Question for Catholics: Why are there graven images in the Catholic Church?

Question

All those pictures of Christ, the Cross, and the different Saints seems like Idolatry to me. Hasn't that been the schism between Catholics and us Protestants hundreds of years?

Exd 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:

Exd 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;

Lev 19:4 Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I [am] the LORD your God.

Lev 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.

Answer 1

Calling Catholics idolaters because they have images of Christ and the saints is based on misunderstanding or ignorance of what the Bible says about the purpose and uses (both good and bad) of statues.


People who oppose religious statuary forget about the many passages where the Lord commands the making of statues. For example: "And you shall make two cherubim of gold [i.e., two gold statues of angels]; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end; of one piece of the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be" (Ex. 25:18–20).

David gave Solomon the plan "for the altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. All this he made clear by the writing of the hand of the Lord concerning it all, all the work to be done according to the plan" (1 Chr. 28:18–19). David’s plan for the temple, which the biblical author tells us was "by the writing of the hand of the Lord concerning it all," included statues of angels.

Similarly Ezekiel 41:17–18 describes graven (carved) images in the idealized temple he was shown in a vision, for he writes, "On the walls round about in the inner room and [on] the nave were carved likenesses of cherubim."


During a plague of serpents sent to punish the Israelites during the exodus, God told Moses to "make [a statue of] a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live" (Num. 21:8–9).

One had to look at the bronze statue of the serpent to be healed, which shows that statues could be used ritually, not merely as religious decorations.

Catholics use statues, paintings, and other artistic devices to recall the person or thing depicted. Just as it helps to remember one’s mother by looking at her photograph, so it helps to recall the example of the saints by looking at pictures of them. Catholics also use statues as teaching tools. In the early Church they were especially useful for the instruction of the illiterate. Many Protestants have pictures of Jesus and other Bible pictures in Sunday school for teaching children. Catholics also use statues to commemorate certain people and events, much as Protestant churches have three-dimensional nativity scenes at Christmas.

If one measured Protestants by the same rule, then by using these "graven" images, they would be practicing the "idolatry" of which they accuse Catholics. But there’s no idolatry going on in these situations. God forbids the worship of images as gods, but he doesn’t ban the making of images. If he had, religious movies, videos, photographs, paintings, and all similar things would be banned. But, as the case of the bronze serpent shows, God does not even forbid the ritual use of religious images.

It is when people begin to adore a statue as a god that the Lord becomes angry. Thus when people did start to worship the bronze serpent as a snake-god (whom they named "Nehushtan"), the righteous king Hezekiah had it destroyed (2 Kgs. 18:4).

Answer 2

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 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 3

I'm not a catholic, but I agree that your bible says that if you offend the law in one point, you offend in all.. and that you should take the beam out of your own eye before looking at the gleam in your brother's.. so I assume you are following all 613 of those commandments, right? Things like only wearing 100% cotton and no blended materials.. I'm sure you've done that and it's why you're asking.. btw, do you also make sure not to light a fire on the Sabbath and observe NO WORK at ALL from Friday night sundown until 3 stars can be seen in the Saturday night sky? Otherwise, we'd have to stone you to death according to the bible.

Answer 4

Catholics do not worship idols or images. The statues and other things you call graven images are but Holy Reminders. Much like a picture of your parents, children, etc that you would hold in your wallet. You do not worship the picture, it is only a reminder of those you love...so too with Catholics, reminders of how Jesus was crucified for love of us, reminders of how Mary the Mother of God, was always the faithful handmaid of the Lord, etc. They are holy reminders to keep us ever mindful of our love of God and all His saints in heaven, that we want to become like.

Answer 5

>>>All those pictures of Christ, the Cross, and the different Saints seems like Idolatry to me>>>

Only if we worshipped the pictures would it be idolatry.

But we don't worship them, so therefore, it's not idolatry.

You've quoted several Bible verses. But you fail to quote anything from Exodus 25 and 26.

In these two chapters, God commands the Israelites to fashion all sorts of objects and images to be used as aids in worship.

Not as objects of worship, of course, but as aids in worship.

The same is true of artistic renditions in Catholic churches. They're not objects of worship -- that would be idolatry.

But they are aids in worship -- this is permitted by (again) Exodus 25 and 26.

.

Answer 6

Exd 20:4 is not saying that you can't make statues or images of Jesus, it's saying don't worship anything but the Lord.

Answer 7

They do not worship the images. Though you may make a statue of Jesus, you are worshipping Jesus, not the statue. Idolatry is worshipping the image or object, which no Christians do, Catholic or not. How could anyone think otherwise???

Answer 8

While you're at it, ask them why they call their priests "father" even though Jesus said not to do that. Also, ask Catholics why they venerate the cross, a pagan symbol that predates Christianity by thousands of years. Also, ask them why they teach the trinity when the Bible does not support it.

The Catholics know they should not be worshiping idols, but they will put a spin on it and say they need visual aides to worship God. That is still not a good excuse. The Bible tells us to flee from idolatry.

Answer 9

Go to Catholic Answers.com Don't get your info. from your pastor or friends. .Get some really concrete information. Happy searching. More Protestant's are leaving for Catholicism than visa versa.. Check out Catholic Apologetics.. Good luck.

Answer 10

You know i thought about that too...i was raised catholic. In youth you tend to just accept things without question. As one get older though, questions on "why" begin to creep in. Questioning is good. I think culture and perception realy come into play here. From someone who may not have grown up with the "catholic tradition" it may be quite appauling.

The "bow" is a sign on servatude in the american culture. Where as in the asian culture, it is merely a sign of respect.

here is some excerpts of the research i came up with from a catholic answers website. for the full article, click the link from sources.

"Anti-Catholic writer Loraine Boettner, in his book Roman Catholicism, makes the blanket statement, "God has forbidden the use of images in worship" (281). Yet if people were to "search the scriptures" (cf. John 5:39), they would find the opposite is true. God forbade the worship of statues, but he did not forbid the religious use of statues. Instead, he actually commanded their use in religious contexts! "

"The bottom line is, when God made the New Covenant with us, he did reveal himself under a visible form in Jesus Christ. For that reason, we can make representations of God in Christ. Even Protestants use all sorts of religious images: Pictures of Jesus and other biblical persons appear on a myriad of Bibles, picture books, T-shirts, jewelry, bumper stickers, greeting cards, compact discs, and manger scenes. Christ is even symbolically represented through the Icthus or "fish emblem."

Common sense tells us that, since God has revealed himself in various images, most especially in the incarnate Jesus Christ, it’s not wrong for us to use images of these forms to deepen our knowledge and love of God. That’s why God revealed himself in these visible forms, and that’s why statues and pictures are made of them.

my answer is long enough but the full article even talks about your reference to exd.

my botom line is: it's all about your dispositon of your heart. The context of how you do it. We have statues to help remind us, you pay respect, to focus. Catholics do not create a statue and say "THIS IS ACTUALLY JESUS". They Create a stautue representational of jesus.

as for Mary and the saints, again, we are not saving they are GOD even have powers...we have staues of them for what they represent. to honor them.

I don't believe that this issue is a right or wrong thing..its a cultural thing. You just have to open your own perception.