"When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you." (Deuteronomy 18:9)
"Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God." (Leviticus 19:31)
2007-05-31 20:50:07 · 14 answers · asked by sylll 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
why do you all call the dead to intercede for you all???
the Bible says. Christ is the Mediator for us! the Intercessor!
2007-05-31 21:02:40 · update #1
It is not reasonable to apply an Old Testament verse when there were no saints in heaven to any time after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ when he opened the gates of heaven for us.
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, Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II.
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.
2007-06-01 19:01:41 · answer #1 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Mk12:26-27 God the God of Abraham ,Isaac and Jacob is "the God not of the dead but of the living" Abe and Is and Jac are alive in the mind and power of God ! All those who depart this mortal life in grace are alive in the Body of Christ.
Jesus,who conversed with Moses and elijah at the transfiguration, is also the one who hears the intercessions of the saints under the Altar for earth(Rev 6:9-11).
2007-06-02 14:12:51 · answer #2 · answered by James O 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
scripture taken out of context doesn't make the catholic practice a sin. you thinking it is a sin shows you are unfamiliar with what catholics believe and practice regarding this matter. the key to the bible is reading it in context,picking and choosing verses while ignoring others that support a particular practice is why the protestant faithful have over 28,000 various denominations the majority of which practice and teach differently frm the other. do you really think that those that have found favor with god are classified as "mediums and unfamiliar spirits"? here are some sites you may find resourceful so you may understand the catholic position before you pass judgement on it..........
www.scripturecatholic.com
www.newadvent.org
www.ewtn.com
www.catholiceducation.org
look especially for details on the communion of saints from a catholic position, not a biased or anti catholic source. you may not agree but from scripture you will surely see that it is not a sin.
2007-05-31 20:58:49 · answer #3 · answered by fenian1916 5 · 3⤊ 3⤋
This is preposterous. What do you think Mass is, a seance?
The Lord drives them out from before you (Deuteronomy 18:9)
and do not seek after them (Leviticus 19:31) are pretty good advice. Why they would be in a Catholic Church is beyond me.
2007-05-31 20:55:15 · answer #4 · answered by great gig in the sky 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
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2016-11-24 21:02:27 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You see, during the time of Leviticus/ Deuteronomy (old testament before Jesus) no one was in heaven or going to heaven because Jesus had not yet died for their sins. once Jesus died for our sins, people could enter heaven. therefore praying for them now makes sense. also, if someone is in heaven with god, we can pray for them to put in a good word with god, so to speak.
also keep in mind catholics aren't praying to the dead as "spirits" who have power of their own outside of god's; that would be worshiping false gods.
2007-05-31 21:03:53 · answer #6 · answered by CCC 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
First of all, they are not praying to "familiar spirits". They are asking for intercessory prayer, which you probably do too.
They're not "conjuring" anyone. Do you even know what that means? You're basically associating Catholics with pagans, or even with witchcraft. Not even close.
Perhaps if you understood Catholicism, you wouldn't make such absurd accusations. Oh, by the way, I'm a Protestant, in case you're wondering.
2007-05-31 20:55:44 · answer #7 · answered by C J 6 · 4⤊ 4⤋
They think that the more they pray the faster they'll be taken out of purgatory. Bologna if you ask me. AND they pray to saints: adultery. They ALSO pray the rosary: idolatry.
2007-05-31 21:09:55 · answer #8 · answered by missy 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Two points
2007-05-31 20:54:24 · answer #9 · answered by thing55000 6 · 3⤊ 2⤋
They are not calling up the dead. Most every one speaks to their dead loved ones Catholic or not. It is not a sin. You are just being silly and trying to discredit Catholics.
2007-05-31 20:58:09 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 3⤋