would praying to a statue of Jesus or Mary be like worshiping an idol? How about wearing a cross?

Answer 1

Yes... The scriptures give a very broad idea of the meaning of idol worship. The "icon" system is very much the same. It is best for Christians to avoid making ANY object a point of worship, including works of art, buildings, jewelery... You name it.

Isa 44:15 Man gets wood from trees for fuel. He uses some of it to warm himself. He starts a fire and bakes bread. But he also uses some of it to make a god and worship it. He makes a statue of a god and bows down to it.
16 He burns half of the wood in the fire.
He prepares a meal over it.
He cooks meat over it.
He eats until he is full.
He also warms himself. He says,
“Good! I’m getting warm. The fire is nice and hot.”
17 From the rest of the wood he makes a statue. It becomes his god. He bows down and worships it. He prays to it. He says, “Save me. You are my god.” 18 People like that don’t even know what they are doing. Their eyes are shut so that they can’t see the truth. Their minds are closed so that they can’t understand it.

Answer 2

To be fair to "idol worshipers," they believed that idols weren't gods themselves, but represented gods in the heavens. Therefore, if the ones praying to the statues actually were doing it as an act to communicate to Jesus & Mary, then they would not be worshipping the statues. I do not believe wearing a cross is a form of worship either.

Answer 3

Praying to statues isn't idol worshipping it just means that they want to connect with whomever they are praying to. Wearing a cross or whatever symbol is the same thing, it is a talisman of protection for if you think it it is, but many don't know this and are happy in their ignorance, how I wish I were still there, life would be so much more simpler!

Answer 4

Praying to any statue is idol worship.

What's the purpose of wearing the cross? If it's to let other's know you are a Christian that is what the fruits of the spirit are for.

Answer 5

To any one who says it is, i believe maybe they have become too anal. Most who pray at a statue or wear a cross do so for symbolic reasons. The are not praising the statue or cross itself but are using it as a visual for something they can't see but believe it. Worshiping an idol would be in believing that it itself was the god, or a manifestation of your god. The last time i saw someone yell at their computer for dicking up to put it bluntly, i didn't suspect any of them thought it was going to hear them, I am not religious but i yell at my computer all the time.

Answer 6

Yes. Fortunately people pray directly to Jesus or Mary and not to their statues.

Do you have pictures of your loved ones? Have you ever looked at the picture of someone while talking on the phone to them?

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 7

the bible says not to worship any idols and that is statues you should just get rid of the statues and pray strait to jesus, you don't need the statues for him to hear you his spirit is with you always,and wearing a cross is just a symbol of that you believe in him as long as its just a cross not his body on the cross because Jesus is alive he is not on the cross anymore okay god bless you .

Answer 8

The statue - I don't think so, doesn't the statue represent Jesus or Mary in a way?

Wearing of a cross - Nope, it's a symbol for people to identify us a Catholics.

Answer 9

Why would anyone pray to Mary, she was a believer who was used by God as are all believers. We dont to pray to a statue because Jesus lives in our hearts.

Answer 10

Wearing a cross--no.
Praying to a statue--yes. Pray to the real Jesus.