Help! Ive explained to my protestant cousin all this but he still doesnt get it? How do i answer this simply?

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Itsmary

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Mary Tagiilima Kuz I still think you missing the Mark. I’m simply saying this is why I gave all these scriptures when The Prophets/Saints when People Bowed Before them and Worshiped them and all that. I will ask you 3 Simple Questions just to make things clear so when it says in Exodus 20.You must not make for yourself an IDOL of any kind or an IMAGE of Anything in the Heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not BOW DOWN TO THEM or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. Question 1 when it says Bow dose it really mean Bow? Question 2 When it says Don’t make a Image/Statues Dose it really mean That? .3 is Mother Mary The Best example? Scripture say For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.1 Peter 2:21‭ This why I Shared last Time Romans 3.23 For all have Sinned and Fallen short of God the Glory Of God. Jeremiah 17.9
The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really can Understand it. Sometimes our Hearts can lead us into Practices and Teachings that we think is Right that’s why we Have the word of God to examine and test if it Alines with Scripture. Kuz we have very similar Beliefs I think where we Differ from, is the Idolatry and Certain Practices . I love you kuz I really Do and I thank you for having this Convo with me I know I could have this with you I wish you nothing but Blessing for you and The Famz I just felt the Spirit Tell me to State These Views and really Give you something to Think about. And Amen Kuz that’s the Main Goal Heaven Our Home Love You Kuz
 
Itsmary said:
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Exodus 20
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 “You shall have no other gods before [or besides] me. 4 “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; 5 you shall not bow down to them or serve them;
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Make no idol of other gods for the purpose given in verse 5.

Idols are either symbols of a god or contain a god. An image or statue of the Virgin Mary is not an idol for she is not considered a god.
 
@Itsmary what do you believe?

The scriptures absolutely condemns idolatry. Do you believe Catholics worship idols? Do you think Catholics worship the one true God?

The issue is not about statues or graven images. It’s about idolatry. We do not worship statues. We do not worship the Saints. We recognize them for who & what they are. Living stones built into a spiritual house by the one who created all things.

Jesus is the image of the living God. While he is fully human, he is also divine. We absolutely should imitate Jesus as he tells us. Be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect.

Mary is the image of the Church, the bride of Christ. You can imitate Jesus perfectly, you’ll never be divine. You’ll be the bride.

But there is no good answer for your cousin, nothing that will convince him anyway. Best you can do is pray. Learn to really pray the Rosary, which is a daily meditation on the life, death, & resurrection of our Lord.
 
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We know from elsewhere in the Old Testament that not all 3-dimensional images are prohibited. See, for example, Exod 25:18 (two cherubim statues); Num 21:8 (serpent statue, see Note, below); 1 Kings 6:23 (2 more cherubim statues); 7:25. (12 oxen statues) Likewise, we know from elsewhere in the Old Testament that not all bowing down before 3-dimensional images is prohibited. See, for example, Psalm 138:2, where bowing down toward the Temple is mentioned and we know that the Temple contained innumerable 3-dimentional images). In order for the Bible not to contradict itself, Exodus 20:4-6 cannot be interpreted as a prohibition against all 3-dimensional images nor as a prohibition against all bowing down toward 3-dimensional images but only as a prohibition against 3-dimensional images depicting gods and only as a prohibition against bowing down before 3-dimensional images with the intention of worshipping them as gods. You also get this more-nuanced interpretation, if you read Exodus 20:4-6 in context, i.e., if you keep Exodus 20:3 in mind when reading Exodus 20:4-6.

Note: Sometime after Moses made the serpent statue at God’s request, the people of Israel began to wrongly regard the serpent statue as a god and burned incense to it with the intention thereby of worshipping it. Therefore, King Hezekiah destroyed the serpent statue. (2 Kings 18:4)
 
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There is a saying “The most blind is one who is unwilling to see” That may your cousin’s problem.
 
I believe we dont worship status … Those statues are there to remind us of Christ

I told.my cousin exactly this but he still not getting it lol he just doesnt understand why we bow and from his view it looks like Ww worship the statue. I dont know how to explain myself cos ive tried. But Thank you for ur reply. I will continue to do my Rosary and just Trust God for hia guidance.

Well technically not from “any website cuz” but the Catechism of the Catholic Church i was just stating it to give you a better Understanding from a Catholic perpective in regards to matthew 27:51and 1 timothy 2,5.

Now with Exodus 20.4 God is not forbidding the making of graven images altogether, but rather the making of graven images for the purpose of worshiping false gods for examlpe the idols. This is seen in Exodus 25, wherein God specifically instructed Moses to make graven images (statues) out of gold for the Ark of the Covenant. if God forbade the making of statues entirely in Exodus 20:4-5, he wouldnt of said it later in 5 chapters after in Exodus 25. He was speaking about the Israelites worshiping false Gods. In other words,God forbade the worship of statues but he did NOT forbid the use of it in a religious way. As catholic growing up with nana i NEVER worshipped any statue … Those statues were there as reminder of jesus, his mother and the saints are simply tools that direct our hearts and minds towards the realities they represent. We do not worship the statue of Jesus, we worship Jesus while using the statue to direct our minds up towards Him. It is not immoral to create artwork thinkimg of heavenly things, as God himself commanded the Israelites to do so during the construction of the Temple. There were depictions of angels, cherubim, and other heavenly beasts explicitly commanded by God as adornment for the sanctuary, as well as for the Ark of the covenant. If those things were not immoral, then neither are our Catholic statues.

And As for why we bow before a statue of Mary, it’s the same reason we bow before anyone who is deserving of honor. Mary is the highest being in God’s creation, the only sinless created being, and the mother of our Lord incarnate. There is no one more deserving of honor than her. We bow before the statues as a physical representation of her real place as our Mother in Heaven. She’s not in the statue, but the statue directs our minds and actions towards her.
This from MY catholic views cuz. Please respect my beliefs and il respect yours and let’s move forward cuz! We’re all in this together trying to make it to our eternal home!! 🙏 Love yous and the family ❤️❤️
 
Maybe your cousin should read St. John of Damascus’ three treaties on divine images.
 
Soo do.you think that as Catholics is wrong ? Sorrry im just getting confused?
 
Itsmary said:
told.my cousin exactly this but he still not getting it lol he just doesnt understand why we bow and from his view it looks like Ww worship the statue.
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You have to know what the early Jews meant by idols before you can understand what was meant by forbidding the worship of idols. Across the ancient world, the statues of Athena or Apollo or Jupiter were believed to have some essence of the god himself within. A real true essence, which was really worshiped as if it were the god himself, an idea utterly foreign to modern people.

The Ark of the Covenant had two angels of gold on it - so, why wasn’t this an example of forbidden idols? Because no Jew thought the representations of the angels were an essence of anything more than wood covered by gold.
 
Itsmary said:
This from MY catholic views cuz. Please respect my beliefs and il respect yours and let’s move forward cuz! We’re all in this together trying to make it to our eternal home!! 🙏 Love yous and the family ❤️❤️
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& that’s the bottom line. Continue to be a witness to what you believe. Let God do the rest.
 
The statues that Catholics make are ok because they do not regard their statues as gods. It is ok for Catholics to bow down toward their statues because they do not intend thereby to worship the statues.
 
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Sometimes you reach a point when you just have to accept that you are just not going to agree. Then we have to learn to disagree without being disagreeable.
 
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