‘Commotion Along With the Devotion’
I take exception to a statement that “prayers to the saints came about through adjustments for cultures who worshiped many lesser gods before getting through to the great God.” This statement is inaccurate because the early church fathers believed, as Catholic Christians continue to believe, that the saints in heaven and the saints on earth are members of a Communion of Saints and Body of Christ, and therefore can pray for each other.
Asking a saint in heaven for prayers is no different than asking a friend/prayer partner on earth for prayers. Both are requests for secondary intercessions which are commended by Scripture. They are consistent with the primary intercessory role of Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5).
Singleton apparently believes (as many Protestants do) that secondary intercessory prayers are limited to those on earth. That limitation has no scriptural basis and constitutes an “adjustment” of the faith passed on to us by the early church fathers.
DAVID A. FLORES
El Monte
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