 44:17-19 (GNT) - 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.”

Another Catholic-approved translation (the NASB) renders the passage as:

 17 But we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, [l]by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings, and our leaders did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune. 18 But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything, and have met our end by the sword and by famine.” 19 “And,” said the women, “when we were burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes in her image, and poured out drink offerings to her?”

Just reading those verses makes me think of excuses people have been making. I remembered I was told that I was suffering after I became a born-again Christian because Mama Mary is angry. One of the many incidents that happened to me was having a hard time in high school (as a result of circumstances and my immaturity), our family car got hit by a reckless driver, and my mother made the mistake of nearly returning me to the secular school that I hated so much. Some people even told me that my conversion to born-again Christianity gave way to troubles and that their devotion to Mary kept them prosperous. It has become so typical for Catholics to defend their devotion to Mary (while saying they don't worship Mary because they don't think they worship her) because their forefathers and leaders did so (especially those who are born in Catholic countries and into Catholic families). Some people say they were born Catholics as a justification to die as Catholics. Some Marian devotees even have gone as far as to say that their devotion to Mary was the reason why they were so blessed in this life. Some Marian devotees may even be thanking Mary for their prosperity and even mock born-again Christians for their supposed "curse". Isn't that very similar to what the devotees of the Queen of Heaven (possibly Astarte or Ishtar) were doing to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 44? Do they forget that some really mean people are living like God is blessing them in this life?

It also reminded me of an incident where Manny Pacquiao's loss (against a Catholic athlete) shortly after his conversion to born-again Christianity as a result of abandoning his devotion to Mary. I really laughed at the way Abraham Arganiosa the webmaster of the rather unprofessional website The Splendor of the Church makes his arguments along with other fake Catholic apologists. Have they even thought that some Catholic athletes do lose against non-Catholic athletes? Religion has nothing to do with the losses and wins in competitions. It's like, for example, a Buddhist academy may win against a Christian school in a sports competition but that doesn't make Buddhism the truth. A Muslim athlete may defeat a Catholic athlete in a friendly competition. Would that Muslim athlete's victory against a Catholic athlete suddenly make Islam the truth? I'm still laughing at such arguments especially when I consider that Christian athletes do find themselves defeated against non-Christian athletes. For the Christian athlete, it's not about worldly victories but pressing towards the high calling (Philippians 3:14). 

Jeremiah himself had a heart bleeding for these people lost in the worship of the Queen of Heaven. Any real born-again Christian would have a heart bleeding for Catholics who are still stuck in Mary worship. Mary may not be Ishtar or Astarte but calling her the Queen of Heaven is plain idolatry. Nowhere in the Scripture is Mary even considered as such. Mary silently left the pages of Scripture after Pentecost. Last time, Mary was praying with the apostles and not prayed to by the apostles. Anybody who is truly born-again in Christ will not have an easy life. In fact, Jesus warned many times that following Him will have a high cost. Salvation is free but it's also costly. Salvation required God the Father to cost His Son. Receiving the free gift of salvation can be costly. It's not because works are required but because it will result in good works which will result in persecution from the world. 2 Timothy 3:12 says that the godly will suffer persecution. It means people who are suffering may be suffering when they don't deserve it. Yet, Matthew 5:11-12 says that those who are persecuted for Christ's sake are blessed. Unfortunately, many Catholics are probably too comfortable in their religion. Yet, there are already some Catholics who have seen the truth (even some priests and nuns) and are now suffering for the cause of Christ.