L
Lexzar
Guest
Who decides what is fine…you or God? Or rather…did you come to this idea or conclusion yourself…or did someone tell you?
Who decides what is fine…you or God? Or rather…did you come to this idea or conclusion yourself…or did someone tell you?
Originally Posted by Lexzar
Now you’re getting far off. Why would I need to not imagine anything? What sin would it make?As long as I don’t include their faces in my imagination it would be fine, since I’m not representing them for something that I’m not sure of.pablope;9993540 said:Who decides what is fine?Okay…God…but how does or how did God communicate this you that it is fine?God of course,?
By direct revelation to you? If this is so…how do you know it it actually God and you are not being deceived?
Somebody told you? And if someone told you so…why do you believe that person as speaking for or in behalf of God?
God came in various forms in the OT…example would be the burning bush to Moses. But in the NT…He took on the human form. So we know He can take on human form.But as far as I know we identify people using their faces. We can’t identify God using His feet right? Or can we?
Do you think God does not have the power to appear as He wants to in front of you if He wanted to appear before you? Can He not take any form He wants to represent Himself?
Who says? Who is the authority to say this is so?Pretty much the same logic that can be used to explain why we shouldn’t make a physical representation of Christ.
I’m simply using a logic that I think fits, everyone does.
Ah…so you are speaking of your own authority then?
But what is the basis of you logic when you stated…why we shouldn’t make a physical representation of Christ…this is just your opinion then.
So let me ask…why should I believe your opinion of what Christ wants? What is the basis of your opinion.
.Thank you for your answers, I’ll be asking another one later. Please bear with me in my English; I can’t speak it properly, or can I? Anyways, I’m here to see what other people’s thoughts are
Fire away with questions…
Okay…who can judge what is Scriptural and what is not? Why do you believe the Scriptures are the word of God?I’m currently comparing my beliefs to another and see who is more, let’s say ‘‘near the scripture’’. I’d be ready to change my beliefs if doubt comes in or if proven wrong. God bless.![]()
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And a digital recorder! I am looking for the mp3’s of Paul preaching in Tyrannus.No, because we don’t know what he really looks like. How we wish digital camera and Ipad were available then and we can see the whole story in National Geographic.![]()
I have two responses to this.Okay. Then if not, is imagining the image of Christ while you pray considered idolatry? It would be like praying to a creation of a creation, would it not?
This!!I have two responses to this.
- Using an image of Jesus or some other Holy reality to help you focus your prayers is not idolatry. You are not praying “to” the image, but to the One represented in it.
- The HS brings many images to our minds when we are in prayer for various reasons. Throughout history He comes to the mind of the saints in various forms. The children of Fatima were shown images of hell, but that does not mean they were praying to “hell” or a created
“thing”. The human faculty of imagination can produce it’s own images, which always predisposes our experience to be suspect, ,since we may not necessarily know the origin of the image(self, or God). But God also uses our imaginal faculty to manifest Himself and other things He wishes to impart to us (He may bring to our minds someone who needs our prayers, for example). Whenever prayer is Christ centered, one need not concern oneself with the source of the images, but to submit everything to God.
It may be for you, since you seem to have fallen away from the One True Faith, and have no espoused some strange practices that are not consistent with Catholic faith. God has authored the creation of images to assist His people in their prayers.Sometimes I accidentally do since I was a catholic, I got used to praying while thinking of ‘‘Christ’s Image’’, but I’m trying not to. I mostly imagine black and white images that only show their bodies excluding the head. So no, I don’t consider it as idolatry. Now you answer my question. Is imagining the image of Christ while you pray considered idolatry? Considering that no one has seen Him in this present age yet, isn’t it idolatrous to be thinking of the image that some random guy created while you are praying? It’s like praying to a creation of a creation, is it not?
Agree too. With his excellent command of the language, he articulates it better.This!!
Jon
As has been pointed out, this is contrary to the human nature God gave us at Creation.Code:Now you're getting far off. Why would I need to not imagine anything? What sin would it make? As long as I don't include their faces in my imagination it would be fine, since I'm not representing them for something that I'm not sure of. And I usually don't imagine anything when I pray and read scriptures, but when I do, as what I have said, only imagine using black and white images.
Indeed you are right, this logic can be used to explain such a thing. The reason that Catholics don’t use it is because it is not part of Divine Revelation. In fact, it is contrary to what God has communicated to mankind about Himself. Unfortunately you seem to have departed from communion with that divine revelation, so you will be prone to stray off on all kinds of human “logic” and “imagination” that is contrary to His will.Let’s put it this way, say for example an artist was asked to paint an emu, but the artist having no idea what an emu is, drew a dog instead since he had no idea what an emu looked like. Isn’t that odd? Pretty much the same logic that can be used to explain why we shouldn’t make a physical representation of Christ.
Thanks Patrick!!! I didnt know the history behind the Veronica other than it’s one of the few non- biblical accounts of the more traditional Stations of the Cross.Actually, in the earliest versions of the story, the cloth (it was not a veil yet) was a sort of canvas which the woman Berenice/Veronica planned to have Jesus’ portrait painted on. Jesus got wind of her plan, and after washing His face, wiped it on the cloth, leaving an image of His face onto it. It was only by the later Middle Ages that the Veronica came to be associated with the Passion. And yes, it’s highly reminiscent of the story of King Abgar and the Holy Mandylion.
P.S. We don’t know where the Veronica is now. We know that it was documented to be at St. Peter’s at the end of the 12th century, but the records become really vague as to what happened to it after the Sack of Rome in 1527. Some claim the cloth was destroyed; others say that it was taken someplace else (Manoppello is a popular candidate nowadays); still others claim that it is still there. At least, there’s still a cloth which is claimed to be the Veronica in the Vatican, but whether it is the ‘original’ is unclear.
The first record we have about the cloth dates from 1011, when Pope Sergius IV is said to have consecrated an altar to the relic in St. Peter’s Basilica, appointing a scribe as keeper of it. A canon of St. Peter’s named Petrus Mallius, writing in about 1160, speaks of the following (Historia Basilicae Antiquae S.P. Apostoli in Vaticano, chaps. 25, 37):Thanks Patrick!!! I didnt know the history behind the Veronica other than it’s one of the few non- biblical accounts of the more traditional Stations of the Cross.
I appreciate a laying out of the known history!!![]()
…who is represented in the crucifix?…the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.