how can you interpret this verse from God:
Pro 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in
the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
Joh 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Does it mean we need to have something in front of us in order not to forget God even Lord Jesus?
So how can you worship Him in spirit an in truth if you need something to remind you infront of you like His graven image? Do RC really know how Lord Jesus look like, for even the apostle after He resurrected could barely identify Him. So, your symbolic cross has man on it, so are you just imagining that is the Jesus you worship? Or it is enough the cross without any image to remind us as a symbol.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
2007-09-29 22:54:37 · 9 answers · asked by Ephesians 2:8 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Why do we need a golden cross to to remind us of our faith?
In the Bible it states that "Thou shalt not worship Golden Idols..."
All Chtistian religions seem to have the golden cross in their churches.
Why not just keep God in your heart?
So stupid....
2007-09-29 23:00:40 · answer #1 · answered by slowsmile 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
We do not "need" the crucifix to worship Jesus Christ, God the Son. Nor do we "need" an image of the cross.
But they have be given to us a sacramentals, sacred signs that help us live holy lives.
+ Graven Images +
Do you have pictures of your loved ones? Have you ever looked at the picture of someone while talking on the phone to them?
Statues and pictures of people we love are not idols.
Statues and paintings of Jesus and the saints are just like pictures of the people we love and respect.
The King James Version of the Bible states in Exodus 20:4: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth"
Why were the Jews commanded not to make graven images? Graven images were the standard method of pagan worship. They were representations of false gods.
This is a very clear command.
However God commanded the Jews in Exodus 25:18 and 1 Chronicles 28:18–19, "And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them"
And in 1 Kings chapter 7 Solomon made bulls and other images out of precious metals.
It seems obvious that the Jews did not worship the cherubims and Solomon did not worship the bulls he had made. These images did not violate the command of God. Therefore, an image not made for worship is acceptable.
In Numbers 21:8-9, "And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover." Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he recovered."
And in John 3:14-15, Jesus says in correlation, "And just as Moses lifted up the [image of a] serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."
How can a statue of our Lord Jesus Christ dead on the cross be considered an idol to a false god? A crucifix is the message of the Gospel without words held up for all to see, a visual reminder of the sacrifice of Jesus, no different from a painting, a play, or a movie.
Catholics do not worship statues but the almighty God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
With love in Christ.
2007-09-30 15:37:19 · answer #2 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Don't forget what Saint Paul taught about "Preaching Christ Crucified". This is why is it not wrong to display crucifixes in Catholic Churches, homes, cars, one one's self as jewelry, whatever.
As far as your accusation of idolatry is concerned, for your consideration:
Deut. 4:15 - from this verse, Protestants say that since we saw "no form" of the Lord, we should not make graven images of Him.
Deut. 4:16 - of course, in early history Israel was forbidden to make images of God because God didn't yet reveal himself visibly "in the form of any figure."
Deut. 4:17-19 - hence, had the Israelites depicted God not yet revealed, they might be tempted to worship Him in the form of a beast, bird, reptile or fish, which was a common error of the times.
Exodus 3:2-3; Dan 7:9; Matt. 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32; Acts 2:3- later on, however, we see that God did reveal himself in visible form (as a dove, fire, etc).
Deut. 5:8 - God's commandment "thou shall not make a graven image" is entirely connected to the worship of false gods. God does not prohibit images to be used in worship, but He prohibits the images themselves to be worshiped.
Exodus 25:18-22; 26:1,31 - for example, God commands the making of the image of a golden cherubim. This heavenly image, of course, is not worshiped by the Israelites. Instead, the image disposes their minds to the supernatural and draws them to God.
Num. 21:8-9 - God also commands the making of the bronze serpent. The image of the bronze serpent is not an idol to be worshiped, but an article that lifts the mind to the supernatural.
I Kings 6:23-36; 7:27-39; 8:6-67 - Solomon's temple contains statues of cherubim and images of cherubim, oxen and lions. God did not condemn these images that were used in worship.
2 Kings 18:4 - it was only when the people began to worship the statue did they incur God's wrath, and the king destroyed it. The command prohibiting the use of graven images deals exclusively with the false worship of those images.
1 Chron. 28:18-19 - David gives Solomon the plan for the altar made of refined gold with a golden cherubim images. These images were used in the Jews' most solemn place of worship.
2 Chron. 3:7-14 - the house was lined with gold with elaborate cherubim carved in wood and overlaid with gold.
Ezek. 41:15 - Ezekiel describes graven images in the temple consisting of carved likenesses of cherubim. These are similar to the images of the angels and saints in many Catholic churches.
Col. 1:15 - the only image of God that Catholics worship is Jesus Christ, who is the "image" (Greek "eikon") of the invisible God.
2007-10-02 01:56:31 · answer #3 · answered by Daver 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You sound like someone who knows just enough about Christianity and the bible to be dangerous.
Considering th fact that Jesus became the flesh image of a heavenly thing ... breaking his own commandment in the process ... so we could finally know the unknowable God ... and Jesus personally gave us bread and wine with which to properly commemorate him and his definitive new covenant sacrifice for the sins of the world ... your argument falls pretty flat, pretty fast.
Keep studying, Maybe someday you'll get it.
In the mean time, be careful, and don't drop that bible on your foot.
2007-09-30 00:03:03 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
When God said not to make graven images, he meant you shouldn't make false gods out of statues and pray to the statues. If you will notice later in Exodus, Moses is instructed to make statues of cherubs and place them on the ark of the convenant.
If the cross had been empty 2000 years ago, we would not have salvation today. It is important to know that Jesus suffered for our sins AND that he is risen.
2007-10-03 12:40:07 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It seems your question eludes to calling Catholics idolators because we have crucifixex and other religious images/items. Do you have pictures of your family around? Do you worship those pictures?
Neither do Catholics. The relationship you have with your family is not based on the picture because it is only a reminder of them; the same is true of religious pictures. They are only reminders, no different than the pictures of my family I hang on my wall at home. I don't worship the image, I worship Christ, in spirit and truth.
2007-10-02 06:30:30 · answer #6 · answered by Danny H 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In a slightly less confrontational manner, how does Exo 20:4 (assuming his reference is correct) allow the use of religious icons such as a crucified Jesus or the Virgin Mary?
2007-09-29 22:59:40 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
This question has been asked many many times.
The use of statues, icons, pictures, and even stained glass windows have their origins in the Old Testament. Statues are nothing more than three-dimensional pictures, while icons and stained glass windows are two-dimensional pictures. No one feels uncomfortable carrying a picture of a loved one in their wallet or displaying their photo or portrait in a prominent place in their home; these pictures remind the viewer of the person depicted. So it is with statues, icons and pictures of the saints; they remind us of the person depicted and the honor which they bestowed upon God.
The use of all images in worship of God is not forbidden by the first commandment (second commandment as the Protestants number them). Exodus 20:4-5 says
"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God" (NIV).
The prohibition here is not the manufacture of images (pictures), but the worship of the images instead of God. This may be more clearly seen five chapters later where God commands the Israelites through Moses to:
"make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover (of the Ark of the Covenant)" (Exodus 25:18, NIV).
Cherubim are angels; something in heaven above. Then God commands them to make an image of something on the earth:
"Make a lampstand of pure gold and hammer it out, base and shaft, its flowerlike cups, buds and blossoms . . . Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms . . . " (Exodus 25:31-36, NIV)
The Israelites would kneel before these images as part of their Temple worship; not in worship of the images but in worship of God.
All Christians, Protestant and Catholic, use a symbol of a fish to depict Jesus. The fish is something in the waters below.
When one sees a person kneeling in prayer before a statue, this doesn't mean that the person is worshiping the statue (or the person depicted by the statue). Worship is given only to God. Honor and praise are given to the saints for the example and assistance they have provided in our quest to do God's will. As was noted in the chapter titled "MARY", "Protestants, in their worship services, offer songs and praise and prayer to God; this is their highest form of worship. Since they don't have a priesthood, they have nothing else they can offer. Catholics on the other hand, offer the Sacrifice of the Mass to God. Our offering of sacrifice is made only to God and is our form of worship. This allows us to give lesser things such as songs and praise and prayer to those who can pray in our behalf before God: the saints and especially the Blessed Virgin Mary. When the Protestants see us offering what is their highest form of worship to someone other than God, it appears to them that we are worshiping someone other than God."
As it can be seen, the use of images has Old Testament origins where it is ordered by God; not as objects of worship, but as objects used in the worship of God. Statues, icons, and stained glass windows became popular in the early church as the people had no Bibles (printing hadn't been invented yet) and even if they had been able to possess them, the average Christian couldn't read. The images told the Bible stories and were used as methods of evangelization and instruction.
2007-09-29 23:27:10 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Besides the verse about "graven images" how are your other references even remotely relevant to your question?
People if you are going to thump your bible, please do so coherently!
2007-09-29 22:59:59 · answer #9 · answered by Elphaba 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋