Why do some churches such as the Roman Catholic ones have images of Jesus, Mary and J
The first commandment that Moses wrote down which God commanded him to write clearly indicated that " ' Thou shall not make any graven images of me (God) or of the sea or of the underworld.' " Why does the Roman Catholic church makes images and statues and tinted windows which shiny co lours and why do they call the priest ' Father.' Why? I also went to a Roman Catholic school but all of these teachings and doing seem to be in contradiction with the teachings of the Holy Bible.
with************
"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..."
Well, I guess we need to tear down Mount Rushmore, the Lincoln Memorial, all those photos on our fridges, the labels on canned goods...
Catholicism is a form of Christianity. But anyway, Roman Catholics don't worship saints but they do have prayers that are to them I think. I was raised Catholic and never really liked it. I felt like mass was too much like a cult.. Seriously that is just how I felt as a child.
They believe it is OK to it because of their knowledge and redefine what idol worship is. That is one of the many reasons that Catholicism is not Christian.
I guess they never read or do not comprehend what Paul taught about breaking a command of God's because of "knowledge."
The concept of eating meat sacrificed to idols being a bad example can be applied to people that have paintings and sculptures of men where they worship. Although you can define it any way you want because of your "knowledge", it still gives the appearance of idol worship to unbelievers and can turn them away because they view it as hypocrisy against the bible or it could lead a believer into an idol worshiping religion.
1 Corinthians 8:1 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that ?all of us possess knowledge.? This ?knowledge? puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. 4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that ?an idol has no real existence,? and that ?there is no God but one.? 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth?as indeed there are many ?gods? and many ?lords?? 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 1 Corinthians 7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
Same reason there are statues of presidents, generals and dead people of importance. It is to remind us of who has come before and to honor them. Those are not idols since the Catholics don't believe the statues are able to do what GOD does. If they did, they would be worshiping the statues. THAT is the true meaning of IDOL WORSHIP, putting a statue up and calling it a GOD/GODDESS.
1) If this commandment, the way you express it is so, then why does God contradict his own commandment when he told the Jewish people to build the Ark of The Covenant?
All of these ideas seem to come from either Islam (that forbids art in the human or spiritual form) or some of the far right Protestant groups where everything from thinking the earth is 4 billion years old to the fact that man and dinosaurs are separated by 65 million years pans the Bible.
2) Art was used in the churches in the so called dark and middle ages to teach the Bible by illustration as 80% of the population was illiterate. Today if I see a cross or Jesus or Mary I know the building from afar is a Church. If I see a neon light of a martini glass or topless dancer wiggling her butt then I know it is a night club or strip joint.
3) How many who hate calling a priest father will turn around and kiss a judge's posterior by calling him your worship or your hon our when he is about to rule in your litigation?
I find a lot of puzzling things about the catholic church. I never understood why you had to go tell your problems to a priest if you can just tell God yourself through prayer...they also worship Mary and that is completely not right, because in the bible it clearly says the only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ. Ctholics go and say prayers to all these saints and in my mind its worshiping a false God, by praying to anyone that is not in Jesus's name..They have alto of rituals that make no sense either, like all the candle lighting, and the boring church services that do not do anything for to stir up whats going on spiritually. I have no idea what a hail Mary is....or all the other useless rituals they do. The bible is VERY clear...Jesus Christ died for our sins, and trough him we are saved. There is no such thing as getting christened as a child and having a straight ticket to heaven. I just dint get it....I personally believe they were Christians who got things all strewed up with there rituals and rules. God said be fruitful and multiply not be a nun and never have sex. Life is supposed to be happy, not filled with restrictions and they make it seem like God is this punishing God who frowns his nose up for indulging in sex when married.....so why the virgin nuns...I never could get this.
They are art to help remind us of their presence, not idols to be worshiped. It's not dissimilar to how we paint portraits of each other and display them. They are art work to help remember wonderful people. It is sinful to use them as idols of worship.
The Roman Catholic church is not contradicting the Bible, rather it is using art to help remind us of scripture.
My question to you is, why not? Why wouldn't we want to engage our finest artists to make portraits of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph?
You can hardly accuse Catholics of making a graven image of God when Jesus himself is the image of God, the Word of God made flesh, who lived among us, showing his portrait to the world for 33 years in the first century (John 1). If God became man, surely man can record his image.
Moreover, there is excellent evidence that God himself recorded the image of Jesus in his burial cloth, the Shroud of Turin. Apparently, the resurrection of Christ etched his actual image on his burial shroud, so that modern scientists can reconstruct the human face of Jesus with modern technology (see link).
A further question is, why do anti-Catholics waste their time attacking the Catholic artists of Christianity rather than evangelizing a world hungry for the reality of Jesus?
So God violated His own commandment when He ordered things like bronze bulls and golden cherubim created for the Temple? I don't think so. What God forbids is worshiping idols, not having ornamentation in churches. And we Catholics do not worship statues, Mary, the Pope, or anything/anyone else besides God.
As far as the whole "Father" thing is concerned, did St. Paul and St. John violate God's commandments? St. Paul called himself a spiritual father, and St. John addressed fathers in his letters. When Jesus said call no man "Father," He was referring to the Pharisees who wanted to be known as spiritual fathers but who did nothing to earn the right.
Oh, BTW -- ignore the Catholic haters and bigots who spew their lies every chance they get. They love to bear false witness against their Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter how often we tell them what we really believe.
Thou shalt not make to thee a (?)graven thing, nor any similitude that is in heaven above, & that is in the earth beneath, neither of those things that are in the waters under the earth. [Ex. 20:4]
(?) In Hebrew Pesel, in Greek S'son), in Latin sculpture, in English a graven thing. Or to be more specific Protestants are falsifiers of Christian doctrine, they do not only pervert the sense of holy Scripture, wresting that against Images, which is spoken against Idols, but also shamefully corrupt the text, by translating graven image, neither following the Hebrew, Greek, nor Latin. For the Hebrew word, Peel, is the very same that sculpture in Latin, that is a graven or carved thing. The Greek hath Edlin, an idol.
Why did Paul write "I became your father in Christ Jesus." 1 Cor. 4:15
Acts 7:2; 22:1,1 John 2:13 - elders of the Church are called "fathers." Therefore, we should ask the question, "Why don't Protestants call their pastors "father?"
Why did our Lord Jesus refer to Abraham as our "father." Matt. 3:9; Luke 3:8?
A Graven Thing would be an Idol, which in turn would be a false god that is worshiped. The First Commandment is referring to one bowing and worshiping a false god, for worship is do to Our Lord God Alone (Cultus Latri?). There are no Catholics who Worship anyone other than God. We do give Honor to Blessed Mary (Cultus Hyperduli?) and the Angels and Saints (Cultus Duli?).
Why do some churches such as the Roman Catholic ones have images of Jesus, Mary and J
