Graven images????Catholics?

Question

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, the earth below, or the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them for I the Lord God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children into the third and forth generations of them that hate me. Exodus 20:4&5
When you come in your church and cross yourself on bended knee in front of that idol, can you feel the iniquity passing along or is it so much a part of your history that it feels right?
I am normally not really rude but it seems so obvious...prayers to Mary and such...

t churches I've been to, no, we don't bow to the stuatues. Also, I'm not a Christian anymore because of sh@t like this

Answer 1

As far as praying to anyone, to speak to God for us,
1Tim 2:5, "For there is ONE God, and ONE mediator
between God and men, THE MAN CHRIST JESUS".

Would Jesus agree with praying to his mother, Mary?
Luke 11:27-28, "...a certain woman of the company
lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the
womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast
sucked. But he said, Yea, RATHER, blessed are they
that hear the word of God, and keep it". Jesus loved
Mary, but he knew how they would worship her, and he
wanted it a part of His record, just how He felt about it.

Luke 12:3, Jesus speaking, "...that which ye have spoken
in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the house
tops". They go into these confessionals and whisper "in the ear" of a priest. One mediator, Christ Jesus.

Answer 2

You're right but it's not only Roman Catholic is guilty of such, all of us! For if we define the word idol to theological sense, it is considered idols all the things that catches our attention giving more attention and importance; rather than the LORD GOD, Mat 6:24.

And RC is really so blind in their way to worship God and Lord Jesus mixing with rituals, traditions and doctrines invented by men with passion like ourselves! A classic example is praying for the soul of the dead that maybe they will be saved which contradicts; Romans 14:12; Heb. 9:27.

It really so sad to see people dying with their sins because of false teaching by most Denominations not only RC. That's why, no amount of religion can truly save a sinner like ourselves but only through the Power of the Blood of the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus, John 14:6; John 15:5; John 8:23-24; Matthew 11:28-30. Amen.

Answer 3

It isn't the making of images that scripture teaches against. It is the WORSHIP of such images, which would constitute idolatry. The Catholic Church absolutely condemns idolatry in all its forms. You cannot kneel in front of an idol in a Catholic Church because there are no idols there. There are some statues and perhaps some pictures representing real people who have been champions of the holy Christian faith, whom we honor and respect. But these people are not worshipped either. That would be idolatry. Do we pray to the saints? Yes, we do. "Pray" simply means "ask". If you have a King James Bible, look and see how often the phrase "I pray thee" is used in conversations between two Christians. So yes, we do ask the saints to pray for us. They did so while they were on earth. Is it likely they will stop praying once they are in heaven? Many Protestants recite the Apostles' Creed as a statement of their core beliefs, yet apparently have no understanding of the phrase "the communion of saints". This phrase, which such Protestants profess belief in, refers to the interaction between the saints in heaven and the saints on earth.

Answer 4

Catholics do not worship graven images, and they are never taught to worship saints. They do not consider them anything other than very holy people that they can look up to and strive to be like.

To a Catholic, saints are intercessors, prayer partners. They pray to saints to ask them to pray for them. They only worship God in the trinity - as God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

When a Catholic kneels or crosses themself in church, it is not before any object or image. Of couse, there are objects and images in the church, but these are not the focus of the kneeling/bowing. These gestures are toward God only and as a symbol and reminder to the Catholic of their commitment to their God.

The real problem is that non-Catholics will never listen or believe them when they try to explain this (and no, I am not Catholic).

I am not trying to be rude either, but if you refuse to listen to their answers, then why ask the question? It seems that you merely want to slander them and cause a row...

Answer 5

Let me begin by saying that I'm not a Catholic. But, the facts speak for themselves in that the Catholic Church has more than "ad libbed" serious Biblical truth (i.e., the Sabbath [Saturday], dietary laws, and of course idol worship).

But more than what "The Church" has done as a whole for the last thousand years, it is what it's current belivers believe and therefore do that matters to society today.

For all of us who have been born into and raised by any kind of orthodoxy, we know that our relaity is what it is for us.

Ex. I have a pink room. I am eight years old. My mother has fervently taught me that a pink room is good for a girl so that she will grow up girly and perhaps not become boyish. So, I grow up have a daughter and give her a pink room.

Not a real example, but we are all born into a system that ultimately directs our continuation whether it is within that same system or totally out of it.

Catholics, like all religious people have been raised mostly by other Catholics, who in turn were raised by yes, more Catholics.

Having said that, that is not an excuse for non self-accountability. Just because I have grown up believing that a pink room is good for a girl doesn't mean that I shouldn't explore more colors or for that matter explore is there is anything that supports that idea.

So in short, Catholics who have explored whether their idol worship is Biblical (which it is NOT) and continued to worship in this manner out of true conviction are right to do so because they have accountability.

But, honestly, this is not really ever the case.

Answer 6

Yes I make the sign of the Cross when I come into Church but you have it wrong , I make the sign of the cross because the Church is God's house and I am showing respect to God.

Just as you have pictures of Christ hanging in your home or pictures of your kids in your wallet, so does the Church put pictures (statues) of Christ, Mary, Joseph and other saints in the Church. They are just plaster, marble or wood and that's all they are, but they have a specific purpose. They are there to help us to visualize who they may have been and what they have done for Christianity or the Catholic Church in some special way. When we pray at the foot of the crucified Lord we do worship that Christ on the Cross, but that Christ who died for us by walking through His passion, death and resurrection. The image on the wall or in the alcove helps us call to mind their holiness and our need for it.

Answer 7

You're not rude. You're just ignorant and very mistaken.

Nobody I know believes that any statue or image is God, and since all authentic Chistians know who God is and what he looks like, so there is no possibility of idolotry.

Materialism remains as the purest form of idolotry in the world today.

Also, when you pray to Jesus, please remember that his flesh body is the image of a heavenly thing, so you are worshipping something which is also prohibited by the old law ... a law that was perfectly fulfilled and set aside by Jesus Christ ... and that was replaced by the NEW COVENANT in his blood.

Jesus saves. Not any law.

Answer 8

Graven images , can be anything you bow down to, you cannot worship God and mammon. How many people say that they worship Christ ,but in truth they worship Baal? Read the Holy Bible for yourself, that way you will know the truth for yourself. The Bible says to trust no man, and something this important why would you trust that to someone else.

Answer 9

You need to read more of the Bible. God himself commissioned the making of graven images for his temple. He ordered statues of angels to be made. Obviously it is not the image that is the problem but if one is worshiping that image.

Catholics do not worship any statues. Catholics only worship God and no other. Seeing someone do something and then making your own assumption about what it means is a dangerous practice.
http://home.inreach.com/bstanley/idol.htm
http://www.catholic.com/library/Do_Catholics_Worship_Statues.asp
http://www.americancatholic.org/Newsletters/CU/ac1001.asp

There is nothing wrong with praying to Mary and asking her to pray for us. Intercession is found throughout the Old and New Testaments. Mary is the Mother of Christ and therefore in a special position to offer prayers for us to her son. http://www.scripturecatholic.com/saints.html

Your misunderstanding of Catholicism is obvious, so your first responsibility before posting is to check out if what you THINK you know is true. I can tell you it's not.

Check out http://www.catholic.com for some very good answers and help with your confusion.

Answer 10

When you look at that empty cross over you alter and pray can you feel the iniquity passing along or is it so much a part of your history that it feels right?
All those "graven images" your church puts up at Easter, those stain glass windows of the passion. Yeah I see those outside of Catholic churches more then I do in them. If God is so jelous then he shouldn't have sent his son to represent a whole damn religion. Get off your high horse. YOUR denomination is BASED OFF of thiers. You guys can't even get along with EACHOTHER and you expect us to? Isn't it GOD'S place to judge? Not yours. You will know them by thier fruits? At least the Catholics believe in good works. They at least try to make the world a better place. What are you doing? Missions in Jamaica? Oh there's a sacrifice.
I can nit pick you religion to pieces too cupcake.