Regarding Intercessional prayer

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Hi there Robert and Robert's friend. Merry Christmas to you both. I want to answer the question posed here. First of all, prayer is communication. When we pray we talk to God. When we implore the intercession of Mary and the Saints we talk to them. You asked for the Biblical proof of this, here they are: Matthew 17:1-8 and Mark 9:2-8.

The Transfiguaration. Jesus spoke to both Moses and Elijah. Elijah, of course, was taken to heaven in a fiery chariot and he never died; but we read at the end of Deuteronomy that Moses did in fact die. Here we see our Savior conversing with at least one person who had died. The example for intercessory prayer was given to us by Christ Himself, and the Fathers of the Church have always stated this is where it comes from. So you see, Mr. Chick aside from being ignorant, has never bothered to look at the Catholic Faith with Catholic eyes. He will answer for what he does, but that is the Lord's call, not ours. So I will agree with Robert's friend and also say not to kill Jack Chick, LOL.

I hope this helps the both of you. May the peace of Christ be with you always,

-Tim 12/21/00

Thanks Tim,

I appreciate your remarks. I don't want to pretend to be an theological expert, but allow me to offer a possible explanation on why Chick thinks as he does. Using Jesus as an example of intercessory prayer has some obvious problems: Christ is the Lord. Of course he can conjure up and speak to the dead, he's part of the holy Trinity. He can also walk on water, but that doesn't mean we can. Humans are mortal sinners. I'm unaware of any part in the Bible that says regular mortals should pray to anyone other than the Lord. It seems to be a Catholic tradition based on the strained interpretation you pointed out. I'm not saying your interpretation is wrong, but there are other interpretations (like Chick's) which are less convoluted. If Jesus wanted his followers to pray to Mary or other dead Christians, why didn't he just say so and spell it out? He certainly provided plenty of details in other regards.

Fundamentalists believe in a strict interpretation of the Bible. They don't believe the Bible is a "living Document" that can be bent and stretched to accommodate popular social morays or lucrative church traditions (like paying to get relatives out of purgatory). Although I'm no Fundamentalist, their view makes logical sense if you believe the Bible is The Word of God. Why look for more complicated interpretations if you have the original intent spelled out by the "Founding Father" in clear black and white?

For a final response from an actual Theological student, click here.

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Rev. 12.29.00