Who authorized the Catholic Church to destroy the Second Commandment?

Question

"Thou shalt have no graven images," but yet it was removed from the Decalogue by the Catholics, who teach their members the terrible sin of praying to the statues of dead people, and venerate Mary, instead of Jesus. These people are dead, but Jesus lives.

They certainly did not get permission from God's Word, but they have cast the Bible asside.

Blum: honoring someone and praying to them when they are dead are two different things.

Answer 1

The Catholics authorized themselves. They can do that. They are Catholic
Did you sense the sarcasm?

Answer 2

Christopher, the "thou shalt have no graven images" sentence was NOT removed from the Decalogue by the Catholic Church. It is a flat-out lie to say so.

Here, go to the Catechism of the Catholic Church yourself and you will see -- it's right there!

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P7F.HTM

The situation is this:

The Ten Commandments are NOT numbered in Scripture. Catholics number them a bit differently than Protestants. We put your #1 and #2 together as our #1, because "Have no gods before Me" and "No graven images" are very closely related. We separate your #10 into our #9 and #10 because coveting your neighbor's wife is a very different kind of sin than coveting your neighbor's property/belongings. Surely you agree that adulterous lust is different from greed?

Answer 3

Catholics honor the saints who have led exemplary lives and are now in Heaven. There is nothing wrong with that.

We do not pray to the statues of dead people. We ask those who are saints to pray for us. I think we can both agree those who are saints (anyone in heaven) are LIVING FOREVER with God, not dead.

Asking them to pray for us is like asking a friend to pray for us. If I have a problem, I can ask a friend to pray for me. If that friend suddenly died, then why would they not continue praying for me in Heaven? So why can't I ask a saint to pray for me and, if it be God's will, they will hear my prayer and intercede on my behalf.

We do not "venerate Mary, instead of Jesus." We do venerate ("religious symbolic act giving honor to someone by honoring an image of that person - Wikipedia") Mary and other saints because they lived rightous lives and are now in Heaven with God. There is nothing wrong with honoring them. However we only worship God; in fact, it is seldom in a Catholic Mass that Mary will be spoken about at all because Christ is the center of the Mass.

And "these people" are not dead, they are LIVING with Christ in Heaven forever!


God Bless!

Answer 4

the prohibition against making graven images are part of the First Commandment, to not worship any false Gods.

The Protestant Founders actually separated that portion of the First Commandment to create a new Second Commandment. These Founders compensated for the extra commandment by merging "Not coveting neighbor's wife" and "Not coveting neighbor's goods" into on one commandment, "Thou shalt not covet."

This protestant change in the Commandments was a self-serving, politically motivated, heretical attack on the Catholic Church. The Catholic version of the Ten Commandments follows more closely teachings of Jesus, who was the Fulfillment of the Law, for He said that whoever looks at a woman lustfully commits adultery in his heart (9th commandment, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife), and he taught that we are not to worry about what we are to eat or drink as the pagans do. (10 commandment, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods.").

Answer 5

Catholics recognize the Second Commandment in all its integrity.

Catholics do not pray to statues. Rather, a statue calls to mind the person whom it depicts, and it is that person with whom we pray or whom we venerate. It's like looking at a picture of a beloved friend while writing her a letter.

Also, Catholics distinguish between veneration and worship.

"Veneration" is the respect given to someone whom the grace of God has formed into a holy vessel for His purpose.

"Worship," the complete gift of oneself in praise and thanksgiving, is given to God and God alone.

Answer 6

this is a common misconception.
The ten commandments are absolutely observed by faithful Catholics.
having sacred images is not the same thing as Idol Worship.
Do you have photos of your family members?
Photos of people you admire, like the president or a celebrity?
Look at the money in your wallet.... there is an image of a president or other admired American on all American money, other counties do the same.

When I have a picture of Jesus, it might remind me to pray, or to avoid occasion for sin, etc.
The same is true of pictures/statues of any religious figure.
We do not worship them, we admire them, and we try to copy what they did that caused them to have an exemplary Christian life.
We do not call them "Lord" or "God" and we never worship them. That is reserved entirely for God.
it is the same as the misconception about the practice of praying the rosary... we are not praying TO Mary, but WITH her, as we believe all Saints to be living in heaven with the Lord, and joining our prayers to theirs is very effective in keeping our lives focused on God.

I hope you will rethink your ideas.

Answer 7

Do you have pictures of your family? Do you look at them? Aren't those graven images? What is so terrible about having a picture or statue of an exemplary Christian that inspires you?

Mary was Jesus' mother. Assuming Jesus wasn't a hypocrite, he must have "honored his father and mother." Shouldn't you imitate Jesus?

Answer 8

There are actually three versions of the Ten Commandments, Jewish, Catholic (and Lutheran), and Protestant taken from Exodus Chapter 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy Chapter 5:6-21.

With the new revelations of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit in the early Catholic Church, a slightly different emphasis was placed on different commandments.

Then 1500 years later, the Protestant in objecting to certain Catholic practices, once again changed the emphasis of the Ten Commandments.

+ Jewish Ten Commandments (before 1000 B.C.E.)

1. I am the Lord your G-d who has taken you out of the land of Egypt.
2. You shall have no other gods but me.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your G-d in vain.
4. You shall remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.
5. Honor you mother and father.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness.
10. You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Source: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Torah/Ten_Cmds/ten_cmds.html

+ Catholic (and Lutheran) Ten Commandments (about 100 C.E.)

1. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
3. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; in it, you shall not do any work.
4. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
10. You shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his ox, or his ***, or anything that is your neighbor's.

Source: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt3sect2chpt1ind.htm

+ Protestant Ten Commandments (about 1600 C.E.)

1. You shall have no other gods but me.
2. You shall not make unto you any graven images
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain
4. You shall remember the Sabbath and keep it holy
5. Honor your mother and father
6. You shall not murder
7. You shall not commit adultery
8. You shall not steal
9. You shall not bear false witness
10. You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor

Source: http://www.biblicalheritage.org/Bible%20Studies/10%20Commandments.htm

With love in Christ.

Answer 9

This is just an other proof that religion, gods and the bible is just and fantasy for the gullible manipulated by smart ones.

Answer 10

ROTFL.... i'll remember this (yet again) as i kneel beside my bed to say my prayers....that i'm not worshiping my bed.

Answer 11

Relax. Idolatry is still a sin in the Catholic. It would help a great deal if you would familiarize yourself with what idolatry actually is, as opposed to what you think it is:

Images and Statues
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.

Posture in Prayer, Veneration and Worship
Deut. 5:9 - God's command, "you shall not bow down to them" means "do not worship them." But not all bowing is worship. Here God's command is connected to false worship.

Rev. 3:9 - Jesus said people would bow down before the faithful members of the church of Philadelphia. This bowing before the faithful is not worship, just as kissing a picture of a family member is not worship.

Gen. 19:1 - Lot bowed down to the ground in veneration before two angels in Sodom.

Gen. 24:52 - Abraham's servant bowed himself to the earth before the Lord.

Gen. 42:6 - Joseph's brothers bow before Joseph with the face to the ground.

Jos. 5:14 - Joshua fell to the ground prostrate in veneration before an angel.

1 Sam. 28:14 - Saul bows down before Samuel with his face to the ground in honor and veneration.

1 Kings 1:23 - the prophet Nathan bows down before King David.

2 Kings 2:15 - the sons of the prophets bow down to Elisha at Jericho.

1 Chron. 21:21 - Ornan the Jebusite did obeisance to king David with his face to the ground.

1 Chron. 29:20 - Israelites bowed down to worship God and give honor to the king.

2 Chron. 29:29-30 - King Hezekiah and the assembly venerate the altar by bowing down in worship before the sin offerings.

Tobit 12:16 - Tobiah and Tobit fell down to the ground in veneration before the angel Raphael.

Judith 14:7 - Achior the Ammonite kneels before Judith venerating her and praising God.

Psalm 138:2 - David bows down before God's Holy Temple.

Dan. 2:46 - the king fell down on his face paying homage to Daniel and commands that an offering be made to him.

Dan. 8:17 - Daniel fell down prostrate in veneration before the angel Gabriel.

1 Macc. 4:40,55 - Judas and the faithful fell face down to the ground to praise heaven and worship God.

2 Macc. 10:4,26; 13:12 - Maccabeus and his followers fall down prostrate praying to God.