Theotokos

"Chalcedon made it definite that Mary is to be acknowledged as 'Mother of God' (Theotokos is the Greek term).  Others said that she is, of course, to be called 'Mother of Jesus' and even 'Mother of Christ,' but 'Mother of God' is going too far.  No, responded the orthodox party, it's not a question of our going too far but of how far God went in becoming man.  She must be called Theotokos not in order to honor her, but in order to tell the truth about Christ . . . .  If Jesus Christ is not true God, to worship him is nothing short of idolatry." - Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, Death on a Friday Afternoon (on "Behold your son . . . Behold your mother." Emphasis added)


In recent years, both Protestant and Catholic believers seem to have been derailed by this term.  It is true that there have been Catholics who felt that the perfect, divine Christ was too unapproachable for them, and who have turned to his less-powerful (and therefore less threatening-seeming) mother for intercession.  Despite St. Paul's encouragement that Jesus is "like us in all things but sin," and indeed came that we might approach God in confidence, devotion to Mary became for some a substitute for devotion to Christ.  Mary herself would be appalled.  Those rightly indignant that anyone would attempt to substitute a mere human being for God in their worship have opposed any perceived elevation of Mary to too lofty a role.  Catholics with appropriate respect for Mary have not always responded non-defensively in this specific case, and when we have, the errors - real or perceived - of Maryolatry have been used to dismiss our explanations.

BTW, the fifth century Council of Chalcedon emphasized the dual nature of Christ as fully human and fully divine.  Theotokos - God bearer - should not be a term over which Christians must disagree.  Referring to Mary as "Mother of God" doesn't imply in any way that she was present before the beginning, nor imply that she is superior to her son.  It simply refers to the belief that Jesus Christ is simultaneously fully human and fully God - a central premise of orthodox Christianity - and the simple reality that Mary is his mother.

At the same time, both Catholic and non-Catholic believers need to accept our responsibility for ensuring that no one puts another in Christ's place.  Mary is a great example for our faith, blessed with a specific role in God's plan of salvation. "Do whatever he tells you," she says; her role has always been to bear Christ to the world, and we are her successors.  Mary is no more equal (let alone superior) to God than we are, nor any less in need of the salvation which Jesus won for us.  But abandoning terms or ideas because some people have misunderstood them is a steep road, and especially dangerous when it comes to such a central topic as who Jesus really is.