Mary of Nazareth Project uniting Christians, Jews and Muslims

[Christian Soldier]

http://zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=79685

A bishop of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem is promoting a new high-tech multimedia center dedicated to Mary of Nazareth.

The project is coordinated by the Mary of Nazareth Association, which arose in France. Auxiliary Bishop Giacinto-Boulos Marcuzzo is the delegate of the Assembly of the Bishops of the Holy Land whose goal is to support the initiative.

The Marian center is being established, using buildings around the Basilica of the Annunciation, to focus on the mystery of the Mother of God.

In a statement to ZENIT today, Bishop Marcuzzo explained that the project is a "small miracle" of "unity and peace," as it has united for the first time the churches of the Holy Land: Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant.

The bishop said that the Jewish authorities favor this project and that it has the support of Muslim believers who venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary.

"When you hear talk of the Holy Land, unfortunately you hear about conflicts, war, terrorism, violence, death," he said. "Here is a project that unites Christians of all denominations, including Protestants, and finally also Muslims and Jews."

Providential

The prelate described as "providential" the way in which the buildings near the basilica have been purchased, "next to the place in which the great mystery of the Incarnation was realized." Such purchases seemed impossible just a few years ago, he said.

Twelve other similar centers around the world are being established.

The prelate is confident that the center will be very useful for the local Church, which "really needs it," to be able to carry out "a pastoral program of the holy places."

Bishop Marcuzzo, 60, explained that the project needs the support of Christians to be consolidated and believes it is an effective way to support the Holy Land.

[Andy]

Re: Mary of Nazareth Project uniting Christians, Jews and Muslims

Perry Stone said this would happen several years ago in a video I have by him. Fascinating.

[Guest]

Re: Mary of Nazareth Project uniting Christians, Jews and Muslims

No surprise that this is happening.

I really don't like when they use the title "Mother of God" I understand the spiritual gymnastics they go thru to tell us that this is an ok title (NOT!) To me it gives Mary godlike qualities and seems to imply that she birthed God.

[Christian Soldier]

Re: Mary of Nazareth Project uniting Christians, Jews and Muslims

No surprise that this is happening.

I really don't like when they use the title "Mother of God" I understand the spiritual gymnastics they go thru to tell us that this is an ok title (NOT!) To me it gives Mary godlike qualities and seems to imply that she birthed God.

----

Like you Denise, I become perturbed when "Mother" of God appears in print. "Mother" denotes that she was there BEFORE God existed and that's untrue. In our natural world, your mother was born before you were born. Spiritually, God didn't have a beginning; He was always there as the Triune Being: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Mary of Nazareth was the "earthly" mother of Jesus. Yes, it's true that Jesus is God so why not say she was the mother (m in lowercase) of Jesus? Capitalizing the "M" in mother gives Mary some divine attribute thus adding to her status as the Immaculate Virgin. They will not acknowledge that Mary had other children after Jesus came into this world as a child and they won't accept the fact that she was a sinner like all of us and as a Hell deserving sinner, she needed the Saviour of sinners just like us and all the popes who lived and died throughout the centuries of time.

[Guest]

Re: Mary of Nazareth Project uniting Christians, Jews and Muslims

This was done before in the cities of Judah and Jerusalem..worship of the "queen of heaven"

Jeremiah 44

15Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,

16As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.

17But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.

18But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.

19And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?

20Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying,

21The incense that ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind?

22So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.

23Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.

24Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:

25Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.

26Therefore hear ye the word of the LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth.

27Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them.

28Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or their's.

29And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil:

30Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give Pharaohhophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.

[Butterfly]

I'm with David Hocking

Dr. David Hocking did a broadcast addressing the question of "Is Mary the Mother of God?" He proved that Mary was not the biological mother of Jesus, and certainly not the "Mother of God".

Check out his Hope for Today radio program Quesion and Answer December 27, 2005:

http://www.davidhocking.org/radio/archive/previous.html

He demonstrates through Scripture, specifically the geneologies of Jesus through the line of Mary from the Gospels and the O.T. that Jesus had NO DNA from Mary. None. None of Mary's DNA. So there is no way she could be construed as the biological mother of Jesus who is God, ergo "Mother of God". I think not.

He proves all of Jesus' human DNA came from the Holy Spirit.

I was convinced because he had all his points documented by Scripture and medical science. It makes perfect sense to me and completely debunks the idea that Jesus had Mary's DNA. At best she was Jesus' surrogate mother.

Basically, he said all the Father used of Mary was her womb, everything else was born of the Holy Spirit - the egg and sperm if you will, everything was born of God from above.

I lost a lot of the details over time since I heard the radio broadcast a month ago and I can't play the radio program on my computer.

If I remember correctly, the process was something vaguely similar (in our puny ability to understand) to cloning - somatic cell nuclear transfer and the fact that a human male cannot be created without the father's Y chromosome. (I think he said the pre-incarnate Christ's genetic material was transferred by the Holy Spirit to one of Mary's egg that had her genetic material removed so that only God's divinity rested inside the egg that grew into an embryo to fetus to baby inside her womb??) Does any of this make any sense?

I could be off some in my memory of the study. To say the least he taught that the embryo that developed and grew in Mary's womb had none of Mary's genetic material. He could be wrong but I believe it, though I don't understand it.

It was FACINATING to say the least. Maybe someone can listen to that broadcast and post more of the details of his study? Has anyone heard a study like this?