Can Adventists and Catholics Agree on the Status of Mary?

[CGMedley]

A new book sheds amazing new light on the mother of our Lord. What are the implications for Seventh-day Adventists?

The Adventist Review offers a comprehensive analysis.

http://www.adventistreview.org/issue.php?issue=2007-1531&page=12

[John317]

The answer is that at this time, there is no way the SDA church and Catholics could possibly agree on the status of Mary. But the truth is that the issue won't go away and we will be surprised at what we see in this regard in the future. I would not be surprised to see some even in the SDA church trying to find points of agreement between our church and the Roman Catholic church with a view to closer future cooperation and communion. What better place to start than the popular and apparently harmless teachings about the "mother of God"?

The most telling paragraphs in the article, I think, occur at the end:

We must remember that all “Mariology” is based on nonscriptural sources and is based on unbiblical teachings such as the natural immortality of the soul. In fact, Seventh-day Adventists will be quick to note that the two primary constituent elements of spiritualism—the natural immortality of the soul and communication with the spirits of the dead (Mary and “the saints”)—are both present in Mariology and in Marian theology. The ever-adapting nature of the spiritualist challenge to biblical Christianity requires that we pay special attention when these two elements combine in the heart of a powerful and widespread teaching of another Christian denomination.

Just as predicted, and in fulfillment of prophecy, spiritualism is the adhesive that is bringing Protestantism and Catholicism into both closer contact and greater agreement in advancing unbiblical ideas.