While I am very critical of certain aspects of Roman Catholic Mariology, I do find it funny that many Protestants act like Nestorians when critiquing Mary being “Mother of God” (or Theotokos, lit. God-bearer). Per the Christology of both Ephesus and Chalcedon, Jesus is a single person and a single subject, notwithstanding having two distinct natures and wills. However, some anti-Catholic (in the traditional sense of the term, not merely a ‘critic’ of RC claims) Protestants violate such theological principles. Observe the following from a very recent work:
Mother of God
Dealing with the Roman Catholic take on Mary as the “mother of God” is
not difficult. However, gullible people think protestants can agree with
Catholics on this view because Mary is called “mother” of the Lord in Scripture
(Luke 1:43). As protestants, they must protest!
. . .
Mary is the “mother” of the Lord, as stated in Luke 1:43, but it is
with respect to Christ’s humanity. Per John 1, the eternal Son, God the Logos,
was with the Father before the world’s creation, and is in every way God (v.
1). But in the fullness of time, Christ assumed a true body, and is thus wholly
God and fully man in one person (v. 14). So, Scripture highlights Mary as the “mother”
of the Lord as it relates to the humanity of Christ during His earthly pilgrimage.
Ultimately, God’s Word does not support the papist view of Mary as the mother
of God. Thus, Catholics believe in an unbiblical Mary and a false God. (Sonny
L. Hernandez, Polemical Apologetics: How to Defend Sola Scriptura Amid
Anti-Christian Attacks [Lexington, Ky.: Trinity Gospel Church, 2025], 18-19)
Even some of the more
informed critics of Catholicism (e.g., Eric Svendsen in Evangelical Answers) argue as if they are Nestorians against Mary being “Mother of God.”
While I disagree with him on many issues, I think Catholic apologist Trent Horn
did a good job discussing this and related issues in the following video:
"Mary is NOT the Mother
of God" (REBUTTED)
