WHY DO CHRINSTIANS USE iCONS T0 WORSHiP G0D?

Question

iN PSALMS 115:4-8 SAYS :
"4 Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of the hands of earthling man.
5 A mouth they have, but they cannot speak;
Eyes they have, but they cannot see;
6 Ears they have, but they cannot hear.
A nose they have, but they cannot smell.
7 Hands are theirs, but they cannot feel.
Feet are theirs, but they cannot walk;
They utter no sound with their throat.
8 Those making them will become just like them,
All those who are trusting in them."
-ACTS 17:29 SAYS
“Seeing, therefore, that we are the progeny of God, we ought not to imagine that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, like something sculptured by the art and contrivance of man."
--EXODUS 20:4 SAYS:
“You must not make for yourself a carved image or a form like anything that is in the heavens above or that is on the earth underneath or that is in the waters under the earth. 5 You must not bow down to them nor be induced to serve them, because I Jehovah your God am a God exacting exclusive devotion,"

UPSS!!
I'm sorry Christian People for offending you. When i used Christians i ment all religions that used icons. Now i know that i was wrong. Sorry. I won't assum anithing again...

Answer 1

True Christians do not use icons, not even to "remind" them of God.

(1 John 5:21) Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

(1 Corinthians 10:14) Therefore, my beloved ones, flee from idolatry.

(Isaiah 42:8) I am Jehovah. That is my name; and to no one else shall I give my own glory, neither my praise to graven images.

Answer 2

Most self professed 'christians' are just capable of herding mentality. Their religion has evolved from a mixture of pagan religions throughout the centuries. All pagans had idols, icons and mysterious beliefs. They cannot help but mimic what they see and hear. They pick and choose what they like and discard what they do not like from their watered down bibles. They never study it, never search translations or research the history of why their bibles do not say what the Hebrew translation originally said. They go to feel good churches listen to music and just absorb what is put in front of them as if watching entertainment television. They do not question themselves or what was said. They love to persecute and condemn to hell anyone not just like them. They call this being a christian. Ghandi said it the best; he said, " I like this Jesus fellow, but his followers are so unlike him."

Answer 3

Got news for you kiddo.

People don't need for a symbol or icon to be related to religion. How many people do you know who "worship" their computer, their Ipod, their music collection, their car. Don't think so? Here's a good measuring stick. What do you spend the most time with? God or your PC, music, car, friends, sweetheart?
See? You might be "worshipping" a worldly object and not even know it.

Trust me on this.

Been there,
Done that,
Fixed the attitude.

Answer 4

I can not think of a single Christian who uses an icon to worship God. I am a Christian and I may have Christian artwork around my home but you will never find me worshiping any of it. The only thing that I can think of that you may be speaking of is the "cross". This is not an icon that we use to worship with. It is a reminder of what Jesus went through so that I may live and have victory.

Answer 5

Why do we use what to worship God?

All I use is my voice and the Holy Spirit to worship God. We are instructed not to make any graven image or worship lifeless idles.

The Father seeks those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth.

I am still confused about your question though. Maybe you should use lower case letters next time. Perhaps the question won't seem so questionable.

Answer 6

Actually, for the most part, you are referring to Catholicism, not Christianity, per se.

In the Catholic religion, it is considered duty to say prayers to the saints (reciting the Hail Mary is a good example). To me, that is the very antithesis of the commandment "Thou shalt have no other gods before me". Sorry, but if you can't say a prayer without something to "look at" or "remind" you, then you shouldn't be praying at all. You're heart just isn't in it.

Of course, that just goes to prove that Catholics, and for the most part, any religion, will twist words to suit what they want you to believe, not what you should believe. That's why I don't follow any religion. I enjoy being able to think for myself, thank you.

Answer 7

I "use" icons to focus my attention on what I am doing. The reason I am praying, and living is to achieve the goal of heaven and be in the presence of GOD. Well people have achieved this, so I "use" their picture or statue to remind me to live better, pray more honestly.
I am only human and my attention can drift very easily.
Also no one is forcing me to "use" anything when I pray or live my life in hopes of reaching heaven. Some people "use" leaves, or rainbows, whatever; I do to.
I am not forcing you to do anything your not comfortable with; anyone that does is wrong.
I am glad you are armed to never use icons - so you are comfortable in your faith and worship.
Why pick on me for being so weak to "use" a visual helper?
Peace.

Answer 8

They don't worship icons. The Orthodox Christians look at the icons as an imaginary window into Heaven and into history. They don't have statues because statues are 3-dimensional and idols are 3-dimensional not 2-dimensional. For more detailed answers ask an Orthodox Christian priest to explain it.

Answer 9

i see your point. a friend of mine once said (when the subject of crosses was brought up) "if your best friend got shot would you wear the gun on a necklace?" so why do many religions pray around crosses? i am a Christian though but my religion doesn't worship any worldly things.

Answer 10

I'm going to assume you're specifically talking about Catholics.

We don't worship icons. They're called "holy reminders" and they engage our sense of sight in worship by calling to mind holy events and people of the past.

Would it be worship to take a picture of a deceased relative and give it a nice frame and place it at a place of reverence in your house? No, and its not any different in the Church.

If you've ever seen anyone bow to a painting/statue, its because they're calling to mind the sacrifice of that person or the importance of the event and thanking God for it.

Hope this helps.

Pax Christi.

Edit: Thanks Chris, its nice to see someone who doesn't automatically assume something.

Edit2: To clear some things up about saints and Mary:

We do NOT worship them. When we say we "pray to them" we mean that we ask them to intercede for us; its like asking a close friend to pray for you...except that close friend is already in Heaven and can go straight to the foot of God's throne. Why is that so bad? Personally I like the idea of saints praying FOR me; even better is Jesus' own mother praying for me!

Edit3: See above for things on kneeling and stuff.

Candles represent the light of Christ and hope that always shines. It can also represent the light of our prayers and faith. Incense represents our prayers rising to heave.

Catholics do NOT worship the following:
Mary
Saints
Angles
Paintings
Statues
Candles
Smoke.

Catholics DO worship to following:
God

Pax Christi!!!

Edit 4 or something:

"Hail Mary! Full of grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art though among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus."
The first part of the prayer comes straight from scripture. Try looking where the angel announced to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus, and then when Mary visited Elizabeth.
"Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, amen."
Would you deny that Mary is holy? Would you deny that she gave birth to Jesus(God)?
Mary pray for me a sinner. How is that different than saying, "Hey Bob, pray for me, a sinner."
??
AS a Catholic I think I might know what I worship. --not saying I know everything!!--

Check out the links I gave please!

God love you.