Just look in there churches their full of idols, like statues, pictures, crucifixes all of which is pagan idolatry....wake up catholics before its too late. Follow Jesus not your church traditions... althought catholics don't believe the Bible is the "Word of God" or is the "the Final Authority" , but it is... Catholics would rather believe: fallable men like their Pope and priests and false teachings of church. Remember when Jesus walk the earth, his biggest headache were the religious rulers, i.e. scribes and pharisees... not the common sinner. In my opinion the Catholic Church Hiearchy is just like the scribes and pharisees of Jesus day...
2007-02-05 10:11:59 · 37 answers · asked by jdoh10 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Yes.Idol worship is prevalent in most religions.They say they do not worship but venerate them. How stupid it looks. Some one creates a staue and name it mary or thomas and you go and kiss it,offer flowers,candles.. All these should disappear and use that money for serving the poorest of the poor instead of making money for the priests and temples.
2007-02-05 10:17:36 · answer #1 · answered by cupid 3 · 3⤊ 3⤋
I am Orthodox, not Roman Catholic, so I can't really comment on the Pope comment, but I would like to address your accusation of idolatry. Both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches venerate icons. However, this is not a form of worship. We ask for the intercessions of saints in exactly the same way that you might ask your father or brother or friend to pray for you. Only Christ saves. The church is very clear on this point. Yes, there are icons and crosses in the churches, but just because you have a poster on your wall or paintings of landscapes in your home doesn't mean you worship the objects depicted. They serve as a reminder of the way we should strive to live our lives. Aside from that, the earliest iconographers were the apostles...men who actually walked and talked with Christ.
The New Testament was written and compiled BY THE CHURCH. That's why Holy Tradition is important in interpretting the message. If you believe in sola scriptura, that's fine, but scripture must be interpretted correctly. That belief is what has led to thousands of fragmented Christian sects. You are right to say that everything we need for salvation is in the scriptures, but it is easy to misunderstand the message, especially when you don't understand the historical context of the words.
Yes, men are fallible, and I agree that no one man should be the "head of the church". Only Christ is in that role.
2007-02-05 10:23:32 · answer #2 · answered by arcanefairy 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Marc,
Im not a catholic so I have no axe to grind...
1st you didnt even ask a question
2nd. your spelling shows you need to spend more time in school than on the computer
3rd. Catholics DON'T worship idols, the statues crucifxes etc etc etc in their churches (note how "THEIR" is written Marc) are merely symbols.
4th.the bible being the ACTUAL word of god..well its NEVER been the word of god Marc..its the word of man ABOUT god..its the word of the "godly"
5th When Jesus walked the earth satan and sin was his biggest headache..not the scribes nor the pharisees.
6th Jesus taught and stood for tolerance Marc..try learning some yourself.
7th...and very last point Marc...you spent your whole immature tirade against the Catholic Church...why was that? Surely a REAL man of god would have spent it in praise of the Lord and in praise of his beliefs rather than tear down those of others...your "question" or ridiculous statement was about as ungodly as it could have been...seeya in hell !
:)
2007-02-05 10:28:16 · answer #3 · answered by Steve M 1 · 3⤊ 0⤋
A simple but precious 'relic' of the dead is the memory we have of them. Memories are a source of both knowledge of the dead and comfort to us. After Christ's ascension it was the memory of him and of his teachings that his disciples treasured most. Of this memory the New Testament writings were born.
Apart from the memory of the deceased, which is a mental relic, there is a more tangible one in the mortal remains of the dead. The early Christians treated with respect and veneration the remains of the martyrs.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, has always held a very special place in the lives of all disciples of her Son. The Scriptural basis for why Catholics pray to her can be found in the following texts:
Her importance in the lives of all Christians: Luke 1: 46-56 (Yes, from now onwards all generations will call me blessed, for the Almighty has done great things for me.)
Although it is true that Christ is the only mediator (1 Timothy 2:5), Mary’s intercessory role through her special relationship with Jesus is very clear in Scripture: John 2: 1-10; Luke 8: 19-21; John 19: 25-27; Acts 1: 14.
God Bless You
2007-02-05 10:23:34 · answer #4 · answered by ? 6 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Your absolutely right. It doesn't make sense for anything that calls itself Christian, to worship any human who has existed other than Jesus Christ. This whole Mary issue is pagan idolotry made up by people who didn't know the true gospel. If you look up the history of the early church it was Jesus, Jesus, and nothing but Jesus. So there goes for the Catholic church claiming they were the first church. Funny, the first church didn't worship or venerate Mary. How do they expain that? It all comes down to this. Who's the one who died on the cross for your salvation? Who's the one who can save you from your sins? Guess what folks it's not Mary. The whole Mary deviation does not make sense.
2007-02-05 11:37:19 · answer #5 · answered by Andres 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
you know nothing of the catholic church. pagan idolatry is idols that pertain to gods that are not the christian god, the symbols and statues are not worshipped,they serve as a reminder of our lords sacrafice for us. in the bible you can find god commanded images and such to be built,ie the temple,cherubim etc......... we follow jesus and that is why our church is the one holy apostolic church guided and protected by the holy spirit that even the gates of hell will not prevail upon it. tell me where in the bible it says that the bible is the sole authority/final authority, i assure you can't. as it is you would not have a bible without the catholic church,simply study whether it be historical or biblical. scripture itself refutes the very notion of sola scriptura and even sola fide. the pope is fallable on some things,but what pertains to the church is infallible. your whole reasoning is flawed even within the confounds of your "final authority". try reading it and when you truly read it you will find that all the catholic church teaches is truth and is wholly based on scripture. sites of some benefit are
fisheaters.com
salvationhistory.com
ewtn.com and
scripturecatholic.com
atleast research the catholic church before you make judgements(which goes against your "final authority" as that is left only for our lord).
2007-02-05 10:30:54 · answer #6 · answered by fenian1916 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I am not a Catholic but I have to tell you that your opinion of Catholicism is incorrect. The Catholic church is a Christian church that believes in the old and the new testaments as do all other Christian churches. Saints are persons in heaven, who lived lives of great charity and heroic virtues. If you disagree with the way the Catholic church is governed this is your choice to voice without mixing the Christian beliefs in your argument.
2007-02-05 10:26:22 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
How uninformed are you...let me count the ways 1) Catholics do not "worship" the saints...they are simply reminders of our history, 2)Jesus started catholic church by saying to Peter, "upon this rock I will build my church"3) catholics do believe the bible is the word of God 4) catholics believe the Pope is infallible in matters of dogma only.
Your opinion is backed by your false assumptions and lack of knowledge, it is therefore worth sheet.
2007-02-05 10:20:48 · answer #8 · answered by Raven 5 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Catholics worship only God within the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Catholics keep the Bible as the "Word of God" and final authority. The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter." Those "who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church." With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so profound "that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord's Eucharist."
Sure, I have art work of Mary & Joseph ... art work of my dead Dad & Grandpa ... even art of Alan Greenspan ... but this doesn't mean that I expect the art to come alive and save me (giggle). I even carry a picture of my cat in my wallet ... again, this picture doesn't replace my cat --- it just brings joy to my heart --- but petting and hugging my kitty is much nicer than the picture.
2007-02-05 10:20:03 · answer #9 · answered by Giggly Giraffe 7 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Not idols, necessarily...but the argument could be made that a "monotheistic" religion with this many deities can hardly be considered monotheistic.
It is amusing that someone who is equally delusional can point fingers, however, I guess your delusion bubble is the only correct one, and the inhabitants of the Catholic bubble are "just like the scribes and pharisees", hmm?
From where I'm sitting, outside of any bubble whatsoever, yours is no different from theirs.
2007-02-05 10:16:06 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Some cultures carry it to extremes I think. Mary, according to Christianity is the mother of Jesus, second person of the Trinity, the messiah -God the son. I've never been able to understand if Mary was the mother of a God why shouldn't she be a Goddess? Every other mother of a god was a goddess, why not Mary? Oh, of course that would not be monotheism then. Christianity really got themselves into a fix with that one, don't you think?
2007-02-05 10:33:07 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋