Why is it that some Christians look down on Catholics saying that the Catholic religion is a form of idolatry?

Question

Is it a from of idolatry?

OR is it because of the statues of the virgin mary and other saints that most Catholics keep in there house?

Im not catholic. This is a question I wanted answers to, that's all.

Answer 1

Wow, you probably wont even get to this answer.
It is for several reasons
-They add tradition to the scripture. Rosary beads etc are not biblical. Sprinkled baptism is not biblical.
-They depend greatly on superstition such as the "saints" as you mentioned, and figurines of Mary and saints and Jesus etc. for good luck and blessings.
-They don't recognize portions of the new testament. For instance it says that there is one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, yet they continue to use priests as their mediator.

Answer 2

To get some perspective you have to look back into the history of christianity. In the early stages of catholicism, all of the bibles were written in latin and took a very long time to scribe. This scribing was mostly done by monks. Since these were the people educated in everything written in the bible, it was their job to go to the church on sundays during mass and read the scripture. To better illustrate the stories, statues, mosaics, art, etc. were made so that the people listening could be interested and better understand their faith. This was necessary because in these days, most people could not read. Most of their stories were told orally and accompanied with drawings or images. With the arrival of the printing press and the mass production of bibles, it became possible for more and more people to possess them. In addition, as books became more available, people became more literate. Now, when one has the ablility to read the bible on their own, they tend to interpret it differently from others. Many people did not agree with the catholic churches interpretation and chose to interpret it their own way. They smashed the idols and images and chose instead the "word". They believed that what was written was the most important. This created much rift in Christianity as the church began to split into different factions and much of these reformists had a deep seated hatred for the corruption that existed in the catholic church at that time. Some of that still exists to this day. Overall, you can interpret it as idolatry if you like, but if you look at its history, it really was the thing that helped to bring the masses to Christ in the first place. Why we can't all just try to learn about eachothers' differences so that we can realize that we all believe the same thing is a better question...

Answer 3

>>Why is it that some Christians look down on Catholics saying that the Catholic religion is a form of idolatry?<<

Because they are ignorant. I used to believe Catholicism was false and idolatrous until I really studied it.

>>OR is it because of the statues of the virgin mary and other saints that most Catholics keep in there house?<<

The statues are just 3D pictures of family members. Most people have pictures of family members in their house.

Answer 4

Being a Christian, this is a subject that is constantly an issue I hear about.
I, for one, do not look down on anyone, no matter what denomination/religion. I do, however, disagree with some of the practices of traditional Catholicism, and would see said practices as a form of idolatry.
In God's Word, He specifically says that there should be no other god beside himself. When we pray to another person/statue, does that entity not then become somewhat of a "god" to us?? I would say that it does.
Because I have lots of family who are Catholic, I have come to understand the REASONING behind praying to someone other than Jesus Himself--Catholics believe that Jesus is too holy to speak to directly, which is why they use a high priest (ie. confession) to talk to. However, when Jesus rose from the dead and left the earth until the "second coming", He sent the Holy Spirit in His place so we could have a friend and a guide here with us at all times. There's no need for us to have a "middle man" that we have to go through--no need for statues to pray to, for saints to pray to, or for a priest to "talk to God" through, when we have the Holy Spirit Himself who has promised to go to the Father with our prayers, and to intercede for us.

Answer 5

Some do that - in my experience, mostly ex-Catholics. Given the official Catholic position on saints and relics and so on, I don't think it qualifies as a form of idolatry. In practice, I think some Catholics (particularly in less-developed countries) tend that way, but I don't think that can be reasonably blamed on the Church. I think it's just old beliefs and practices coloring the Catholicism of a region.

And again, for the record, I'm not Catholic.

Answer 6

I'm a Christian and I admit to not knowing all that much about Catholic faith but I have observed Catholics praying to the Virgin Mary and various saints as if they would be able to answer their prayers. I believe that all prayers should only ever be directed to God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit. Mary and the saints were incredible people with incredible faiths, but they are still only humans, like you and me. Keep praying but I suggest praying to Jesus.

Answer 7

well, by "some Christians" I'm guessing you mean protestants. They are typically more by the book than catholics. This is especially true on certain issues, like the pope, purgatory, confession, etc. catholic services are much more into tradition and symbols I've found too, especially the rosary and saying hail Mary prayers.

Answer 8

Catholics are Christians. Know the Facts.

Answer 9

Many Christians believe that have tarnished the Christina reputation, everyone christian is assumed catholic and its stereo typical. Also the catholic church has different view points and do things that aren't really from the bible. Many also believe that they are more about money and power than God.

Answer 10

Catholic doctrine, for the most part, is christian. But it does have some serious flaws. True christianity says you're are saved solely and completely by faith in Christ alone, period. Catholic doctrine says you are saved by faith plus works and tradition. That diametrically contradicts Ephesians 2:8,9 which says " For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
not as a result of works, that no one should boast". Catholic doctrine also contradicts many other verses. Like I said, for the most part catholic doctrine is right on but it does have many flaws.
http://www.reachingcatholics.org/mainpage.html

Answer 11

I think it mostly stems from the veneration of Mary.

I have a few catholic friends who put her on the same level with Jesus, saying that she was totally without sin, just as he was, and therefore they put her in a place of worship.
I find this an interesting standpoint since catholics believe in original sin. If Mary was supposedly without sin, as was Jesus, then she herself would also have to have been born from a virgin birth.

Other brands of christianity believe that only Jesus was without sin and that there is no foundation in the bible for saying that mary was completely and totally without sin.