Why do Bible only Christians say Catholics shouldn't pray to the Saints because they are dead people?

Question

Then in the next breath they berate Catholics for the crucifix because they say. "HE is risen!". Yes he has risen but, did you not know that Christians are members of the body of Christ and if he has risen then we have too so upon death we will go to Heaven to be with him. We are not in the grave sleeping. We have consumed the body and blood of Jesus. We are of his body therefore we do go to Heaven therefore the Saints are not dead but, in Heaven. Therefore we may pray to them and ask them to intercede for us. Doesn't it say that "All of Heaven will rejoice over one sinner who repents"? Why would it say that if there were only Jesus and a few angels there?

Answer 1

dont forget the 'all who believe in Him might not die but have everlasting life' quote

o and in REV it says something like "and the bowls were filled with the intercession of the holy ones"

edit for other answerers : apparently the people who say 'the bible doesnt mention saints' lack common sense. duh the bible doesnt mention saints, there was no one to die for christianity when the bible was written. revelation, the last written book, does though. interesting.

another edit:
its not so much praying to saints as its praying THRU saints.
no different than asking your friend to pray for you, considering they're not biblically dead.

Answer 2

The saints who are alive on the earth are not in heaven. On that fact alone your argument falls flat. But that's not all.

The Bible makes clear that those who are dead, are not in heaven, but in their graves in the earth (Ecclesiastes 9:5 -- "For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing"; Psalms 115:17 -- "The dead do not praise the Lord, Nor any who go down into silence"). It even refers to the "dead in Christ" as asleep, not alive and awake in heaven. And Jesus made it plain that no one has risen to heaven. Peter also said the same thing when he said David (a dead saint) is still in his grave over a month after Jesus was raised from the dead.

Though the saints who have died, are alive in promise, they are yet dead in form.

Twisted logic is what Peter was writing about when he declared that people twist the Scriptures to their own destruction.

The Bible is also clear on the fact that the saints will rise from the dead ***when Christ returns*** to the earth, not before. So, once again, they will not be in heaven but on earth with Jesus Christ when life is restored to them.

And where do you get the very flawed idea that there are only "a few angels?"
Rev 5:11 -- Then I looked, and I heard the voice of MANY ANGELS around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; AND THE NUMBER OF THEM WAS TEN THOUSAND TIMES TEN THOUSAND, AND THOUSANDS OF THOUSANDS. (See also: Psalms 68:17, Daniel 7:10, Mt 26:53)

As for praying to the dead -- would you pray to a rock, or the wind or a dry leaf? Would any of these answer your prayer? It is the same with praying to dead people; they can neither hear your prayer nor answer.

Answer 3

There is only one who can intercede for you, and that is Jesus Christ. It has nothing to do with who is in heaven. The saints CANNOT intercede for you. Neither can Mary. She has no power in heaven. The saints have NO power in heaven, and the belief that Jesus Christ is not the only intermediary between God and man is promoted in the practice of worshipping or praying to dead saints, who act as patrons and mediators. This practice ROBS Christ of His supremacy and centrality in God's redemptive plan. Worship and prayer to ANYONE other than God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit are unbiblical and MUST be rejected.

Do not believe or practice the lies and false teachings of the catholic church. They teach things that go directly AGAINST Christ.

You can either repent, and be born again into worshipping in spirit and truth, which is what God wants of you, or you can believe a lie and be damned.

My family is catholic, Midge. Do not try to sell me on the lies of the Roman Catholic Church. I praise God daily that I am not lost in their false doctrine and fancy ceremonies. It is all they have to offer. I guess for some, it is enough.

Answer 4

I think you misunderstand where we are coming from when we say that you should not pray to Saints.

It's not because they are dead people, although that is a reality. Yes they are dead and in Heaven ... they are not here and can no longer hear you or see you. They do not hear your prayers.

But the main reason is that you are worshipping something other than God and we all know that is a BIG no-no. Why do you feel it necessary to use an intermediary when all you need do is bow your head and mutter "help" from your soul? He'll hear you and He'll help you. To us, it's as rude as if you refused to speak to your mother, and instead made all of your siblings ask her for things.

That is the real reason why we know it is wrong to pray to a person. Only God deserves our prayer, that's what prayer is ... conversation with God.

Answer 5

first of all we do not pray to the dead because they are just that. yes the believer is said to be asleep but they still cannot intercede for us. that is what Jesus and the Holy Spirit does

Romans 8:27
Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Only Jesus can intercede for us because He was sinless

Hebrews 7:26
26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;

Answer 6

Praying to someone is a form of worship. This was not done in the earth church at all.
The bible says, "there is one mediator between God and man, Jesus the Christ"
The bible also says, "The dead know not what goes on under the sun." They don't hear you. ONLY God/ Jesus is omnipresent so they can hear you ONLY. Mary doesn't and neither do the saints. The saints ARE in heaven but I truly believe it is a sin to pray to them or Mary.
†

Answer 7

Before Jesus Christ died for our sins and opened the gates of heaven there were no saints in heaven. Therefore there are no Old Testament writings that would mention them.

Very few of the new Christians died before most of the New Testament was written. Therefore there is little in the Bible about asking saints to pray for us.

However the last book of the Bible does talk about the saints in heaven praying.

Revelation 5:8: Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones.

Revelation 8:3-4: He was given a great quantity of incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne. The smoke of the incense along with the prayers of the holy ones went up before God from the hand of the angel.

The Holy Spirit guided the early Church in many things not explained in the Bible including how does the Body of Christ (believers) living on Earth relate to the Body of Christ (saints) living in heaven. We are still one Body.

Catholics share the belief in the Communion of Saints with many other Christians, including the Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Episcopal, and Methodist Churches.

The Communion of Saints is the belief where all saints are intimately related in the Body of Christ, a family. When you die and go to heaven, you do not leave this family.

Everyone in heaven or on their way to heaven are saints, you, me, my deceased grandmother, Mary the mother of Jesus, and Mother Teresa.

As part of this family, you may ask your family and friends living here on earth to pray for you. Or, you may also ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Andrew, or your deceased grandmother living in heaven to pray for you.

Prayer to saints in heaven is simple communication, not worship.

And prayer to the saints is optional not required.

With love in Christ.

Answer 8

........."For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus"....1st Timothy 2:5.........Though you may be very sincere, the "Blesse Virgin Mary" CANNOT make intercession for you. 1st Timothy 2:5 couldn't be any clearer or to the point!......Jesus Christ is the MEDIATOR between god and mankind. The Catholics commit idolatry when the bow before a statue of Mary of rely upon Mary to intercede for them.........Mary is NO mediator or intercessor....she is just a woman. No dead saint or living Pope can mediate for you!!.........Though Catholics claim they are only honoring the dead saints and Mary, the truth of the matter is that they are obsessed with wicked idol worship. This is why the 2nd of the Ten Commandments is missing in their Catechism books. No saint of priest can reconcile your sinful heart to God. The ONLY way to obtain the righteousness of God is in Jesus Christ (2nd Corithians 5:17). There is ony ONE MEDIATOR.......Jesus Christ!.....It is a Biblical fact that the only mortal soul who has ever ascended into heaven is the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.........Everyone who has ever lived and died is still in the grave awaiting the second coming of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the dead saints that will immediately follow........."Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep (in the grave), or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep (in the grave) in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly NOT PRECEDE those who have fallen asleep (in the grave). For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the achangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead (who's souls are asleep in the grave) in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.".....(1st Thessalonians 4:13-17)..........There are legions of angels in heaven rejoicing over repentant sinner, but that's all!.........Please do yourself a favor and study the "real" Bible, then you would know and prove to yourself that what I have told you is the truth.

Answer 9

The Bible says there is one mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus. We are to worship and pray to God, not a man (or woman) or angels or anyone or anything else. Dead people may be in heaven but they are still just people, not God.

Answer 10

They believe in that bogus rapture doctrine that is not in the Bible so they believe that we will all be judged on one day. They do not realize that the saints are already in Heaven with God. If they have no real Love for God's Mother Mary why should we expect them to have any respect for the other Saints? Peace be with you