Questions about my faith

[Alius]

There a few things I do not understand fully about my Roman Catholic faith. I used to not have questions until my friend became a Born Again Christian, he is always saying stuff I find to be nonsense. Born Agains (or at least him and his family) supposedly do not acknowledge the Virgin Mary, do not believe in Saints, and believe that baptism when your a baby is pointless because you have not sinned yet and you cannot be forgiven or saved for the bad things you did not do yet. I also know for sure that all Born Again Christians do not like the Crucifix.

Here are the questions that I promised

1. The second commandment is God saying not to make Idols, so why do many Catholic churches have statues of Saints?
2. Why is praying the Rosary a good thing to do? The first commandment is God telling us not to worship others so why is it that we pray to Mary? I would like to ask the same question as to why their are prayers to Saints, Do Catholics technically worship Saints and the Virgin Mother because we pray to them and would doing so be going against worshiping God and Jesus?
3. Why exactly is there a special place for confession? Can’t you pray to God and ask him to forgive you at home or something?
4. Why do so many other religions that believe in God and Jesus like Protestants and Born Agains seem to have so many reasons to not like Catholics and the way we do things?

My last question is more of me being curious.

1. Is there such a place as purgatory? I hear that the existence of purgatory is not in the Holy Bible and was just made up by the Catholic Church back then when it was corrupt.

Thanks in advance.

 

[mexilad]

There a few things I do not understand fully about my Roman Catholic faith. I used to not have questions until my friend became a Born Again Christian, he is always saying stuff I find to be nonsense. Born Agains (or at least him and his family) supposedly do not acknowledge the Virgin Mary, do not believe in Saints, and believe that baptism when your a baby is pointless because you have not sinned yet and you cannot be forgiven or saved for the bad things you did not do yet. I also know for sure that all Born Again Christians do not like the Crucifix.

Here are the questions that I promised

1. The second commandment is God saying not to make Idols, so why do many Catholic churches have statues of Saints?
2. Why is praying the Rosary a good thing to do? The first commandment is God telling us not to worship others so why is it that we pray to Mary? I would like to ask the same question as to why their are prayers to Saints, Do Catholics technically worship Saints and the Virgin Mother because we pray to them and would doing so be going against worshiping God and Jesus?
3. Why exactly is there a special place for confession? Can’t you pray to God and ask him to forgive you at home or something?
4. Why do so many other religions that believe in God and Jesus like Protestants and Born Agains seem to have so many reasons to not like Catholics and the way we do things?

My last question is more of me being curious.

1. Is there such a place as purgatory? I hear that the existence of purgatory is not in the Holy Bible and was just made up by the Catholic Church back then when it was corrupt.

Thanks in advance./QUO

Ok, I will give it a shot. Keep in mind, I am not a theologian and I don’t play one on tv. Some can go into greater detail with greater passion and eloquence than I can.

1. We don’t pray to or worship statues. We use statues and icons to basically set the tone. We use statues and icons to help focus our minds on where we need our minds to be at the moment and where we want our souls to be for eternity.
2. Asking a Saint or the Blesses Mother to pray for us is not all that different from asking a living person to pray for us. There is a bit of a presuposition that the Saints and the Blessed Mother have a little clout, so they can help us. This is called intercesory prayer. We are asking others to intercede on our behalf.

The Rosary is a biblically based intercesory prayer. “Hail Mary, full of grace, etc…” is right out of the bible. When we pary the Rosary, we focus on the “Mysteries” Each of the mysteries is an event from the bible.

1. Again, confession is biblically based. Protestants just disagree on the interpretation
2. That’s just Satan doing his divide and conquer type of tactics.
3. Purgatory is in the Bible. It’s just in one of the books the protestants will not accept.

I hope this is a good start and some others can expand and clarify as they see fit. Good luck.

 

[RainbowNight]

Mexilad, you said:

" 1. We don’t pray to or worship statues. We use statues and icons to basically set the tone. We use statues and icons to help focus our minds on where we need our minds to be at the moment and where we want our souls to be for eternity. "

Why some people put their hand on statues and then do the cross sign, or they kiss the images of saints for exp?
Is it ok? Because in this case, it’s going far than ‘setting the tone’.

Or even there is miracles of statues and icons (blood, oil…). If those are only to set the tone, why there is so much concentration on them? And even some statues are traveled from a country to another so others could see them, why?

 

[Revert_43]

Here are some answers from tracts on this web site.

1. The second commandment is God saying not to make Idols, so why do many Catholic churches have statues of Saints?

catholic.com/library/Do_Catholics_Worship_Statues.asp

1. Why is praying the Rosary a good thing to do? The first commandment is God telling us not to worship others so why is it that we pray to Mary? I would like to ask the same question as to why their are prayers to Saints, Do Catholics technically worship Saints and the Virgin Mother because we pray to them and would doing so be going against worshiping God and Jesus?

catholic.com/library/Rosary.asp

1. Why exactly is there a special place for confession? Can’t you pray to God and ask him to forgive you at home or something?

catholic.com/library/Confession.asp

1. Why do so many other religions that believe in God and Jesus like Protestants and Born Agains seem to have so many reasons to not like Catholics and the way we do things?

catholic.com/library/anti_catholicism.asp

My last question is more of me being curious.

1. Is there such a place as purgatory? I hear that the existence of purgatory is not in the Holy Bible and was just made up by the Catholic Church back then when it was corrupt.

catholic.com/library/Purgatory.asp
catholic.com/library/Roots_of_Purgatory.asp

Thanks in advance.

 

[NPC]

1. The second commandment is God saying not to make Idols, so why do many Catholic churches have statues of Saints?

An idol is something that is worshipped - it is not the same as an image of something or someone. A photograph is not itself an idol - nor is the person who carries the photograph (for example, as a reminder of a family member) guilty of idolatry. The Catholic Church teaches that worship is due to God alone:

Catechism of the Catholic Church:
2113 Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. It remains a constant temptation to faith. Idolatry consists in divinizing what is not God. Man commits idolatry whenever he honors and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods or demons (for example, satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money, etc. Jesus says, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Many martyrs died for not adoring “the Beast” refusing even to simulate such worship. Idolatry rejects the unique Lordship of God; it is therefore incompatible with communion with God.

Interesting too, from a biblical perspective, that the Lord gives the ten commandments in Exodus 20, and then five chapters later, in Exodus 25, He commands Moses to decorate the Ark with golden cherubim - presumably it was ok for Moses to do so, but when it comes to Catholics, it’s idolatry…

1. Why is praying the Rosary a good thing to do? The first commandment is God telling us not to worship others so why is it that we pray to Mary? I would like to ask the same question as to why their are prayers to Saints, Do Catholics technically worship Saints and the Virgin Mother because we pray to them and would doing so be going against worshiping God and Jesus?

Why would one not pray to saints?! The saints are more alive than we are. The Book of Revelation speaks of prayers of God’s “holy ones” offering prayers to Him. One cannot say that because someone asks Mary or a saint to pray for them that they are not worshipping God - in fact the opposite is true. Your friends, we must assume, would never ask you or anyone else to pray for them or a sick relative - this would be asking something which they would condemn Catholics for doing (except that the prayers of the saints to whom Catholics pray must surely be more pleasing to God since they are fully alive in His presence).

1. Why exactly is there a special place for confession? Can’t you pray to God and ask him to forgive you at home or something?

Of course you could ask God to forgive you. How can you be sure that He has actually forgiven you though? Do you just rely on a subjective feeling? Confession, on the other hand, gives the assurance that sins are indeed forgiven.

Secondly, Christ Himself gave the Apostles the power to forgive sins. In fact, He said in John 20:23: “Those whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained”. How would the Apostles know which sins to forgive and retain unless they were to be told the sins. It is also interesting to note that just before Christ gave them authority to forgive or retain - in John 20:22, He breathed on them. Scripture records only two instances when God breathed on man - the other being in Genesis at the creation of man. So giving the Apostles this authority was a very significant event, and we cannot simply gloss over it.

1. Why do so many other religions that believe in God and Jesus like Protestants and Born Agains seem to have so many reasons to not like Catholics and the way we do things?

Perhaps because the Catholic Church teaches the truth. Some people do not like truth, cannot see truth, will not see truth, or find it too hard to take. Look at John 6, for example - where the Lord promised the Eucharist. Some disciples couldn’t accept what Christ was saying - they didn’t like it and couldn’t accept it, no matter how often Christ repeated Himself. Some of the disciples “left Him and no longer walked in His ways” - the first Protestants.

…[continued]

 

[NPC]

…

1. Is there such a place as purgatory? I hear that the existence of purgatory is not in the Holy Bible and was just made up by the Catholic Church back then when it was corrupt.

Have you ever asked your friends just when exactly the “idea” of Purgatory was “invented” by the Church? It is common for some Protestant groups to make that vague claim that the Church invented this and that - yet they can never p(name removed by moderator)oint a time. Purgatory is indeed scriptural - of course they probably won’t accept your quoting 2Maccabees 12, that “it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins”, which brings up another question of why they reject books which have been part of the canon of Scripture since the end of the fourth century. Far from Catholics inventing Purgatory, Protestants threw out books such as Maccabees because they didn’t suit their novel doctrines.

However, a text they do accept is Matthew’s gospel, chapter 12. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven “in the present age or the age to come”. Surely this implies that there are at least some sins which can be forgiven in the age to come. Now, how exactly can a sin be forgiven in the age to come if there is only heaven and hell? After all, we know that nothing unclean shall enter heaven (Rev.21:27) - so where precisely does the forgiveness occur in the age to come. There will be no forgiveness for those in hell, since the souls there will suffer forever. Purgatory alone explains this.

Also, the argument that such and such a phrase isn’t in the bible doesn’t wash. By your friends’ logic, they cannot possibly believe in the Trinity as the term is not used in the bible. After all, as St John said, “There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written”. The Bible was never intended to give a complete account of every single thing that Christ did or said - that’s why Christ gave first of all the Church and the command to the disciples to preach. The Bible supplemented this teaching… This is really a whole other argument though…sola Scriptura etc.

I hope this helps somewhat.

 

[NPC]

Mexilad, you said:

" 1. We don’t pray to or worship statues. We use statues and icons to basically set the tone. We use statues and icons to help focus our minds on where we need our minds to be at the moment and where we want our souls to be for eternity. "

Why some people put their hand on statues and then do the cross sign, or they kiss the images of saints for exp?
Is it ok? Because in this case, it’s going far than ‘setting the tone’.

Or even there is miracles of statues and icons (blood, oil…). If those are only to set the tone, why there is so much concentration on them? And even some statues are traveled from a country to another so others could see them, why?

Would there be a problem if a husband, for example, who is away from his wife for a long period of time were to carry a photograph of her? Perhaps before he goes to bed he will touch or even kiss the image of his wife. Is he worshipping a photograph? Is he expressing love or devotion for a piece of photograph paper, for an image, or is it for his wife. The latter, I hope.

Touching images is most certainly not taking things too far.

I don’t understand what the problem is with the sign of the cross which you mention - a truly Christian gesture, invoking the Holy Trinity and calling to mind the supreme Sacrifice of our Blessed Lord.

If there are miracles involving statues and icons, why would there be a problem with venerating (not worshipping) them? The key word here, of course being “miracle” - if it is truly a miracle, which you appear to acknowledge the possibility of, why on earth would there be a problem with the faithful acknowledging a sign from the Lord?

 

[RainbowNight]

Would there be a problem if a husband, for example, who is away from his wife for a long period of time were to carry a photograph of her? Perhaps before he goes to bed he will touch or even kiss the image of his wife. Is he worshipping a photograph? Is he expressing love or devotion for a piece of photograph paper, for an image, or is it for his wife. The latter, I hope.

I don’t understand what the problem is with the sign of the cross which you mention - a truly Christian gesture, invoking the Holy Trinity and calling to mind the supreme Sacrifice of our Blessed Lord.

I’m not having problems with statues or images and I don’t think Catholics worship Mary or saints or statues and icons, but the question was more focused on the behavior towards statues and images: I can understand that they can help a person to concentrate and pray more but why for example standing in front of a statue like you are praying to it and when finishing you touch the statue and do the cross sign, or why kissing an image? Isn’t an “exaggeration” with things?

The sign of the cross could help you remember your god and his sacrifice, but why touching a statue right before doing the sign?

 

[NPC]

I’m not having problems with statues or images and I don’t think Catholics worship Mary or saints or statues and icons, but the question was more focused on the behavior towards statues and images: I can understand that they can help a person to concentrate and pray more but why for example standing in front of a statue like you are praying to it and when finishing you touch the statue and do the cross sign, or why kissing an image? Isn’t an “exaggeration” with things?

The sign of the cross could help you remember your god and his sacrifice, but why touching a statue right before doing the sign?

It is not unusual for Catholics to employ all of the senses in prayer: images, statues, etc. use sight; music for the hearing; incense for the sense of smell; statues and images for the sense of touch (the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday is one of the few occasions where the sense of touch is employed by all in the liturgy itself); and in the reception of the Holy Eucharist, the sense of taste is employed.

While I wouldn’t be one to go around touching and kissing statues, I can understand why others might. One thing that we are clear and agreed on is that such practices are not acts of worship - or at least they should not be, according to the teaching of the Church. If these practices bring a person closer to a saint in prayer, which in turn brings them into ever closer union with Christ, then it is not an exaggeration. I will admit, it can sometimes seem excessive, but if it is as a result of a sincere expression of faith rather than a mere show of piety, then I don’t really see a problem with it - I guess for some, standing and looking just isn’t enough!

 

[RainbowNight]

It is not unusual for Catholics to employ all of the senses in prayer: images, statues, etc. use sight; music for the hearing; incense for the sense of smell; statues and images for the sense of touch (the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday is one of the few occasions where the sense of touch is employed by all in the liturgy itself); and in the reception of the Holy Eucharist, the sense of taste is employed.

While I wouldn’t be one to go around touching and kissing statues, I can understand why others might. One thing that we are clear and agreed on is that such practices are not acts of worship - or at least they should not be, according to the teaching of the Church.** If these practices bring a person closer to a saint in prayer, which in turn brings them into ever closer union with Christ, then it is not an exaggeration.** I will admit, it can sometimes seem excessive, but if it is as a result of a sincere expression of faith rather than a mere show of piety, then I don’t really see a problem with it - I guess for some, standing and looking just isn’t enough!

It’s more clear now, thank you.

 

[Stylites]

1. Why do so many other religions that believe in God and Jesus like Protestants and Born Agains seem to have so many reasons to not like Catholics and the way we do things?

My best guess is because of their pride and envy. Catholics have the Real Presence, and our Church was created by Jesus Christ 2,000 years ago. Theirs have no Real Presence and were created by mortals a few decades or centuries ago.

 

[NPC]

Born Agains…supposedly do not acknowledge the Virgin Mary,… and believe that baptism when your a baby is pointless because you have not sinned yet and you cannot be forgiven or saved for the bad things you did not do yet.

Just as a slight aside…something I was just thinking about…

It’s very interesting isn’t it - if we are all born without stain of sin on our souls, which is precisely their rationale against baptising of infants, then surely it can be said that we have all been immaculately conceived… And yet they have a huge problem with the Virgin Mary, who was truly the Immaculate Conception! Some things just never add up…

 

[wisdomseeker]

There a few things I do not understand fully about my Roman Catholic faith. I used to not have questions until my friend became a Born Again Christian, he is always saying stuff I find to be nonsense. Born Agains (or at least him and his family) supposedly do not acknowledge the Virgin Mary, do not believe in Saints, and believe that baptism when your a baby is pointless because you have not sinned yet and you cannot be forgiven or saved for the bad things you did not do yet. I also know for sure that all Born Again Christians do not like the Crucifix.

Here are the questions that I promised

1. The second commandment is God saying not to make Idols, so why do many Catholic churches have statues of Saints?
2. Why is praying the Rosary a good thing to do? The first commandment is God telling us not to worship others so why is it that we pray to Mary? I would like to ask the same question as to why their are prayers to Saints, Do Catholics technically worship Saints and the Virgin Mother because we pray to them and would doing so be going against worshiping God and Jesus?
3. Why exactly is there a special place for confession? Can’t you pray to God and ask him to forgive you at home or something?
4. Why do so many other religions that believe in God and Jesus like Protestants and Born Agains seem to have so many reasons to not like Catholics and the way we do things?

My last question is more of me being curious.

1. Is there such a place as purgatory? I hear that the existence of purgatory is not in the Holy Bible and was just made up by the Catholic Church back then when it was corrupt.

Thanks in advance.

The devil’s job is to plant seeds of doubt.
if you read Deut. God tells the Jews to carry an object ahead of the people (Ark). God also tells the people to grab and keep stones to remind them of what God has done for them.

God also used a bronze snake to heal the people.

dont let the fears of protestants control your mind. follow the Church and not man.

 

[wisdomseeker]

There a few things I do not understand fully about my Roman Catholic faith. I used to not have questions until my friend became a Born Again Christian, he is always saying stuff I find to be nonsense. Born Agains (or at least him and his family) supposedly do not acknowledge the Virgin Mary, do not believe in Saints, and believe that baptism when your a baby is pointless because you have not sinned yet and you cannot be forgiven or saved for the bad things you did not do yet. I also know for sure that all Born Again Christians do not like the Crucifix.

Here are the questions that I promised

1. The second commandment is God saying not to make Idols, so why do many Catholic churches have statues of Saints?
2. Why is praying the Rosary a good thing to do? The first commandment is God telling us not to worship others so why is it that we pray to Mary? I would like to ask the same question as to why their are prayers to Saints, Do Catholics technically worship Saints and the Virgin Mother because we pray to them and would doing so be going against worshiping God and Jesus?
3. Why exactly is there a special place for confession? Can’t you pray to God and ask him to forgive you at home or something?
4. Why do so many other religions that believe in God and Jesus like Protestants and Born Agains seem to have so many reasons to not like Catholics and the way we do things?

My last question is more of me being curious.

1. Is there such a place as purgatory? I hear that the existence of purgatory is not in the Holy Bible and was just made up by the Catholic Church back then when it was corrupt.

Thanks in advance.

Another note, just ask them who sent them to teach. the Bible says that men have to be sent. there is only one Church with such authority to send teachers.