#1. Did Erasmus really say that he wanted salvation but not without Mary? He agreed with Luther that salvation was by faith and not by works, so where does Mary come up in his thinking?

Hiya,
Just a few points in answer to the above:

1) I'd like to know where the evidence is for the claim that Erasmus wanted 'salvation but not without Mary'. Is this in any of his writings, or is it yet another myth (such as the 'Johannine comma' myth perpetuated by MV defenders)?

2) If he did indeed say this, was it prior to his work on the Textus Receptus? After all, Luther once believed in sacramentalism, etc, yet his theology later changed. Things I wrote prior to God's gracious salvation are now 'dung'.

3) If he did indeed say this, it'd be good to see the context in which he wrote it... the context may reveal a lot about what he meant.

4) Even if he did write this, who cares? God used king David (once a murderer/adulterer) to pen beautiful Psalms, Saul of Tarsus/Paul (once a murderer/blasphemer/persecutor) as Apostle to the Gentiles, etc. In fact, God the Holy Spirit used and inspired sinners to record His perfect Word. Is there any reason why God did not/could not use a fallible Erasmus to recover the true text of Scripture? No.


#2. Why didn't Erasmus ever leave the catholic church?

Again, Erasmus may mistakenly have believed in transforming the 'church' from the inside. He was offered high-ranking positions within the Roman 'church' and turned them down. As others have implied, he may have been 'safer' remaining within the 'outward show' of Rome (owing to the Papal persecutions), but this is only a guess.

What we can be sure of is this: Erasmus recovered the true text of God's Word that, as a result, has bought countless sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ. This cannot be claimed of the MVs. Erasmus wasn't perfect, but God mightily used him, as He would us all.


In summary, the two arguments used by MV defenders are chaff. Is this REALLY the best they've got??? lol!

God Bless