The Church of the Saints -Introduction

 

The Church of the Saints (1)

“Introduction”

 

Thomas: Good morning, Mark.

 

 Mark: G'day Thomas, how ya going?

 

Thomas: All thanks to God. Honestly, there's been something on my mind these past couple of days, and I wanted to get your opinion.

 

Mark: Sure, man. What's on your mind?

 

Thomas: What do you think about intercession for the departed, or intercession in general?

 

Mark: Hmm... where have I heard that before? 😏

 

Thomas: Well, honestly, we haven't seen in the New Testament any of the apostles praying and invoking, for example, the Virgin Mary's intercession. Nor have we seen a priest holding his censer and fumigating in front of an icon. Show me one verse where any of the apostles had a statue or an icon made for them. On the contrary, there's a clear violation of one of the Ten Commandments when it says, "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above" (Exodus 20:4). Are we making icons, fumigating them, and even prostrating ourselves before them?

 

Mark: Yep, I know now where you are coming from. This’s gonna be a long discussion!.

 

Thomas: Mate, I'm serious. Don't you think this is going too far in our relationship with the Lord? Our God is a jealous God, and He says, "I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other" (Isaiah 42:8).

 

Mark: Alright, anything else?

 

Thomas: Not much, to be honest. Isn't it our Lord Himself who said that the dead don't intercede for the living? "Should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?" (Isaiah 8:19). Also, in the Psalms, we say, "For in death, there is no remembrance of you; in Sheol, who will give you praise?" (Psalm 6:5). And in Deuteronomy, there's a clear prohibition of communicating with the dead: "There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord" (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).

 

Mark: So, you've concluded that intercession for the departed is not necessary. It's even disliked by God.

 

Thomas: Yeah, of course! Haven't we replaced the intercession of the Lord Jesus with people? This is a mistake because "there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus Christ is our intercessor, "But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1).

 

Mark: Hmmm... Alright, but isn't praying for each other according to the commandment a form of intercession too? "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another" (James 5:16).

 

Thomas: But isn't that commandment for the living, not the dead?

 

Mark: I will agree temporarily with you. But the question remains: how can we have one intercessor, Jesus Christ, and humans interceding for each other according to the commandment? I think claiming that we have Jesus Christ as our intercessor is not enough to dismiss the intercession of others. Therefore, understanding should precede evidence! 👀

 

Thomas: Is that your only argument to convince me with “Intercession of Saints”?

 

Mark: No, of course not. I'm just convincing you to seek understanding before citing verses for evidence. Honestly, you've opened many intertwined topics, and I'd like to discuss them all. But for our discussion to be beneficial, let's divide your questions into two main parts, each containing a set of questions to organize the discussion:

 

Part One: Legitimacy of the Doctrine of Intercession

  • Is Christ an intercessor, or is he a mediator, and are they different?
  • Why intercession? Doesn't Christ intercede for us?
  • Why give glory to the other than the last one? Is it because Christ is an intercessor, so no one else can be an intercessor?
  • Do the dead intercede for the living? Are the departed also intercessors?
  • I'll add some imprecise concepts around intercession as well.

 

Part Two: Objections to Rituals Reflecting the Doctrine of Intercession

  • Are icons a violation of the Scriptures?
  • Is prostration to icons a violation of the Scriptures?
  • Is offering incense to icons acceptable?

Did I forget anything else?

 

Thomas: No, that's great! I have questions about the Virgin Mary and her praises, and the bodies and relics of the saints. But you're right. We can't discuss all these topics at once. Let's follow the division you've made.

 

Mark: Alright, let's start with the first topic: the intercession or mediation of Christ..


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