why do us catholics kneel to statues?

Question

i mean ,anyway we put it ,,venerate or reminds us of someone beloved,it is still a form of idolatry,because we are on our knees and asking for a favor to a statue instead to jesus directly .things are really coming into focus now,sorry friends,but think about it as i have

Answer 1

Excellent question! Congratulations on your study of God's word for yourself. As you continue to study, you may find many more doctrines of the catholic church that are not in the Bible (worshipping/praying to/"venerating" mere humans is just the 1st of many...) The clergy/laity system, singing with musical instruments, the infallibility of the "pope," abstaining from meats on "holy days"--all of these are additions to God's word, and not marks of the church you find in the Bible.

Keep studying; it will lead you to God! You may also be interested to check out www.searchingfortruth.org

Answer 2

Read your catechism !
You should know that it is NOT idolatry, because we know very well that they ARE STATUES. Nobody would believe that the statue is a god or something like that. That would really be idolatry. Read in the book of Daniel hiw the king thought that the statue of the god was a living thing, because supposedly, it ate and drank what was left for it, until Daniel discovered the trick.
Besides, if you don't want to venerate or kneel to statues, that is your choice. You are not forced to do it.
In the VI century the king Leo the Isaurus said something like that and began to destroy all the statues, until it was decided that they could be kept and that it was Not really idolatry

Answer 3

>>>i mean ,anyway we put it ,,venerate or reminds us of someone beloved,it is still a form of idolatry,because we are on our knees and asking for a favor to a statue <<<

No offense, but speak for yourself. If you are actually asking favors from statues, then that's an act of idolatry on your part -- but that doesn't mean the rest of us are guilty of it.

Most Catholics do not kneel in front of statues these days -- no doubt you've seen that much more often in old Ingrid Bergman movies than anywhere else.

But even if a Catholic is praying in front of a statue, he/she is not praying TO the statue.

He/she is praying to God. The statue, if the Catholic is paying any attention to it at all, is just there as a reminder of something.

Using physical objects as aids in worship is not idolatry. It squares perfectly with the Bible -- especially Exodus 25 and 26, in which God commands the Israelites to make all sorts of objects as aids in worship.

I'm afraid you are confusing the actual worship of an object with using it as an aid in worship -- you seem to think they are the same thing, but they are most definitely not.

So, if you are asking favors from statues, you're not doing anything that the Catholic Church sanctions -- in fact, you're doing something that the Catholic Church condemns.

No offense, but please don't project your act of asking favors from statues onto the rest of us. If that's what you're doing, then you're very much on your own.

Answer 4

Okay if you are looking at the statues as a 'god' then you are wrong to begin with. It is religious ART. The statues are primative pictures do you have photo's of your family? How about a picture of a saint? Would you ask family and friends to pray for you? Well the saints are like that, no power in the statues. The crucifix is a symbol of Christ's sacrifice for us, he died so we may live. Should that be forgotten or hidden? Please! Worshiping 'statues' or 'idols' is against God's word and a simplistic view of things. God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit are beyond plaster, wood, morter, and plastic. Read Your Catachism (to understand the traditions) and The Bible for the TRUTH!

Answer 5

The Ten Commandments of God

1. I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before me.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's day
4. Honor your father and your mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
10. You shall not covet you neighbor's goods.

Notice what the first commandment says. Even if you're convinced that Catholics "worship" these idols (which Catholics DO NOT), they do not put anyone or anything before God. So even with your misconceptions, they're not breaking any commandments or doing any wrong.

Answer 6

We do not kneel to statues... Argh. Do you base all of your beliefs on what you can see? A statue is a representation of Our Lord or a saint that lived for Our Lord. When you see someone kneeling in front of a statue of St. Jude, they are NOT worshipping St. Jude. They are kneeling because they are addressing a very holy person. The statue gives their eyes something to help visualize the saint. (Didn't people kneel before kings? They weren't worshipping them!) We ask saints to address Our Lord for us.

When you want something from someone too mighty to address first hand, what do you do? You find an advocate of significant rank. Well, who better than Our Lord's mother (the person He loved most in all the world) to address Him on our behalf. Without loving Mary (not worshipping her), we cannot love Our Lord.

Answer 7

I was catholic, I didnt like going to church, and these rules that you have to be baptized, holy communion, confirmed n confession, these statues all over gave me heebie jeebies. I think all that is nonsense. I worship God and only God. And why doesnt the priest read from the Bible? I prefer Christianity. Thats faith NOT a religion. God did NOT make religion-its man made. I certainly hope no ones offended by this its only MY opinion.

Answer 8

Because you have not studied your Bible or if you have you don't believe it. Exodus 20: 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 20: 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Who has the authority the Scriptures or the Pope?

Answer 9

well, catholics can't talk to god or jesus directly in that way, they need a priest for that. so its the saints for them. catholics can pray to god, ie worship him, but they ask saints for favors.

Answer 10

i don't know, but the Bible says you are not supposed to. Jesus is the only God. by praying you can communicate directly to Him.