What do Catholics (&otherChristian denomination) thinkof this BaptistChurch bringing art back into the Church?

Question

http://www.breakingchristiannews.com/articles/display_art_pf.html?ID=4756
Their Church just commissioned & dedicated a bronze scupture of Jonah & the Whale. The reasononing is because the early Church depended o the visuals in religious art to tell Bible stories.

And is this the same reason Catholics have sculptures also? Visuals to tell Bible stories?
Or do Catholics use their images/sculpures to pray to?

Or do some Christian Catholics use them for visuals? And others pray & bow to them?

C, Thou shalt not make graven images & worship / bow to them. Obviously they had Golden images of Cherabims even on the Arch of the Covenant. These were inspired by God. Because there are Cherabims by the Arch of the Covenant in Heaven. You weren't suppose to make your own images (angels) and pray & bow to them. So? What the Lord Inspires is OK.

sandland, Jesus, Himself, confirmed the truth of Jonah & the Whale. Jesus said He would be in the heart of the earth, 3 days & 3 nights like Jonah was. So? Jonah went to sinful Nineveh & Nineveh repented. Salvation came to Nineveh. Jesus went to the cross & the grave & resurrected and we repented. Salvation came.

bruce, Great (Hebrew=Gadole, Great) Fish (Hebrew=dag, fish)

The Lord prepared (Hebrew=mnyh, to weigh out) a 'great fish' to swallow...jonah was in the belly of the 'fish'...& the Lord spake unto the 'fish'...

M't12:40 fish is (Greek=ketos, huge fish or whale)
vrs.40 For as Jonas was three days & three nights in the whale's (ketos) belly; so shall the Son of man be three days & three nights in the heart of the earth.

So? Your right, it might have been a different huge fish than a whale. Actually, the Greek word implies a 'gapping mouth' huge fish or whale.

Bruce, I have seen a picture of Catholics bowing & one their knees before a Saint image or Mother Mary image before. So? Some Catholics do worship & pray to images. But that would be a sin. And Pope John Paul 2 Cannanized an ugly statue of Mother Mary in another country & that Church just goes there to worship the image & forget about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So? Some Catholic Churches have idolatry in them.

But the Catholic Church is founded on the Rock, Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, for the most part. Some have gone the way of idols.

imacatholic, Thanks for that website. I am an artist myself. And have had seen colorful visions flash in front of my face before. So? Seeing the vision is seeing the invisible. Jesus spoke parables & people could visualize it. But then, people shouldn't be afraid to paint their vision or reproduce it, after careful prayer time with God. What I wouldn't do is an art work that is idolatry to bow to. That goes directly against the 10 commandments (Exodus20). Israel made a golden calf & said this was the God who delivered them from Egypt. So? God got mighty jealous about that. And the Iniquities are passed on to the 3rd & 4th generations of those who hate God.
Familiar spirits do float around images & pretend to be the Saint or regarding Totem Poles, the wolf spirit, etc... Some of the Catholic artworks don't give the Saints, Mother Mary or Jesus Justice. And one can't be too sure what spirit is around them.
Look at them & remember Gods Word. Jonah & the whale.

Answer 1

The purpose of religious art is not to change belief.

The purpose of religious art is to inspire faith, hope, and love.

God therefore called man into existence, committing to him the craftsman's task. Through his “artistic creativity” man appears more than ever “in the image of God”, and he accomplishes this task above all in shaping the wondrous “material” of his own humanity and then exercising creative dominion over the universe which surrounds him.
-- From Pope John Paul II's 1999 Letter to Artists: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_23041999_artists_en.html

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

It is OK to seek for more of God. But you do have a commitment to attend mass as a Catholic. I only ask that you do both. keep your commitment to the church and visit churches. May i also suggest you check out a local Catholic Charismatic prayer group if you have one. Also, you may enjoy a local Branch of the International House of Prayer, which does not seek to replace your church(and neither do prayer groups) but supplement it with different forms of worship. You may find more of a connection to God in a more Spirit filled environment or connect better with different music. I pray you are brought into a deeper relationship with God and find the love and life and transforming power of God. Please be very cautious about some protestant groups, if they insist on the King James Bible they do not value the individual being able to read the bible for themselves. They are most likely a cult type group. Also, any group that is against other groups or people is not on the right track. You want to look at the fruit of a church. The Bible says that people should look at Christians and remark "see how much they love each other". If a church is not loving and taking care of each other but spending all its time on running down other people, groups or the government beware, run don't walk to the nearest exit.

Answer 3

Most Christian organizations use religious art. For example, here is an image of creation at a Methodist church:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/viewPhoto?uname=jamesdclark7&aid=5105781337675540321&iid=5105786732154466290

Here's art at a Baptist church:
http://www.fbchsv.org/aboutfbc/mosaic.html

Note all the denominations that use this artist's stained glass:
http://www.dixonstudio.com/stainedglass.html

One suggestion for the Jonah sculpture: The original says fish rather than whale.

Christians use sculptures, paintings, and stained glass to recreate biblical scenes. The cliche has validity: A picture can be worth a thousand words. Rather than reading about an event like the crucifixion, you are there, standing at the foot of the cross.

The notion that people are praying to the images rather than to God is laughably ignorant. You would think for all the times this false witness is repeated, someone, somewhere, would find one person who reports praying to the image.

Cheers,
Bruce

Answer 4

I do not understand the comment that the Catholic Church is not Christian.

As a Christian (former Church of Christ member) who is in the process of converting to Catholicism, the teachings of the Church are very Christian.

The church does not teach praying to any statues/saints. This includes the misconception that Catholics worship Mary.

Catholic Churches have beautiful artwork which includes statues, stained glass and more. It really is a treasure to see the different art work in the churches. I think all denominations should have Biblical based artwork, as it is representation of Bible passages.

Answer 5

I'm divided on this one, I have to admit. On one hand, religious art can be a powerful tool to remind us of the love of God and the events that have shaped our faith. The world would be a lot poorer in spirit without the works of Raphael and the other great artists, and I still remember how sick I felt when Michelangelo's Pieta was damaged by a man with a hammer.

But then there's the side of me that says the same money spent on artwork could have been put to a much more practical use, such as helping the homeless or feeding the hungry. I'm thinking in particular of a church in my former home town that spent $125,000 just to paint the ceiling cobalt blue and add gilded stars. It was beautiful, but I couldn't help thinking how much more pleased God would have been to see His hungry and cold children fed, clothed, and warmed.

As the other Catholics here have already pointed out, we don't pray to statues or icons. They simply serve to remind us of God's love and the saints whose virtues we should be incorporating into our own lives.

PS. Ignore a couple of the Catholic-bashers here. We are definitely Christians, despite what the hate-mongers are trying to tell you.

Answer 6

Shandon Baptist Church - Columbia, S.C., is dedicated to bringing art back into the church.

As a result, the church recently commissioned and dedicated a bronze sculpture of Jonah and the Whale.

Good idea.

Answer 7

I think any church used visuals because most people could not read hundreds of years ago. It's not really necessary now, since we all read along using the missal during services.

No real catholic worships anyone but God. Statues of saints are used to remind us about those particular holy people and the good they did.

I'm not sure why they picked Jonah and the whale - one of the more fantastic and least believable stories in the bible (next to Noah's ark).

Answer 8

That is exactly how Catholic religious artwork and iconography originated. Even if we are praying in front of or near artwork, we are still praying to God. We are well aware that statues themselves are lifeless. I am glad that some Baptists are now adopting similar practices. Maybe they will be less antagonistic with us now.

Answer 9

I think this is great and shows the work of the Holy Spirit in their church. Catholics DO NOT pray to religious images or worship them but to what they represent. Catholics are forbidden to worship anyone or thing but God. Check out our books the Bible or the Catechism to find the truth.

I know of entire Baptist congregations who have converted to Christ's Church and come home.

In Christ
Fr. Joseph

Answer 10

Religious art has always been used for both instruction and inspiration. That is its purpose. One good example of instructive art is the stations of the Cross within nearly every Catholic church building.

If a Catholic is seen to be praying in the presence of a statue, he or she is well aware that the prayers are not addressed to the plaster or wood or marble figure; that is indeed idolatry. As Fr. Joseph points out, these figures inspire prayer (as in petition for intercession) to whom they represent. Furthermore, in the case of the saints, it is Christ in them that we honor. And all prayers of believers ascend to God; they don't stop at the statues, or the represented saints.