Is it acceptable to pray to Saints and worship saint’s statues?

Question

Is it acceptable to pray to Saints and worship Saints statues and the statue Mary according to the teachings of the bible and Jesus?

Leviticus 26:1, "Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God."

Jesus saith : I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6)

Then why the Catholics try to come to God through Saints? Dont they believe the Bible and its teachings ?

Answer 1

There is one mediator between man and God, that's Christ Jesus.

Answer 2

A more balanced answer might be; it's acceptable to Catholics! (and to Orthodox).

The difference is in the *way* that you read the Bible.

If you took Leviticus 26:1 literally, you would have to call God the first and worst idolater, since He made man (from dust, which is just broken up stones, right?) in His image.

Similarly, according to John 14:6 no-one who didn't meet Jesus in the flesh could ever "come to the Father", since Jesus doesn't literally walk the earth in that way since about 2000 years ago.

The Catholic-Orthodox position is that a fundamental change in man's relationship to God and to all creation happened when the Word became flesh.

Since then, created things become holy by association with Christ. First the Apostles, and their writings (the New Testament) and then the Churches which they founded, and the cultural experience of these Churches.

Since Christ is present in the Church and the Saints, it is indeed possible to meet Him, also through the works of the Church, such as the Bible, holy images ("Icons") and other aspects of Church life, especially the Sacraments.

Indeed, if the Church didn't exist, the word "Jesus", which the Catholic Church teaches "contains the presence it signifies", would not convey meaning to people today - history would have rolled over that Jewish messiah-claimant "Jesus of Nazareth", and He would have been forgotten.

But it's not acceptable for strict / "Puritan" Protestants, since this is not their view of Christianity!

Answer 3

Christians took the old Pagan gods and goddesses and renamed them saints. Then they built churches on the new saint's worship site. That is why all Catholic churches are dedicated to "saints". Notice how you have saints OF stuff? That's because the god/esses were the god/esses OF stuff. Ball canning jars? Baal, God of the Harvest. Patron saint of Ireland, Saint Brigit, is really the Maiden Goddess Brigid or Bride. Mary was a maiden. She was also God's "bride". Wouldn't that put her close to goddess category?

If Catholics really believe in the teachings of the bible, they should not have statues of or pray to those saints. That would include Jesus because God didn't say...

Leviticus 26:1, "Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God." accept Jesus, you can worship him.

Answer 4

I have to tell you that the Bible is very clear that we should only worship and pray to God in the name of Jesus. Remember even a so-called saint is just a creation not creator.

By the way christians should also live a holy lifestyle and we can be called saints as well however i wouldn't go on the streets proclaiming we are saints because then the common reaction would be that we are nuts.

Also the catholic system is not christian at all, not attacking her members I say this, Just ask the leaders to soulsearch and if they were brave and God fearing they would admit it has a holy appearance but is nothing more than a political power.


God bless you.

Answer 5

Oh how I love reading other people's answers. Generally, it goes along the line, that "oh yes, it is most definitely wrong, because I say so!" Please everyone, answer the question objectively NOT subjectively!
Note the leading question "Why do CATHOLICS"
Many Christians pray THROUGH saints, i.e. Roman Catholics, High Church Anglicans/Episcopalians, Orthodox, to name a few. It does not mean that we pray TO anyone other than God. It is just a matter of culture and tradition within our faiths. We sometimes do not feel worthy to pray to God directly and therefore feel easier to go through a 3rd party. Has no one asked someone else to do their dirty work for them?When we attend the Sacrament of Reconciliation (still perpetually called Confession by those not of our faith) we ask God for forgiveness. The priest is merely a human reflection of the Almighty. Again, this sacrament is available in the Anglican, and Orthodox Church.
And for our friend who asked the question, when i re-read your bible quote (oh yes, we Catholics do read the bible, another myth quashed) I immediately thought of money as being a modern day idol, not that anyone of any faith could be accused of worshipping that!

Answer 6

Yes, it's fine to pray to Saints. No, it's not OK to worship anybody but God. Catholics worship only God. If you believe otherwise, you're wrong.

Have you ever asked a friend to pray for you? If so, that's no different than asking a Saint...or a deceased loved one...to pray for you. If you don't believe that dead people can pray for you, you don't believe in souls or spirits. Since God Himself is a spirit, that would also mean that you don't believe in God...since you "can't" pray to spirits.

Your observations are common fundamentalist Christian misperceptions of the Catholic Church...they're old-hat...and not true.

The Catholic Church also teaches that it's more important to worry about ones own relationship with God...and not to spend your time trying to point out how wrong others might be. Exactly how does pointing out faults in another person improve your own relationship with God?

Answer 7

I agree. On the other hand, anything is acceptable and saints aren't the same as God, I'd say it's like asking for the help of a guardian angel or a spirit guide, whatever pleases you most. So, let's try to be a little humble and not criticize the ways of other people based on the perfect knowledge that we own the truth, what do you say?

Answer 8

"Mary was just a vessel"? Was you mom "just a vessel"?

Catholics do not worship Mary or the saints. Yes, we pray to them, but we do so to ask them to pray for us and with us when we pray to God. Mary and the saints can only do things that God gives them the power to do, similar to the disciples in the Gospels.

Part of the Sacrament of Reconciliation is penance. While sin is an act that takes us away from God, pennance is an act that brings us back to God. Prayers bring us back to God.

We have a figure of Jesus on the cross to remind us of the greatest act of love that anyone can do for another person - to lay down your life for another. It also reminds us that we too may be asked to suffer for our faith.

Answer 9

I actually asked a Catholic friend that very same question (minus the bible quoting of course).

Her point of view is that sometimes she feels a little embarassed to approach the Almighty so she tries to go through a different route. To her, it's like sometimes you go through your mom when you want something from dad.

While this may seem reasonable, we should realize that we serve a loving Father who would not turn us away and a big brother who died for us. Heck, if He couldn't stand you, He wouldn't have bothered to give His life for your sake in the first place. So why not go to Jesus straight? He LOVES it!

So you're a sinner. So you made a mistake. Big deal! He knows it and He loves you anyway!

Answer 10

Sorry that the truth hurts, but Romans were pagans and they are the reason the catholic church is this way! Blame constantine!

Did you know the pagan/christian leaders didn't want the members knowing what they were doing wrong, so the bible was chained for only priests to see? Inquisitions sound familiar? The change of the sabbath? Sun worship?

Answer 11

I don't think Christians should pray to and worship idols...even if they are 'saints'. It goes against the Bibles teachings, as you have shown.

I don't know why Catholics do this though...They also believe a preist or a pope can forgive them for sins, but only God can do this.