Sorry folks, I know some of you won’t like this…and that’s ok.
I’m not here to only tell you what you want to hear or just what I think will make you happy, that’s not what we do around here.
And I know that probably 90% of you are in agreement with me on this already, I know that too. But a very vocal 10% take extreme offense whenever I talk about this.
But that’s ok. I’m here to print the truth and since I believe God gave me this platform I have to print the truth even if I know it will offend some people. In this case, the Catholics.
Meet R.C. Sproul, a famous pastor who had a large following before social media even existed.
And this clip popped up in my feed today when I least expected it and I have to share it with you.
I share this truth with you all in love for all our Catholic readers.
I’ll just let R.C. say it, he does a better job than I could.
Listen to Pastor Sproul here:
TRANSCRIPT:
This pastor’s answer left Roman Catholics speechless.
“My family is still Roman Catholic and they still pray to Mary and the Saints. Will this cause them to be kept out of heaven even though they claim to trust Christ for their salvation?”
Maybe. I mean, it’s a gross act of idolatry to be praying to Mary and to the Saints. That’s a very serious matter.
And I think that there are thousands, perhaps millions, of people within the Roman Catholic Church who really are trusting in Christ and Christ alone for their salvation, not trusting the way of salvation that their own church teaches.
They have to understand, as I’ll be talking about this afternoon, that Rome has categorically, consistently, and clearly denied the Gospel. And no matter all other good things that they do—opposing abortion and affirming the Trinity and all of that—the anathematizing of the Gospel at the succession of the Council of Trent, which has never been rescinded and reaffirmed as recently as the Catholic Catechism, disqualifies Rome, in my opinion, as a valid church.
I believe that every true Christian who really is trusting in Christ has a moral obligation to leave that communion. And as long as the Gospel is an essential truth of the Christian faith, you don’t want to be in a communion that denies it.
That actually comes from a longer clip which I have for you right here if you want more context or more teaching on this topic:
There you go folks!
It’s not what I’m telling you or what I think or believe, take it from this wise Pastor.
Before I go, I want to address one question that comes up whenever I mention this topic, which is “Why are you doing this Noah? What’s your point? Are you just trying to rile people up?”
Not at all.
In fact, here’s my goal right here, plain as day:
I’m writing this article to answer a question…
First, let me back up a minute.
About 7 months ago, I made a comment in passing that Catholics really should not pray to Mary.
I thought that shouldn’t be very controversial since the Bible clearly teaches you pray in the name of Jesus to: “Our Father, who art in Heaven…”.
But that set off a firestorm and ever since then I’ve been inundated with all sorts of emails and comments from people telling me why I’m wrong and what they believe.
But a few people have paused to ask me what my goal in talking about this is, and that’s the question I wanted to answer right now.
Why even continue to have this discussion?
Is it just to rile people up?
Just to argue?
To judge?
It’s none of those things.
The mission of this website from day one in 2015 has been to print the truth wherever I find that.
99% of the time, that has to do with politics and government, but no truth is more important than God’s truth!
And the truth is (no pun intended), that the more I’ve found myself in these conversations, the more really strange things I am finding that people believe.
So while I think printing the truth about politics is important, and I will always continue to do that, it’s far more important that you know the truth about who is sitting on the throne in Heaven and who is worthy of your prayers and worship.
I think it would be a great loss if I had this massive platform and I used it only to talk about President Trump (as much as I enjoy that), and I never told you about the King seated on his throne for all of eternity!
So in this article, I’m not going to rehash whether or not Catholics should pray to Mary. I’ve been clear on that and the Catholics have been clear right back to me.
What I want to do instead in this article is to show you some of the crazy things I have seen in this ongoing discussion to show you why I continue to talk about this.
Because I’m going to use this platform to shine the light in only one place: Jesus Christ.
Not on Mary, even as blessed and highly favored, but the light goes on only one place.
So I want to debunk some really, really bad beliefs, that’s goal #1, and in doing so hopefully show you why I continue to talk about this (because it’s important, and eternity is at stake, and I can’t leave some of you in the goofy ideas you have come up with).
Not just ordinary disputes in the Church that lead to division, stuff like “Should women be pastors” or “What kind of music should we have, pipe organ or contemporary?”
I’m not talking about stuff like that, that can be debated both ways.
I’m talking about just really, really bad ideas. Dangerous ideas. Wildly Unbiblical ideas. Heretical, blasphemous and dangerous ideas.
But goal #2 then is different. It’s bigger. Respectfully speaking, so many of you have such a small vision and it needs to be much bigger! To show you that some of the comments and ideas some of you have crafted will absolutely be consumed by an all consuming fire when they meet Jesus Christ! I don’t need to tell people to not pray to Mary, I need you to see the risen and reigning Jesus Christ in all his glory!
So let’s dig in….
In no particular order, but I can’t think of a better place to start than this one:
I say this in the kindest, most loving way possible, but you have no comprehension of the weight of glory surrounding the King of Kings if your view of him is to compare him to a Commander-In-Chief and to talk about how he has some “leeway”.
There is no leeway in Heaven, there is only the Glory of God, and it is an all consuming fire!
Also, burning sage does not ward off evil spirits, only the name of Jesus Christ does.
The power of the name of Jesus Christ is not equal to the power of burning some sage.
With all due respect, the idea that there’s some leeway and wiggle room in Heaven, and we’ll all just burn some sage and be ok is so far from the reality that you will experience that I have to write this article.
When you stand in front of the weight of the Glory of Jesus Christ, you will not be thinking about leeway or about how Mary has some “pull” over him….the only thing you will be able to do is to fall to your knees under the immense weight and terror (yes terror) that you will experience standing in the presence of the King. More on that farther down below.
Then we have James, who is probably the #1 commenter on my articles on this topic, and I’m sure he’s a good guy and I do not mean him any ill-will, but he came up with one of the phrases that is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me:
Oh we sure do hear that thrown around a lot these days don’t we?
I have my truth, you have your truth, and it’s all good baby!
Sorry folks.
There is one truth, which is God’s truth, and when the all consuming fire of Jesus Christ arrives, it’s not going to take a pause and say that’s ok that you had your own truth. It’s going to burn up all the chaff and leave only God’s truth standing.
These next two tell us that Mary “has a lot of pull” with Jesus:
Folks, there is no “pull” over the King of Kings.
There is only the supremacy of Jesus Christ.
He is seated on the throne, and as much as I’m sure he loves Mary, she has absolutely zero influence over him.
She would be horrified to hear anyone say that.
Also Mary is not the “Spouse of God”.
This is where we really start to go off the rails….
Sorry folks, she was the Mother of Jesus, but she didn’t later become the Spouse of God.
Also, she is not the “Queen of Heaven”.
My goodness, just one heresy after another.
Actually, the Bible teaches that the Queen of Heaven is a Pagan Deity Condemned by God.
True!
In Jeremiah 7:18 and Jeremiah 44:17–25, the “Queen of Heaven” refers to a pagan goddess—likely Ishtar or Astarte, false deities worshiped by surrounding nations. The people of Judah were offering incense, drink offerings, and baked cakes to her. And God’s response was clear: He was enraged.
“The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger.”
(Jeremiah 7:18, ESV)
Folks, do you have spiritual discernment?
Even without knowing that verse, do you have the spiritual discernment to hear that and know something is very “off” and very wrong with calling Mary the Queen of Heaven?
I guess some people truly don’t.
Then we have this from my friend James:
The “theology of the Blessed Mother”…oh my!
Let’s just unpack that for a second.
Theology is literally the “study of God” by definition.
There is no “theology of Mary”.
Mary is not a God.
Mary is not to be worshipped.
Mary is also not the “New Eve”.
That is completely without any Biblical support.
She is also not the enemy of the Serpent.
According to Genesis 3:15, the enemy of Satan is “the seed of the woman,” understood by many Christian theologians as a prophetic reference to Jesus Christ.
Then we have James again in this one, talking about the process of Catholics canonizing certain humans as Saints.
How do they do this?
By a rigorous process that allows them to know they are in heaven, because most people we can’t possibly know who is in Heaven!
But for the Saints, we do a whole bunch of work and then WE know who is in Heaven!
Oh how arrogant to place the Catholic Church in the place of God.
I guess I’m old-school, but I prefer the much simpler, and much more clear Romans 10:9 (KJV):
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,
thou shalt be saved.”
Then we have this:
I honestly don’t even know what this one is….
The sacrifice of Calvary happens daily on each through priests?
What?
I can’t even.
Moving on…..
Then we have people putting their trust and faith in the gnostic Gospel of Mary.
Very bad idea.
Gnostic.
Not Biblical.
Teaches many concepts that directly contradict the Bible.
Then we have the apparitions, where Mary appears to people like a ghost.
Sorry folks, Mary is in Heaven, and she’s not randomly dropping in on people down here to create this lore all centered around her.
Have you ever noticed that all of this places more attention and honor and praise on Mary?
There is only ONE worthy of our praise and that is Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 26:8 (NIV):
“Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,
we wait for you;
your name and renown
are the desire of our hearts.”
The name and renown of Jesus Christ is it. Period. Full stop.
God will not share his glory with another, not even with Mary.
I asked ChatGPT to answer this question in the tone and teaching of John Piper and I thought this was so good:
No, Christians should not pray to Mary.
The Bible is crystal clear that Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). We are invited—no, commanded—to come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), and that throne is occupied by Christ, our High Priest, not Mary.
Nowhere in Scripture are we told to approach anyone other than God in prayer. And there is no biblical precedent for seeking intercession from the dead—even godly saints like Moses or Paul, let alone Mary. In fact, doing so undermines the sufficiency of Christ’s work. It implies that His priesthood needs assistance. That’s a grave mistake.
I understand the instinct. People want tenderness, compassion, someone who understands. And Mary, the mother of Jesus, is seen as that. But listen—Christ is more tender, more merciful, more understanding than anyone, because He bore our griefs, carried our sorrows, and was tempted in every way like us, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15).
To turn to Mary in prayer is to divert affection, trust, and dependence away from Christ. And that is not a small thing. It’s not a minor theological error—it’s a serious confusion about where our hope and access to God lies.
So my plea is this: Go to Christ. Love Mary? Yes. Honor her memory as the blessed mother of our Lord? Absolutely. But pray to Christ alone, trust Him alone, exalt Him alone. Anything else risks obscuring the glory of Jesus, and I will not stand for that.
Then we have Gortita (hey, I think I had one of those at Taco Bell once!) who believes Mary never died in the first place, she was just risen up to heaven like Enoch.
Maybe, except….there is zero Biblical evidence for that.
Then we have this gem….this Roman Catholic priest explains how of course we have to pray to Mary because sometimes Jesus is just too busy and he needs that classic Jewish mother to nag him a bit. Oh my.
Watch here:
Others believe that not only is Mary the mother of Jesus but she’s your mother too!
And my mother!
Oh my!
Many seem to just be happy with their soft blanket.
Pray to Mary, pray to Angels, it’s all good baby! Just let me be me!
If it makes me happy and calms me down, surely it must be good to pray to Mary!
But….why is Jesus not sufficient? I wonder.
A lot of “Queen of Heaven” talk.
Very Unbliblical.
This one says Catholics pray to Jesus through Mary…
Except the Bible teaches you pray to the Father through Jesus.
Very different.
Then we get into the “secret knowledge”.
That’s another word for Gnosticism, by the way.
I again ask who has spiritual discernment?
Mary appearing to random people as a ghost and giving them 10 secrets SHOULD send up all sorts of red flags for you.
This Mama Bear believes the 10 Commandments tell us to Pray to Mary.
They don’t.
They also were written centuries before Mary was even born.
This one says at the Judgment Seat of Christ he will tell us “Behold your Mother.”
Wildly Unbiblical.
Then we have the outright mockery of the Bible.
The Bible says “yada, yada, yada”?
Oh my.
Not good.
Very low views of Scripture lead to dangerous ideas like everything I am highlighting in this article.
Just so you don’t think I’m cherry picking, I’m not.
Each one of these probably has 5-10 other people who post and believe the same thing.
Like this one, another one saying Mary never died.
And we’ve heard this too, haven’t we?
Many times actually.
Jesus can refuse his mother nothing!
It’s like he’s just a cosmic genie and Mary holds the lamp.
How utterly and completely misguided.
Jesus may love his mother, but she holds no sway over him.
She is not up in Heaven telling the King of Kings what he should do as he’s ruling from his throne.
Complete and utter nonsense.
And that’s a good place to merge into Part 2, because rather than just speak against these horrible teachings I’d much rather give you a vision of the absolute unparalleled weight and glory of the King of all Kings.
In no particular order, I challenge you to watch these videos from Louie Giglio, because of all people I believe Louie paints the picture of the GLORY OF GOD better than anyone else ever has. It’s kind of his speciality.
Watch these and realize there is absolutely no power in all of the Universe that has any “pull” on Jesus Christ.
The weight and wonder of his glory cannot be contained.
See if these don’t give you a different view, a much larger view of a much larger King.
A King that doesn’t fit in your boxes.
A King that doesn’t fit in a tiny little Comment Box.
The Supremacy of God stands alone, and his glory will not be shared with anyone, not even Mary.
ONE:
TWO:
THREE:
FOUR:
And sometimes music hits in a way even words don’t.
Please enjoy this one:
I’d love to hear your comments, but please watch the videos first to see if you don’t get just a slightly bigger perspective of the King other than his Jewish mother nagging at him and like a 13-year old boy he just can’t refuse his mother.
Jesus is SO much bigger.
Thanks for reading.
What do you think?
I’ll wrap with this….
I asked ChatGPT to respond to me in the voice of Dr. Michael S. Heiser and based on all his public teachings and writings.
Then I asked this question:
“His” answer (via ChatGPT):
Well, let’s be clear—if you’re going to approach this like I would, you have to start with this principle: What does the text say? And what did the original writers and readers understand it to mean?
So let’s take those two Catholic doctrines in that light.
1. Elevating Church Tradition to the Same Level as Scripture
This is not a small issue, and here’s why:
In the biblical worldview, especially the one we recover through the context of the Second Temple period and early Israelite religion, Scripture is the authoritative revelation from God. Now, yes, tradition can be useful—but only insofar as it helps illuminate the meaning of the text. The moment tradition becomes a separate stream of revelation, you’re essentially saying that something other than Scripture has equal divine authority, and that’s a theological problem.
What the Catholic system does—and I’m not trying to caricature here—is it says that Sacred Tradition, Sacred Scripture, and the Magisterium are a three-legged stool of authority. That isn’t consistent with the worldview of the biblical authors. They never imagined a time when post-biblical leadership would be infallible interpreters or co-revealers of divine truth.
So yes, that’s a critical issue. If you elevate any human institution to coequal status with God’s revelation, you’re distorting the entire biblical authority structure.
2. Praying to Mary
This, again, is not a minor issue.
From the standpoint of the Divine Council worldview, we do recognize that there are heavenly beings—and the ancient Israelites did pray about them or acknowledged their roles. But worship and prayer as petition were always directed to God. Period. There is no biblical precedent—zero—for praying to anyone other than God, whether human or supernatural.
Now, Catholics will say, “We’re not worshiping Mary, just venerating her,” and that we ask her to “intercede.” But functionally, you’re assigning her a quasi-divine role that the Bible never gives her. There is one mediator between God and man—the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5). You don’t need Mary. You don’t need a saint. You have access through the risen Christ, who is your intercessor before the Father (Hebrews 7:25).
Praying to Mary undermines the sufficiency and uniqueness of Christ’s role. That’s not a peripheral issue. That’s a core gospel issue.
Final Thought
In both cases—tradition on par with Scripture and prayer directed to someone other than God—you are deviating from the biblical worldview in serious ways. This isn’t about being mean-spirited or anti-Catholic; it’s about being faithful to the text and the theology of the biblical writers. If the early Christians were here—and I mean the ones who were actual Second Temple Jews—they would be confused at best and horrified at worst by both practices.
You need to get your theology from the Bible in its original context, not from the accumulated decisions of institutional church history.
How Was Mary Viewed in Second Temple Jewish Thinking?
Short answer? She wasn’t.
Mary was a faithful Jewish girl chosen by God to bear the Messiah. That’s huge. She’s blessed among women (Luke 1:28), but no Second Temple Jew—nor any early follower of Jesus—would have thought of her as an object of prayer or as a spiritual figure mediating divine grace. That’s a later theological development that’s foreign to both the Old and New Testament worldview.
We also need to avoid importing Greco-Roman goddess motifs into Mary. A lot of the Marian devotion language—the Queen of Heaven, co-mediatrix, etc.—mirrors pagan mother goddess ideas, which were totally outside the Jewish theological framework.
If you’re serious about contextualizing Scripture, then elevating Mary to this kind of status is just not defensible from the biblical worldview. It’s a later theological construct, not a biblical one.
How Did the Early Church Handle Authority?
This one’s a little more complicated, but still important.
The early church, meaning the first-century, apostolic church, did not operate with a centralized, infallible hierarchy. Authority came from apostolic witness and Scripture, and leadership was local and plural—elders, deacons, overseers—not popes or singular hierarchs.
Even when you look at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, decisions were made in community with input from apostles, elders, and the Holy Spirit. It’s very telling that Peter isn’t the sole authority there—James actually issues the final judgment. That doesn’t look like a papal structure; it looks like shared leadership grounded in Scripture and the Spirit.
And the early creeds? They arose as responses to heresies, not as independent revelations. They were meant to safeguard what Scripture teaches, not add to it.
So again, elevating tradition or church decrees to the level of Scripture is a departure from the apostolic model, not a continuation of it.
Conclusion
If you’re going to be intellectually and theologically honest—if you’re going to do good exegesis, if you care about biblical theology in its own context—then you can’t justify:
Praying to Mary,
Elevating her to divine-like status, or
Treating church tradition as equal in authority to Scripture.
These aren’t fringe issues. They cut to the heart of how we understand revelation, mediation, and the authority of God’s Word.
Like I always said: If it’s weird, it’s important.
But in this case? What’s weird is that people still defend these practices when the biblical text just doesn’t support them.