Catholic Faith?

Question

Why do Catholics put powers into false idols like St. Christopher.....This is how it goes...if you have a St Christopher Medal and have it blessed by a Priest (Man) then St Christopher will protect you while you travel.

Where is Jesus in this?

If this is not Idol worship then what is it?

Jews do not pray to the Star of David.

If the medal is just a symbol...then why do they pray to it??

By the way I'm former Catholic...not trying to offend just want an answer to a question that has bugged me for years.

seekthetruth - If you believe in One God (I believe you do) then seriously.....Why pray to a medal, or go to a Priest for absolution? Are you not putting these thing before God?
Jesus died for our sins and with His covenent "The New Testiment" he becomes the intercessor. Thereby doing away with Moses Law and the practice of going to the Pharasies for absolution. If you truely believe in Jesus than you could not put a Priest in his stead.

Once again I will state that the Chatchism is not a book of authority...it was written by the church in order to keep it's followers from reading the Bible and coming to their own conclusions. Seems to still be working.

Answer 1

How much do you love Jesus Christ?

What are you willing to do for Christ?
Are you willing to love your 'neighbours'?
Are you willing to love your enemies?
Are you willing to follow Christ? To do His Will?
What does Christ wills for you?

As I know, Christ wills for all men to be United besides being baptised and saved to life enternally. Do you want Unity? If yes, then listen to what I have to say.

The GOD of the Catholic church is not limited to the ways of the Church or what man think can happen logically. The God of the Catholic church is the same God of the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.

In the old testament, Numbers 21:9 "And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived"

How on earth by looking at the "brass" serpent, those who were bitten by poisonous snakes will not die but lived. What nonsense is this? Where is God in this? Isn't Moses a "man" and cannot possibly give live to those people bitten by snakes?

You see, we do not limit what God (Holy Spirit) can do through the blessings of a Priest (Man) and the "brass" medal of St. Christopher.

Who are we to limit what God can do? Are you saying that you are greater that God? Are you saying that Moses is worshiping Idol? Do you think that by Worshiping Jesus alone is the "ONLY" way? Then what difference are you from the Pharisees who thinks that their "way" of worship is THE only way.

Now you answer for yourself, if it is not idol worship then what is it?

Answer 2

First of all, let me say that all religions seem to put "powers into false idols," as you say. After all, doesn't the Jewish religion have their Star of David as a symbol of their faith, don't the muslims have their clothing modes and facial marks that they feel protect them?
Wearing a blessed St. Christopher medal doesn't give you any power and it is not a false idol. It is a symbol, that you believe in God, you trust in God, St. Christopher was a good man in God's eyes and kept people safe, and so today, we wear these medals to just feel blessed and safe.

Answer 3

Here is an article on patron saints

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patron_saint

These five doctrines are what separate Protestants from Catholics

The Five Solas are five Latin phrases (or slogans) that emerged during the Protestant Reformation and summarize the Reformers' basic beliefs and emphasis in contradistinction to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church of the day.

Sola gratia ("by grace alone")

Salvation comes by grace only, not through any merit on the part of the sinner. Thus salvation is an unearned gift. This doctrine is a response to the Catholic doctrine of merit.

Sola fide ("by faith alone")

Justification (that is, becoming guiltless before God) comes through faith only, not good works, though in the classical protestant scheme, saving faith will always be accompanied by good works. This doctrine can be summarized with the formula "Faith yields justification and good works" and is contrasted with the Catholic formula "Faith and good works yield justification." This doctrine is sometimes called the material cause of the Reformation because it was the central doctrinal issue for Martin Luther.

Sola scriptura ("by Scripture alone")

The Bible is the only inspired and authoritative Word of God and is accessible to all (that is, perspicuous and self-interpreting). This doctrine is directly opposed to the teaching of the Catholic Church that scripture can only be authentically interpreted through Holy Apostolic Tradition by the Magisterium (that is, the Pope and bishops at church councils). This doctrine is sometimes called the formal cause of the Reformation because it was the underlying cause of disagreement over sola fide.

Solus Christus ("Christ alone"; sometimes Solo Christo, "by Christ alone")

Christ is the exclusive mediator between God and man. Neither Mary, the saints, nor priests (other than Christ himself) can act as mediator in bringing salvation. This doctrine is contrasted with the Catholic doctrines of the intercession of saints and of the function of priests.

Soli Deo gloria ("Glory to God alone")

All glory is due to God alone, since salvation is accomplished solely through his works — not only the atonement on the Cross by Jesus, but even granting the faith which allows men to be saved by that atonement. The Reformers believed that human beings (such as the Catholic saints and popes) and their organizations (the Church) were not worthy of the glory that was bestowed on them.

Answer 4

We don't worship idols or any of the other lies or misconceptions that anti-Catholics say about us. God works through the saints and even through things that are closely associated with the saints, this is in the bible.

"And God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. -Acts 19, 11-12

The following creed gives a summary of the Catholic faith:

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Nicene Creed (Profession of Faith)

We believe in one God, the Father, the almighty,
maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, light from light,
true God from true God,
begotten not made, one in being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he was born of the virgin Mary, and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered, died, and was buried.
On the third day, he rose again
in fulfillment of the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
with the Father and the son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy, catholic, apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
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If you are a Christian, make sure that you check your facts before making accusations against others, especially your Christian brothers lest you fall into the sin of bearing false witness.

Answer 5

if you believe in god and trust in god, how does saint christopher (or saint anybody) have to do with that??? how do you know st christopher was a good man in god's eyes? did god ever tell anybody that? NO. saints are "appointed" by mere mortals of the catholic cult... sorry, religion. (not sure of the difference)

Answer 6

Did you pray before you ate, before you sat down to watch Tv or play on the computer? then those are idols to you. Otherwise the question is just meant to cause division and total mispreception of Catholic tradition.

Answer 7

Catholics and many other Christians believe in the Communion of Saints where all saints are intimately related in the Body of Christ, a family. When you die and go to heaven, you do not leave this family.

Everyone in heaven or on their way to heaven are saints. You, me, my deceased grandmother, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Mother Teresa.

As part of this family, you may ask your family and friends here on earth to pray for you. Or you may also ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Andrew, or your deceased grandmother in heaven to pray for you.

With love in Christ.

Answer 8

Don't ask questions that are only meant to offend. You are not truly interested.