if people are creating idols of Jesus and Mary putting it infront of their houses, inside their houses, selling it in stores, and putting it in churges, then what makes christianity different than any other faiths that creates idols as well.
Jesus and Mary idols:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/alittleeva/8831203/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mixedmediaexpressions/153762187/
http://sportsmed.starwave.com/media/ncf/2002/0711/photo/s_jesus_i.jpg
Hindu idols:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bjornb/6503577/
http://www.canimina.com/thai04/brett/krabi%20shrine%20hindu%20idols.jpg
then why did you disbelieve, what pushes you away from the teaching of the massenger of God the Messiah Jesus son of Mary who command you to never worship anything else except God alone, then why did you disbelieve?
2007-06-03 02:16:44 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Do you also not have pictures of your family and friends? Perhaps ones no longer living or near you? That is how we see these statues and pictures. We do not pray to them but use them to remind us and focus us.
2007-06-03 02:22:23 · answer #1 · answered by Debra M. Wishing Peace To All 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
You are confusing idols with statues. An idol, by definition, is something or someone that is WORSHIPPED in place of God. The Catholic Church absolutely condemns idolatry in all its forms, which you would know if you took the time to look it up in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. A statue or picture to remind us of someone who played an important role in the history of salvation or in the history of the Church is no more an idol than a statue of Abraham Lincoln is - or for that matter a picture of your own family hanging on the wall at home. Presumably you don't worship such pictures, therefore they are not idols. Neither are statues and pictures of Our Lord or the saints.
2007-06-03 09:23:00 · answer #2 · answered by PaulCyp 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Statues are not idols. Idols are things that are worshiped. Anything can be an idol if you worship it and put it before God.
A statue is nothing more then a reminder of the people it represents. Statues of Mary remind us that she is the mother of God and can pray for us.
Statues of Jesus remind us of him and his saving grace. Crucifixes remind us of his sacrifice.
Just as you might have pictures of family members around the house or in your wallet. That picture is not replacing that person...but is a reminder of that person...someone you love and care about.
So it is with statues. We do not worship them...worship is for God alone. But we need to be reminded of them, especially when it is so easy to be Sunday only Christian. Statues help us by visually jogging our minds to remember to pray and to offer each day to God.
2007-06-03 09:26:06 · answer #3 · answered by Misty 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Mary was not God in the flesh she was chosen to carry Jesus(God in the flesh) to term and be His earthly mother. The man who God chose as Jesus's role model/father was respected by Jesus(God in the flesh) aslo. I wonder how many people ignore the Holy Spirit who guides us to put 2 and 2 together?
John 14:6
2007-06-03 09:30:29 · answer #4 · answered by GoodQuestion 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
These are for reverence, not worshipping. That's not to say a minority of people don't worship these statues, but for 99.9% of people, these are just statues and a rememberence of an individual that had loving traits and qualities to live by.
Peace, Love, and Blessings
Greenwood
2007-06-03 09:34:50 · answer #5 · answered by Greenwood 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋