Changes

==Degrees of Worship: Dulia, Hyperdulia, and Latreia==

==Degrees of Worship: Dulia, Hyperdulia, and Latreia==

Many Protestants have been taught that Orthodox and Catholic Christians worship Mary as God or Goddess apart from or greater than Jesus Christ and above God the Father. This is based on a misunderstanding of the meaning of the word "worship", which has been severely restricted and redefined by their teachers since the [[Protestant Reformation]] as being strictly limited in meaning to "adoration" only, as has the word "prayer", which broadly meant simply "petition", but has become restricted by them to the worship of God or a god. This is misleading.

Many Protestants have been taught that Orthodox and Catholic Christians worship Mary as God or Goddess apart from or greater than Jesus Christ and above God the Father. This is based on a misunderstanding of the meaning of the word "worship", which has been severely restricted and redefined by their teachers since the [[Protestant Reformation]] as being strictly limited in meaning to "adoration" only, as has the word "prayer", which broadly meant simply "petition", but has become restricted by them to [[Connotation|connoting]] solely the worship of God or a god, both cases representing examples of ''semantic shift'' and a consequent narrowing of the modern ''semantic field'' of related terms. This is misleading.

The word "worship" has undergone a change in meaning in English. It comes from the [[Old English]] ''weorthscipe'', which means the condition of being worthy of honor, respect, or dignity. To worship in this older, larger sense is to ascribe honor, worth, or excellence to someone, whether a sage, a magistrate, or God.  

The word "worship" has undergone a change in meaning in English. It comes from the [[Old English]] ''weorthscipe'', which means the condition of being worthy of honor, respect, or dignity. To worship in this older, larger sense is to ascribe honor, worth, or excellence to someone, whether a sage, a magistrate, or God.  

==External links==

==External links==

[https://www.etymonline.com/word/worship '''worship, n.''' - Etymology Online (etymonline.com)]

[https://www.etymonline.com/word/worship '''worship, n.''' - Etymology Online (etymonline.com)]

[https://www.catholic.com/tract/saint-worship Catholic Answers Tract: Saint Worship? (catholic.com)]

[https://www.catholic.com/tract/saint-worship Catholic Answers Tract: Saint Worship? (catholic.com)]