For catholics only but if you arent catholic and want to answer it go ahed...?

Question

WHY DO U GUYS PRAY TO THE VIRGIN IF SHE IS JUST AN IDOL AND A STATUE AND I KNOW SHE IS THE MOTHER OF GOD BUT IN THE BIBLE IT SAYS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE OTHER GODS BEFORE GOD AND DO NOT SAY THAT SHE IS NOT A GOD TO YOU BECAUSE SHE IS AND WHY DO YOU PRAISE THE POPE HE IS JUST A MAN LIKE ANYBODY JESUS WAS A MAN TO BUT THE SUN OF GOD SO WHY DO YOU WORSHIP THE VIRGIN AND THE POPE?

Answer 1

Do you have pictures of your loved ones? So do we.

Do you worship these pictures or the people they remind you of? Neither do we.

Do you love and honor the people represented in the pictures? So do we.

Statues and pictures of people we love are not idols.

Statues and paintings of Jesus and the saints are just like pictures of the people we love and respect.

The King James Version of the Bible states in 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"

Why were the Jews commanded not to make graven images? Graven images were the standard method of pagan worship. They were representations of false gods.

This is a very clear command. However God commanded the Jews in Exodus 25:18, "And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them" and in 1 Kings chapter 7 Solomon made bulls and other images out of precious metals.

It seems obvious that the Jews did not worship the cherubims and Solomon did not worship the bulls he had made. These images did not violate the command of God. Therefore, an image not made for worship is acceptable.

How can a statue of our Lord Jesus Christ dead on the cross be considered an idol to a false god? A crucifix is the message of the Gospel without words held up for all to see, a visual reminder of the sacrifice of Jesus, no different from a painting, a play, or a movie.

Catholics do not worship statues but the almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

This is a rhetorical error known as begging the question. It is the logical equivalent of "why did you beat your wife?" You make an incorrect claim in the form of a question, thus assuming your question is based on evidence.

Observe your own words:
"DO NOT SAY THAT SHE IS NOT A GOD TO YOU BECAUSE SHE IS"

Your saying it does not make it so. Mary is not a deity. She was a woman, a good woman, a woman "full of grace" as the angel spoke and was recorded in Scripture. The "Hail Mary" is taken from Scripture. I challenge you to find anything in that supplication that goes against Scripture, or anywhere therein where she is considered divine or equal to Jesus.

"WHY DO YOU PRAISE THE POPE HE IS JUST A MAN LIKE ANYBODY"

Same rhetorical error. The Pope is not praised, only honored in the same way that people of deep respect are honored. Praise is reserved for the Lord alone. Commonly in English we say "praise" (as in the Fatboy Slim song "Praise you") but the praise you give a friend for helping or a co-worker for doing a good job is far different than that given to Jesus. I know English lacks separate words for this, but the context should be clear.

If anyone worships the Pope, it'd be the newspapers. He's quite a figure, and its hard to hate a 70-something German man who writes about God's love for all people, and speaks about the importance of marriage, of family, and urges the rich to give to the poor. He is a much beloved person, but no deity, not even close.

I must disagree with you on one more point:
"JESUS WAS A MAN TO BUT THE SUN OF GOD"

Jesus was the Son, not a Sun. He prayed, ministered, preached, healed, cast out demons, rebuked, corrected, loved, cried, suffered, died, was resurrected but never did He burst into flames.

If you still have questions, go to Mass and understand. And please, put down your dog-eared copy of "A Woman Rides the Beast". To understand Catholicism by reading from bigots such as Dave Hunt is a little like trying to advance race relations by re-enacting scenes from "Birth of a Nation".

Answer 3

The Virgin Mary is neither an idol nor a false goddess.

As the Mother Of God, Mary is the Queen Saint of the Catholic & Orthodox Churches.

Do Muslims worship Muhammed? No.

Do Jews worship Abraham or Moses? No.

And likewise Catholic Christians do **NOT** worship the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Answer 4

I do not know where you are getting your information, but you are grossly misinformed. Catholics do not believe that Mary is a god. Neither are the saints. It is unbelievable how ignorant people are. Statues are merely representations of holy people, they are not idols of whom they represent. The Pope is a model of a person who has lived life according to the belief system of the church - honest, righteous, moral. He is respected for that. He has achieved the highest position the Catholic church has - the leader - and he has earned it through what he has achieved in his lifetime. He was chosen by a group of his peers to do this, so his authority is recognized. He is not worshiped, as you claim. Neither is Mary. Only God is. The Pope just holds the highest office the church gives down here on earth. And Mary was chosen to receive the greatest honor a human can be given - to be the mother of God's son. She is respected for that.

Answer 5

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She's not just an idol and statue: she is a saint in Heaven.

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Catholics do not put her before God. In Catholicism, as in Judaism, God is so vast that he is unreachable; there is a chasm between humans and God. A number of ways was developed to cross that chasm. One was mysticism, and the other was to pray to saints as intercessors. They are close to God and can reach Him, so while you're praying to God, you also ask the intercessors to pray for you. It's not unlike asking your friends and family to pray for you.

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Are you truly interested in an answer, or are you just making this post to pass judgement? Stop assuming and listen to what the practioners of the religion say. Like Emile Durkheim said, what they've experienced is reality for them. Listen to them, accept their experiences, and you will understand their reality. You do not have to accept their explanation, but at least accept that those who pray to Mary and the saints do not see them as gods.

I'll let others explain/defend the Pope thing. Although, I'll say this: Catholics don't worship the Pope. He is a holy man and religious lleader who is believed to be closer to God than most humans (why do you think so many Popes are canonized?).

Answer 6

Examples like this is what I was actually been trying to say in some of my answers. This question doesn't really seek an answer, all is capitalized and seems too loud to my ears as a Catholic. It is posted to preach and condemn. Okay, go ahead, find heaven and you will see more Catholics there than people like you.

Click this and read my answer here, because I was supposed to write it here but I'm afraid I might be accused of "cut and paste" felony.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AgqX6rOQr1QivP17SIvFIQ7sy6IX?qid=20060703151601AABmEzD

To Sidra,

But who saved the pagans from eternal damnation?

To Cynthia,

It is not deception, it is the ignorance of those who were made to believe that Catholics do worship idols.

Answer 7

Catholics do not worship the Virgin Mary. We ask her to intercede for us, since she is in a unique position to influence her Son.

Neither do we worship the Pope; he is a leader who is blessed with the wisdom to help navigate the Church through changing times. Humans are notoriously bad at deciding what is right and wrong, and we rely on the Pope to guide us.

Answer 8

It is a deception, if they knew what the bible says or even read it, their eyes would be opened. I am with you a 100% on this! The problem is that people don't want to read, they would rather listen and believe what someone says, and that is very dangerous. There are allot of born again believers that are in the Catholic Church, and other churches who misinterpreted the bible, the Word of God says to come out of her "My people" lest you share in her sin. We need to repent and return to what God says, not what man say.

Answer 9

I would never accuse my dear protestant friends of worshipping the Bible. They, like us Catholics, honour and venerate the Sacred Scriptures because it is the written Word of God.

Likewise, we honour and venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary because she is Mother of the Incarnate Word (the Word-made-flesh). The Bible is not God, that's why we can't worship the Bible. But we can venerate it because it is the Word of God. Likewise, Mary is not God, so we cannot worship her. But we can and should venerate her as the Mother of the Word-made-flesh.

I hope this helps you.

Answer 10

Your question assumes too many things that are simply wrong. Catholics do not pray to the Virgin Mary. They offer prayers of petition to her, as well as other saints. Catholic venerate the Virgin Mary, not "pray to" her as if she was a goddess. Nor do Catholics praise or worship the Pope. He is the head of the Catholic Church on earth but, as you said, he is just a man. He is the leader of the Catholic Church, but that does not mean Catholics praise or worship the pope.

There's more to the Bible than merely the First Commandment:

Mary - the Immaculate Ark of the New Covenant
Exodus 25:11-21 - the ark of the Old Covenant was made of the purest gold for God's Word. Mary is the ark of the New Covenant and is the purest vessel for the Word of God made flesh.

2 Sam. 6:7 - the Ark is so holy and pure that when Uzzah touched it, the Lord slew him. This shows us that the Ark is undefiled. Mary the Ark of the New Covenant is even more immaculate and undefiled, spared by God from original sin so that she could bear His eternal Word in her womb.

1 Chron. 13:9-10 - this is another account of Uzzah and the Ark. For God to dwell within Mary the Ark, Mary had to be conceived without sin. For Protestants to argue otherwise would be to say that God would let the finger of Satan touch His Son made flesh. This is incomprehensible.

1 Chron. 15 and 16 - these verses show the awesome reverence the Jews had for the Ark - veneration, vestments, songs, harps, lyres, cymbals, trumpets.

Luke 1:39 / 2 Sam. 6:2 - Luke's conspicuous comparison's between Mary and the Ark described by Samuel underscores the reality of Mary as the undefiled and immaculate Ark of the New Covenant. In these verses, Mary (the Ark) arose and went / David arose and went to the Ark. There is a clear parallel between the Ark of the Old and the Ark of the New Covenant.

Luke 1:41 / 2 Sam. 6:16 - John the Baptist / King David leap for joy before Mary / Ark. So should we leap for joy before Mary the immaculate Ark of the Word made flesh.

Luke 1:43 / 2 Sam. 6:9 - How can the Mother / Ark of the Lord come to me? It is a holy privilege. Our Mother wants to come to us and lead us to Jesus.

Luke 1:56 / 2 Sam. 6:11 and 1 Chron. 13:14 - Mary / the Ark remained in the house for about three months.

Rev 11:19 - at this point in history, the Ark of the Old Covenant was not seen for six centuries (see 2 Macc. 2:7), and now it is finally seen in heaven. The Jewish people would have been absolutely amazed at this. However, John immediately passes over this fact and describes the "woman" clothed with the sun in Rev. 12:1. John is emphasizing that Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant and who, like the Old ark, is now worthy of veneration and praise. Also remember that Rev. 11:19 and Rev. 12:1 are tied together because there was no chapter and verse at the time these texts were written.

Rev 12:1 - the "woman" that John is describing is Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Just as the moon reflects the light of the sun, so Mary, with the moon under her feet, reflects the glory of the Sun of Justice, Jesus Christ.

Rev. 12:17 - this verse tells us that Mary's offspring are those who keep God's commandments and bear testimony to Jesus. This demonstrates, as Catholics have always believed, that Mary is the Mother of all Christians.

Rev. 12:2 - Some Protestants argue that, because the woman had birth pangs, she was a woman with sin. However, Revelation is apocalyptic literature unique to the 1st century. It contains varied symbolism and multiple meanings of the woman (Mary, the Church and Israel). The birth pangs describe both the birth of the Church and Mary's offspring being formed in Christ. Mary had no birth pangs in delivering her only Son Jesus.

Isaiah 66:7 - for example, we see Isaiah prophesying that before she (Mary) was in labor she gave birth; before her pain came upon her she was delivered of a son (Jesus). This is a Marian prophecy of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ.

Gal 4:19 - Paul also describes his pain as birth pangs in forming the disciples in Christ. Birth pangs describe formation in Christ.

Rom. 8:22 - also, Paul says the whole creation has been groaning in travail before the coming of Christ. We are all undergoing birth pangs because we are being reborn into Jesus Christ.

Jer. 13:21 - Jeremiah describes the birth pangs of Israel, like a woman in travail. Birth pangs are usually used metaphorically in the Scriptures.

Hos. 13:12-13 - Ephraim is also described as travailing in childbirth for his sins. Again, birth pangs are used metaphorically.

Micah 4:9-10 - Micah also describes Jerusalem as being seized by birth pangs like a woman in travail.

Rev. 12:13-16 - in these verses, we see that the devil still seeks to destroy the woman even after the Savior is born. This proves Mary is a danger to satan, even after the birth of Christ. This is because God has given her the power to intercede for us, and we should invoke her assistance in our spiritual lives.