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November 10, 2025 |
| Jesus Alone Saves | ||
As the Protestants began to divide from the Roman Catholics, they developed a list of the main sticking points between them. These are called the 5 solas, where "sola" is the Latin word for "only." One of these was Solas Christus, Only Christ. They included this point because the Catholic Church had elevated Mary to a god-like position.
In a sequence of steps, the Catholic Church has continued to elevate her, and even now, there are people who want to go further.
If you tell a Protestant that Jesus isn't the only path to salvation, that person will likely respond with this verse.
Yeshua said to him, "I Am (the living God), the Way and the Truth and the Life; no man comes to my Father but by me alone." (John 14:6)
Or he may respond with this verse.
And there is no salvation in any other man, for there is no other name under Heaven given to the children of men by which it is necessary to receive life. (Acts 4:12)
He may also throw in this verse.
For God is One, and the Mediator of God and the sons of men is One: the son of Man, Yeshua the Messiah (1 Timothy 2:5)
Within Protestantism, there isn't a shadow of doubt on this topic, except perhaps among Lutherans (almost Catholics) and liberals. That hasn't been the case with some people in the Catholic Church for many decades, at least.
In an article entitled "Pope Leo Declares Jesus Alone Saved the World, Rejects Title of Mary as 'Co-Redeemer'", we see that enough Catholics have come to believe that salvation is possible through Mary, the mother of Jesus, that the church is aware of it and must deal with it. How did this happen?
It didn't happen during the time of the apostles, but very soon afterwards, the Roman Church began to focus on Mary.
It began innocently enough with a need to establish that Mary was a virgin before Jesus was born. There is an Old Testament prophecy that said this would be the case. So the fulfillment of that prophecy was a sign for people of that time to see, but it had no continuing value, certainly not to the Roman Church, which had no witnesses to that being a fact. By then, it was a matter of faith.
| Doctrine | Year Codified | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Virgin birth of Jesus | 325 | Mary conceived Jesus by action of the Holy Spirit while remaining a virgin. |
| Mother of God | 431 | Mary, as the mother of Jesus, is the Theotokos (God-bearer), or Mother of God. |
| Perpetual Virginity | 553 | Mary remained a virgin all her life, even after the act of giving birth to Jesus. |
| Immaculate Conception | 1854 | Mary was conceived without original sin. |
| Assumption of Mary | 1950 | Mary was taken bodily into heaven either at, or before, her death. |
The doctrine "Mother of God" contained more than is apparent from the name. The Romans had a solid understanding of their polytheistic gods, demi-gods, and the offspring of gods. Unfortunately, it appears they carried that into Christianity. According to those rules, Mary could not have given birth to a God without having been a God herself.
Having declared her as "Mother of God," the church began to give her progressively more of the traits of God. The most recent attempt was to declare her to be "Co-Savior / Co-Redeemer." This would elevate her to being as much of a savior to the world as Jesus was.
Catholicism is often described as a "Marian faith" because of the central role Mary, the mother of Jesus, plays in its theology, devotional life, and understanding of salvation. This emphasis stems from the belief that Mary's unique relationship with Jesus, as the mother of God, makes her a pivotal figure in the Christian mystery. The Catholic Church teaches that Mary is the "Mother of God" (Theotokos), a title affirmed at the Council of Ephesus in 431, which established her divine maternal role and laid the foundation for her veneration.
This doctrine is considered the cornerstone of Catholic Mariology, the theological study of Mary. (AI answer on "Marian faith")
The Roman Church has given Mary various titles.
Of these titles, "Queen of Heaven" may be the strangest, and that's saying a lot. That name is found in the Old Testament as the name of a false goddess, most commonly associated with the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar, also known as Astarte or Ashtoreth (AI).
The most recent attempt to give Mary more of the traits and titles of God was to declare her to be "Co-Savior / Co-Redeemer."
This idea has been shot down in flames.
A decree from Pope Leo's office firmly rejects the claim that Mary, Jesus' mother, helped save the world from damnation, settling a debate that has baffled the Catholic community by stating that Jesus alone redeemed humanity by his crucifixion and death.
In a lengthy note titled "Mater Populi Fidelis" or "Mother of the Faithful People of God," the Vatican's doctrinal office instructed Catholics to no longer give her the title of "co-redemptrix" or "co-redeemer" as it "carries the risk of eclipsing the exclusive role of Jesus Christ" as the Savior.
The October 7th document [...] says, [...] "Mary's incomparable greatness lies in what she has received and in her trusting readiness to allow herself to be overtaken by the Spirit."
According to the Catholic News Agency, the title of "Co-redemptrix" has been a point of debate for decades, as some Catholics have called for Mary's "title" to be declared dogma, while opponents say it exaggerates her importance and could isolate Catholics amongst other Christian denominations.
The late Pope Francis also strongly opposed granting Mary the title of "co-redeemer." Benedict XVI, Francis' predecessor, also opposed the title. However, his predecessor, John Paul II, supported the title until the mid-90s when the doctrinal office began to voice skepticism. ( cbn.com/news/world/pope-leo-declares-jesus-alone-saved-world-rejects-title-mary-co-redeemer)
Throwing out bad doctrine is quite rare in the Roman Catholic Church. In the past, they have tolerated pretty much everything and eventually adopted it. That is how it came to have:
An idea like this gets into the church because at least one of the two groups wants it: the laity or the leadership. The theologians in the church have always opposed new ideas that weren’t Biblical, but they have been trampled.
Having statues in the churches is a good example. Early on, they were part of the Roman church's practice because that's how Romans understood worship of their polytheistic gods. In that case, the majority of the Roman laity wanted them. The statues were kicked out of the churches twice by two different Popes and brought back in by the next Pope. Eventually the church decided to stop fighting about it, and the statues stayed.
That history shows us that this Pope's decision may not be the last word on the matter.