Muslims & Christians idol worship?

Question

wouldnt the Kabba & the Cross be idols/symbols so wouldnt that be idol worship

Muslims pray toward the Kabba
Christians have The Cross. The Cross is in every Christian Chruch

For Muslims if it isnt an then why do you pray toward the Kabba, instead of toward that area
and for Christians why is there a Cross in every church and why do people have Crosses

Im not trying to offend anyone

Im not trying to offend anyone

Im not trying to offend anyone


im just asking a question

The Cross is not Jesus so why is it a symbol and The Kaaba and black Stone Is Not Allah

a reminder or what happen to Jesus would be a symbol and thus a idol

Can someone explain what makes them not idols
in any other religions if anything like that was done it would be considered idol worship

For Christians why is there a Cross then whats the purpose, you can remember Jesus without the Cross so whats its purpose for being there

You know about Jesus and Allah without the cross and the Kabba , so whats there purpose People arent going to forget about Jesus and Allah .

Answer 1

I am not judging anyone but that is the very same point I bring up when people condemn Pagans and say the worship "Idols".

Please tell me where in the bible Jesus said "TAKE UP THE CROSS"

Answer 2

I have to agree with you one the cross. It's merely an object, and it's not like Christians beleive that Jesus is now incarnated in every cross shaped object on earth. And Christians (or at least some) worship the cross. In the Catholic church, when they rise from their pews, they kneel facing it, and cross themselves. Worship? Close enough. It's also in a place of honor.

As for the Kaaba, that building wasn't there in Muhammad's time, there was a different one. The Black Stone was though. The Kaaba was just the building that was placed over the spot where Allah miraculously gave Abraham water from the well there. They face toward the Kaaba because facing any other way would be praying towards something unholy and is therefore idolatry, or at least as my Muslim friend in Turkey explained it to me.

Answer 3

well i'm a muslim and here's my answer about ( Kabba ) :

For any reference point on the Earth, the Qibla is the direction to the Kaaba. Muslims are ordered to face this direction during prayer (Qur'an 2:143-144). While it may appear to some non-Muslims that Muslims worship the Kaaba, the Kaaba is simply the focal point for prayer.

Like Jews, the earliest Muslims prayed facing Jerusalem. According to Islamic tradition, when Muhammad was praying in the Al-Qiblatain mosque (in Medina), he was ordered by God to change the qibla direction from Jerusalem to Mecca and the Kaaba. Various theories are advanced as to the reason for the change, and most historians find it was the reluctance of the Jews of Medina to convert to his religion that prompted the move.

Muslim groups in the United States differ as to how the qibla should be oriented - some believe that the direction should be calculated as a straight line drawn on a flat map, like the familiar Mercator projection of the globe; others say that the direction is determined by the shortest line on the globe of the earth, or a great circle. At times this controversy has led to heated disputes. Flat-map Muslims in the United States pray east and slightly south; great-circle Muslims face in a north-easterly direction. In both cases, the exact orientation will vary from city to city.

and about the cross is :

The cross, throughout human history, generally is a symbolic representation of the sun. (the different lines of the cross representing the rays.)

Christianity created their own meaning for this symbol, because it was already a largely accepted religious symbol, and it made it easier for people to switch to the new faith if it allowed them to keep doing things that were familiar.

Most of the western world before christianity became popular was involved in so-called Pagan religions. THese religions had feast days celebrating the different seasons, and so the Catholic Church conveniently placed their own new holy days on the SAME DAY, to make it easier for converts to join.

"Worried about missing the winter solstice? Celebrate Christmas instead. Worried about missing the spring solstice (the one celebrating the earth "coming back to life")? Celebrate easter. (Even the name Easter comes from Ishtar, an egyptian god of rebirth and renewal . )

Answer 4

As with most things, Christians do not all have the same view on the cross and it's use.

Some do seem to treat it as a cult object or a magic charm, an idol perhaps. For others it is just a symbol, like a company logo or a national flag. There are also those who reject it altogether and i have seen churches which intentionally have no crosses.

Answer 5

The cross is a symbol - because Jesus died on the cross. So maybe.? Depends on the definition of idol.
An idol is a man-made object that is venerated in some way. More specific terms include:
Cult image, a religion-neutral term for a man-made object that is venerated for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents
Idolatry, a term used in religion for the non-monotheism worship of cult images, termed idols
Icon, a representative image, sometimes considered sacred

I dont know about the Kabba. So I cannot say what it means.
Anyhow muslims pray towards Mecca or Makkah, as it is known.
Muslims pray to One God without associating any partners with Him. They pray facing the Holy Mosque in the city of Makkah. Facing this mosque is simply for uniformity and homogeneity in the prayers of all Muslims around the world and not as an act of worship to the mosque itself.

Answer 6

I can only speak to the cross portion of you question... No... the cross is merely a symbol representing the instrument upon which Jesus was sacrificed... there is no clear evidence that the actual instrument was in that shape... however... as it was in fact a Sacrifice...and the ultimate and final Blood Sacrifice... and the greatest Gift that could ever be given... the cross has become a remembrance of that greatest of acts of love... there is no magical properties given to The Cross by those of The True Christian Faith... it is not worshiped or prayed to... but it is a symbol of God's Great Love for all of mankind.

Answer 7

The cross is NOT assumed to have any "magic" power, so it is not an "idol" in the sense that the bible means it. it is just a symbol. Symbols are not forbidden by the second commandment probation against worshiping idols.

Jesus told his follows to "take up their cross" and follow him.

A cross is a symbol of death; it symbolizes not only the sacrifice of Jesus (or which we are reminded to be grateful), but it also reminds us of the fact that we are supposed to "die to selfishness and sin".

===edit===
"For Christians why is there a Cross then whats the purpose, you can remember Jesus without the Cross so whats its purpose for being there"

Uh, I think that I just answered this question. I don't know how to make it any plainer than what I just said.

Answer 8

The cross is a symbol of the suffering of Jesus along with the sacrifice of his life. It is only a reminder of the sacrifice. Idols are something you bow down & worship. We don't worship the cross - we worship who died on the cross for what he did and how he did it. Even without a cross, a symbol, we are able to worship him through the life that we live. If he commanded us to bow down and worship the cross, the symbol, then we'd be worshipping an idol. It's a symbol - point blank.

Answer 9

Feel free to ask!

We pray towards the Kaaba because it creates a unity between all Muslims worldwide. Everyone from every nation and class bows down to God in the direction of the Kaaba on a daily basis. Five times a day actually (for those who keep their prayers, lol). The kaaba is important to us historically, it has religious value, but it isn't something we worship. Even if it were to vanish today, we would all still pray in the direction of that spot, where both Muhammad and Abraham declared as a house of God.

Answer 10

I do not pray to a cross. I pray to God and need no idol to get me to Him. The cross is merely a symbol of God's love in that He sent His Son as the final sacrifice - I prefer the empty cross, because Jesus said, "It is finished."

A symbol is no more an idol than a logo is a company. A logo represents the company. Your logic is off.

I can remember Jesus with or without the symbol of the cross, otherwise, I would have to have one in my car, at work, in the bathroom, at the grocery store, in the mall...get it? Jesus said, "I am with you always..." He didn't say, "Put up a cross so you don't forget me." Your logic is still off.

Answer 11

Christians do not look upon a cross and see it as something to worship as we reserve our worship only for God. The cross is a reminder of the sacrifice of Jesus for all mankind and not an idol in the biblical sense.

In Christ
Fr. Joseph