Christians (other than Catholics) why don't you have statues in your homes???

Question

just so you know, Catholics do NOT worship the statues in their homes. They are there as a gentle reminder to think about God. They don't pray to them.

Answer 1

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 1 Chronicles 28:18–19, "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.

In Numbers 21:8-9, "And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover." Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered."

And in John 3:14-15, Jesus says in correlation, "And just as Moses lifted up the [image of a] serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."

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

Statues?
Might you be referring to idols.
The God who produced the Bible is against the use of idols.
Its one of the 10 commandments Exodus 20:4
and the Apostle John repeats the idea centuries later. 1 John 5:21
God is not against statues.
He is a lover of the arts.
He doesn't want us, however, to bow down in front of an idol and pray to it, expecting an answer.

Answer 3

we on't need it Because God is in our heart. why you should have it. you know sometimes people worship the statues and not the real God statue are made by men we can see that if you are the one created you are master right therefore. I f you consider God is the creator His only one to be worship.

Answer 4

No special reason. I do not view statues as idols, unless one is praying to them. I have a large painting of the Last Supper over my fireplace though. Oh, I lied, I do have one. I have a miniature of the pieta [a sculpture in the Vatican] that I bought at the Vatican. I'm not Catholic. I don't pray to it. In fact, it's in my china closet and I don't see it that much.

Answer 5

Should you make graven images or not?
Exodus 20:4-5, Leviticus 26:1; Deuteronomy 5:8; 27:15
and Exodus 25:18; 37:7-8


Shall not make graven images
(Exodus 20:4-5) - "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5"You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me."
(Leviticus 26:1) - "You shall not make for yourselves idols, nor shall you set up for yourselves an image or a sacred pillar, nor shall you place a figured stone in your land to bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God."
(Deuteronomy 5:8) - "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth."
(Deuteronomy 27:15) - "Cursed is the man who makes an idol or a molten image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’ And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen.’"
Shall make graven images
(Exodus 25:18) - "And you shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat."
(Exodus 37:7-8) - "And he made two cherubim of gold; he made them of hammered work, at the two ends of the mercy seat; 8one cherub at the one end, and one cherub at the other end; he made the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at the two ends." See also, Exodus 26:1,31; 36:8; 1 Kings 6:23-35.
The context of the "Thou shall not make a graven image" passages is dealing with worship of false things. Exodus 20:4 states that no one is to make an image of what is in heaven so that you may not worship them or bow down to them (20:5). This is reiterated in Leviticus 26:1. The Deuteronomy passages, contextually, are dealing with the same thing: an admonition against worshipping a false image. God does not want people bowing down before idols and worshiping false gods.
The instruction by God to make cherubim, which are angels in heaven, is not for the purpose of worship at all. Instead, it is a representation of the heavenly realm where God dwells and the angels are about the throne (1 Samuel 4:4; Hebrews 9:5). The Cherubim were placed on the Ark of the Covenant, in the Holy of Holies in the temple (2 Chron. 3:10). There, they would never become objects of worship because they were not public artifacts to which the general populace would become familiar and thereby risk falling into idol worship.

Answer 6

Actually, I do have one statue given to me by a friend: It is a Buddha.

The restriction is that Lev 12:4 " Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am the LORD your God. "

Buddha is not my idol and he is definitely not God.

Answer 7

Is Christianity associated with statues? I don't see the need to have statues in my home to communicate with God - we can communicate with Him at any time we like - while at home, while at work, while driving.

Answer 8

Well, I do have some artistic sculptures in my home, but that's probably not what you're talking about.

I'm assuming you mean of saints and things like that. I think it's mostly because I pray to Heavenly Father directly and don't need them.

Answer 9

I don't see anything wrong with having religious statues in the home. We don't pray to the statue itself, but rather to the vision it represents. If it helps focus your prayers, there's nothing wrong with it.

Answer 10

What Chewy and Not Myself said. Also, depends on what you mean by "statues". Art is fine, idols that you worship, not so much.