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I ran across an article by evangelical writer Adrian Warnock<\/a>, entitled, \u201cThe root of Catholicism\u2019s error and a lesson for us\u201d<\/a> (3-30-06). He wrote:<\/p>\n David Anthony<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>says :\u00a0\u201cJust been reading Luke 11v27-28. This along with 8v21 are Jesus prophetically speaking into where Catholicism will go wrong centuries later. A woman declares \u2018blessed be the mother who gave birth to you\u2019 and look at Jesus\u2019 reaction. Rather than agree that Mary ought to be revered he says \u2018blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!\u2019. This strikes right at the heart of where Roman Catholicism has gone wrong.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n It is amazing how flagrantly the Roman Catholic system seems (at least to the outsider, anyway) to ignore certain parts of the bible. Few protestants could understand a verse like this any other way than that Jesus is clearly challenging the notion of a special blessedness being attached to his mother by his followers. Yet Catholic doctrine says precisely what this lady said to Jesus.<\/p>\n I would love to know how my Catholic readers (if I have any!) interpret this verse. I suspect that most would simply skip over it. Of course we can easily sit here smugly at this point, but the challenge that sprung to my mind as I considered this was which verses do I neatly skim over in a similar way? Are there parts of the bible that due to their inconvenience to our theological systems we somehow ignore? . . .<\/p>\n I am not against theological systems, but when we hold onto them so strongly that we blindly ignore parts of the bible that seem to disagree with them then we have turned them into idols.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another<\/em>\u201d (1 Cor 4:6)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The contra-Catholic argument, then, is that Jesus was supposedly denying the blessedness of His mother, and thus expressly denying the Catholic practice of calling her \u201cBlessed Virgin Mary.\u201d This hardly seems possible or plausible, even in an ecumenical Protestant reading (i.e., how could the mother of God incarnate \u2014 an extraordinary and singular privilege \u2014\u00a0\u00a0not<\/em> be blessed?), but that is the argument<\/em>: be what it may.<\/p>\n A Catholic named Dennis Martin, in the combox of the article on David Anthony\u2019s blog, argued that it was merely a translation matter: that at least some translations have something to the effect of \u201cyes, rather . . .\u201d which would mean that Jesus wasn\u2019t denying that His mother was blessed, but instead, affirming it and moving on to make a more general point (which would likely include Mary as well: as the exemplar of a general description of holiness).<\/p>\n This was very interesting to me (and something I had never heard before). In checking many Bible translations (many of which I have in my own library), I discovered that translations of Luke 11:28 vary; however, many<\/em> can be found that give a meaning that would include rather than (by possible<\/em> implication, but not necessity) exclude Mary. Here\u2019s what I found:<\/p>\n KJV\u00a0<\/strong>But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.<\/p>\n ASV<\/strong>\u00a0But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.<\/p>\n NKJV<\/strong>\u00a0But He said,\u00a0\u201cMore than that, blessed\u00a0are<\/i>\u00a0those who hear the word of God and keep it!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Phillips\u00a0<\/strong>But Jesus replied, \u201cYes, but a far greater blessing to hear the word of God and obey it.\u201d<\/p>\n Living Bible<\/strong> He replied,\u00a0\u201cYes, but even more blessed are all who hear the Word of God and put it into practice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Young\u2019s Literal Translation\u00a0<\/strong>And he said, `Yea, rather, happy those hearing the word of God, and keeping [it]!\u2019<\/p>\n Darby\u00a0<\/strong>But *he* said, Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep [it].<\/p>\n CEV\u00a0<\/strong>Jesus replied, \u201cThat\u2019s true, but the people who are really blessed are the ones who hear and obey God\u2019s message!\u201d<\/p>\n King James 2000 Bible<\/strong> But<\/span>\u00a0he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.<\/p>\n American King James Version<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>But he said, Yes rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.<\/p>\n Douay-Rheims Bible<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>But he said: Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it.<\/p>\n English Revised Version<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.<\/p>\n Webster\u2019s Bible Translation<\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>But he said, Yes, rather blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.<\/p>\n Williams<\/strong> But He said, \u201cYes, but better still, blessed are those who listen to God\u2019s message and practice it!\u201d<\/p>\n Beck<\/strong> \u201cYes,\u201d He said, \u201cbut happy are those who listen to God\u2019s Word and keep it.\u201d<\/p>\n Jerusalem Bible<\/strong> But he replied, \u201cStill happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!\u201d<\/p>\n Barclay<\/strong> But Jesus said: \u201cTrue, but rather, happy are those who listen to the word of God and obey it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I would add that many Catholic versions (e.g., Knox, Confraternity, NAB) do not<\/em> have this sort of rendering; thus, they can\u2019t be accused of translation bias; and for those that do<\/em>, they are merely in agreement with many Protestant translations.<\/p>\n I have dealt with this (rather irritating) \u201cJesus was mean\u00a0<\/em>\/ disrespectful \/ indifferent to Mary\u201d theme in two articles:<\/p>\n Jesus\u2019 Interactions with Mary in Relation to Marian Veneration<\/a>\u00a0[10-29-08]<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWho is My Mother?\u201d: Beginning of \u201cFamilial Church\u201d<\/a>\u00a0[8-26-19]<\/span><\/p>\n See also:\u00a0Jesus\u2019 Use of the Term \u201cWoman\u201d<\/a>\u00a0[for Mary.\u00a0Was it Disrespectful?] (by Jimmy Akin)<\/span><\/p>\n Navarre Bible Commentary<\/em> states about the passage:<\/p>\n These words proclaim and praise the Blessed Virgin\u2019s basic attitude of soul. As the Second Vatican Council explains: \u201cIn the course of her Son\u2019s preaching she [Mary] received the words whereby, in extolling a Kingdom beyond the concerns and ties of flesh and blood, he declared blessed those who heard and kept the word of God (cf. Mk 3:35; Lk 11:27\u201328) as she was faithfully doing (cf. Lk 2:19:51)\u201d (Lumen gentium <\/em>[Vatican II], <\/em>58). Therefore, by replying in this way Jesus is not rejecting the warm praise this good lady renders his Mother; he accepts it and goes further, explaining that Mary is blessed particularly because she has been good and faithful in putting the word of God into practice.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Catholic Encyclopedia<\/i>\u00a0(\u201cThe Blessed Virgin Mary\u201d<\/a>)\u00a0comments:<\/p>\n At first sight, it seems that Jesus Himself depreciated the dignity of His Blessed Mother. When He was told: \u201cBehold thy mother and thy brethren stand without, seeking thee\u201d, He answered: \u201cWho is my mother, and who are my brethren? And stretching forth his hand towards his disciples, he said: Behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and my sister, and my mother\u201d (Matthew 12:47-50; cf. Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21). On another occasion, \u201ca certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck. But he said: Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God, and keep it\u201d (Luke 11:27-28).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In reality, Jesus in both these passages places the bond that unites the soul with God above the natural bond of parentage which unites the Mother of God with her Divine Son. The latter dignity is not belittled; as men naturally appreciate it more easily, it is employed by Our Lord as a means to make known the real value of holiness. Jesus, therefore, really, praises His mother in a most emphatic way; for she excelled the rest of men in holiness not less than in dignity. Most probably, Mary was found also among the holy women who ministered to Jesus and His apostles during their ministry in Galilee (cf. Luke 8:2-3); the Evangelists do not mention any other public appearance of Mary during the time of Jesus\u2019s journeys through Galilee or Judea. But we must remember that when the sun appears, even the brightest stars become invisible.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Think for a moment of the implications of the interpretation of this passage as an example of Jesus denying that Mary was blessed. Really<\/em>? This is not just a question of allegedly \u201cexcessive\u201d Catholic Marian veneration (though this was what likely motivated it being brought up at all), but of clear biblical texts. This is about a woman who was hailed by the angel Gabriel (what other human being is treated this way by an angel?), twice called \u201cblessed\u201d by Elizabeth (mother of John the Baptist: Lk 1:42, 45), precisely because she was the Mother of God the Son and believed the angel when she was informed of this. Mary herself says in reply: \u201chenceforth all generations will call me blessed\u201d (Lk 1:48). And of course, Catholics do that and almost all Protestants don\u2019t. We fulfill the prophecy.<\/p>\n Moreover, when Jesus said all these others would be blessed, does it make sense to exclude<\/em> Mary (whom many Protestants would agree, was \u2014 while not sinless, in their view \u2014 the greatest and holiest woman who ever lived) from among them? No, of course not. We see all of this in Holy Scripture, yet we are to somehow believe that Jesus would say and believe that she is not<\/em> blessed? It makes no sense whatsoever. It\u2019s utterly implausible, and as we have seen, the text in no way requires such an outlandish, unbiblical conclusion.<\/p>\n This is scarcely a case illustrating \u201cthe heart of where Roman Catholicism has gone wrong\u201d or an instance where Catholics \u201cflagrantly . . . ignore certain parts of the bible\u201d or where we \u201cblindly ignore parts of the bible that seem to disagree with\u201d us. In fact, it is no problem at all<\/em>\u00a0(none, whatsoever), rightly understood. Jesus affirms<\/em> (and even in the \u201cother\u201d translation renderings, doesn\u2019t deny<\/em>) His mother and her holiness, and goes on to make another<\/em> point, just as He did in several other similar passages. He was referring to Mary, too, when He was extolling those who \u201chear the word of God and obey it\u201d (Phillips).<\/p>\n And while we\u2019re on the topic of Christians ignoring Scripture passages, here is (for starters) a list of 150 that Protestants (including even very zealous Protestant apologists) routinely<\/em> ignore:<\/p>\n 50 New Testament Proofs for Petrine Primacy & the Papacy\u00a0<\/a>[1994]<\/p>\n Final Judgment &\u00a0Works<\/em>\u00a0(Not Faith): 50 Passages<\/a>\u00a0[2-10-08]<\/p>\n 50 Bible Passages on Purgatory & Analogous Processes\u00a0<\/a>[2009]<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\nUnfortunately, Money Trees Do Not Exist<\/strong>:<\/span>\u00a0If you have been aided in any way by my work, or think it is valuable and worthwhile, please strongly consider financially supporting it (even $10 \/ month \u2014 a mere 33 cents a day \u2014 would be very helpful). 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