Do you think that Catholics worship idols?

Question

With all the statues and hail marys do you think they are idol worshippers?

Answer 1

As a Catholic, I KNOW we don't worship idols.

Answer 2

You probably have a picture of a loved one, family member, or close friend somewhere in your house. Maybe it's in your room, on the mantle, in the living room. You look at it sometimes, it reminds you of that person and makes you think of all the fond memories you've shared. If that person is someone you miss dearly, maybe you'll even hold the picture in your hands and just look at it for a few minutes. Catholic "idol worship" is similar in that it's not about the object itself, but what it represents, i.e., God. Ask any Catholic if they "worship" anything other than God and I think you'll get the answer you would expect to get. Let's try it right now.

Me: Hey, Catholic, do you worship idols?
Catholic: Heck no! That would be breaking the First Commandment!

There you go.

Answer 3

Do you have pictures of your loved ones?

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 4

I am a Catholic and no we do not worship Mary or saints or statues. Statues and pictures are aids for remembrance. Just as your family pictures are. The Hail Mary is a prayer that comes straight from the Bible.

Answer 5

Yes, but not because of the statues. Idolatry in that sense would mean they believed the actual statue possessed some ethereal power, which they don't.

Catholics are idolators in the sense that they pray to saints, with the belief that they possess godly power. My question always has been, if God Himself bestowed this power upon these saints, why would He do that? He's an all-powerful God who certainly can handle our measly prayer requests.
Does God need a switchboard?
Skip the middle man and go right to the Big Guy.

Answer 6

Yes, they do, and as it says in the bible, this is wrong. When I hear talk of these icons bleeding or weeping in the Catholic church, I see it as a miracle too, but not in the way they see it. If I were them, I would ask myself, Why would this idol, that I value more than anything, be crying?
or Why is this object of my affection bleeding, as though hurt? I view it as God's way of saying come out of her, my people. God IS hurt because of this. It's like they think He went through the crucifixion in vain. Just so they would be doing paganistic rituals and chanting and praying to mere idols or kissing the rings of mere men, or exhaulting Mary to a Queen of heaven, and there is no such thing? Maybe that's why Mary is crying too, because she knew the truth as well.

Answer 7

No, great one, we don't. Where have you been so far ?
Don't you know that we worship ONLY our Lord God ?
We venerate the saints ( we DO NOT WORSHIP THEM )
An idol is a statue to which especial powers are attributed, a "god"

Answer 8

No, Catholics do not worship idols.
Do you ever talk to people or ask a favor occasionally?
Have you ever asked someone to talk to someone for you?
Do you have photos of anyone?

Catholic prayers to Saints is the equivalent of asking a friend to do a favor or talk to someone for you.
Statues provide the same remembrance as a photo.

...and "Hail Mary" is a prayer.

Answer 9

Yes, most specifically because the third (I think) commandment forbids idols and depictions of anything on earth and in heaven. Despite being one of the cardinal three, it is most often interpreted to mean no depictions of other Gods, probably because Catholics refuse to believe their dashboard Jesus is sending them to hell, don't even try to cast the crucifix as anything other than a "graven image". As far as mainstream paganism goes: drinking the blood/ eating the flesh of a human/God, worshiping with depictions of a mutilated and dying man, and vehement opposition to other mindsets, Catholicism really tops the charts.

Answer 10

Cotholicism absolutely forbids the worship of idols
Thou shalt worship no other God but me, nor shall ye take unto thyself any graven image.
These are the words of God according to the bible.
This is not to say that any 'catholics', as such ,do not worship images, only that they are forbidden to do so.