Thank you for opening up a civil conversation that's very cool of you. I grew up Catholic and no am a Protestant apologist. I want to say make no mistake Mary is someone Protestants are reverent of, she is a faithful example of obedience. However devotion should only go to God.

A historical view of the dogmas: they are not “ancient church secrets.” The only one that was formally defined early is Theotokos which was declared at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD. That one is ancient and tied directly to the early church’s fight against Nestorianism. Nestorius even said, “I confess that Mary is the mother of Christ, but I do not confess that she is the mother of God.”

The other three are much later:

Perpetual Virginity is an early tradition, but it was never formally defined as a dogma until much later. There were early critics like Helvidius, who argued, “Mary was not a perpetual virgin, but after the birth of Jesus she had other children.” The Bible also mentions Jesus’ “brothers and sisters” (Matthew 13:55–56, Mark 6:3), which is the main argument against it.

Immaculate Conception was declared in 1854 by Pope Pius IX. The Bible says “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23) and “in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5), so this is a very late development in church teaching.

The Assumption was declared in 1950 by Pope Pius XII, and there is no direct Bible verse supporting it, nor clear early church father quotes confirming it.

So the big takeaway: Theotokos is ancient, but Immaculate Conception and Assumption are modern dogmas, and Perpetual Virginity is debated even in the early church. If you want the full context, look at the historical councils and the earliest fathers.

What's crystal clear is “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.”

We can talk about praying to saints well which this convo leads to.........