World News and Trends: Ecumenism bridges a major gap: The Virgin Mary
Some Anglicans are now beginning to accept the Roman Catholic devotion to the Virgin Mary.
Some Anglicans are now beginning to accept the Roman Catholic devotion to the Virgin Mary. Wrote Stephen Bates, the religious affairs correspondent of The Times: "After nearly 500 years of intense division, Anglicans and Roman Catholic theologians yesterday decided that one of the two faiths' most fundamental differences—the position of Mary, the mother of Christ—should no longer divide them."
A new document titled "Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ" was recently published in Seattle. It says: "We don't consider the practice of asking Mary and the saints to pray for us as communion dividing . . . We believe that there is no continuing theological reason for ecclesiastical division on these matters." The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission produced this document.
Historically, Protestants have normally had difficulty with the Catholic belief embodied in the idea of an Immaculate Conception, in essence meaning Mary was free from the stain of what theologians call original sin. Another stumbling block has been the Roman Catholic belief of her assumption into heaven, body and soul. Most Protestants have generally contended that there is no biblical basis for this religious belief.
Now at least one or two branches of Protestanism appear to be putting the goal of ecumenism before these and other differences—and perhaps gradually coming around to the Catholic way of thinking. To understand whether or not Mary is really in heaven, please request our free booklet Heaven and Hell: What Does the Bible Really Teach? (Source: The Guardian [London].)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: July - August 2005
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Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
