Statue of Sheeva a sin?

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Montie_Claunch

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My uncle had a statue of Sheeva (which he got rid off) and my mom just got me a little statue of buddua. Is having such statues ok or is it a sin? I am not worshipping it but, it is still on my mind. Thanks and God bless.
 
There is nothing inherently sinful with owning such a statue. I have some artwork that I purchased on a trip to Egypt that depicts the Egyptian dieties. This in no way implies my worship of them or belief in them. It is merely artwork.

However, I would question why your family has these statues or that your mother thinks a Buddha statue is an appropriate gift for a Catholic… as opposed to giving you some sort of Catholic religious article.

(Unless your mother recently took a trip and brought you back a souvenir from a far off land…).
 
was there not something mentioned in the 10 Commandments about graven images??? :rolleyes:

Lee44
 
Montie_Claunch said:
My uncle had a statue of Sheeva (which he got rid off) and my mom just got me a little statue of buddua. Is having such statues ok or is it a sin? I am not worshipping it but, it is still on my mind. Thanks and God bless.
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Montie,

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a statue of Buddha. I have two small ones. In truth the “Buddha” deity which is most often depicted in the statues, the one with the fat belly, isn’t really The Buddha the man the Buddhists revere (he isn’t a god to them). If that makes any difference.

Simply, Don’t sweat having a small statue so long as you don’t worship it.

Catholig
 
Lee44 said:
was there not something mentioned in the 10 Commandments about graven images??? :rolleyes:

Lee44
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If the prohibition in the Ten Commandments is a prohibition against art, then the Catholic Church has gone astray and lead the faithful astray as well: our churches are full of statues.

This was settled centuries ago.

I doubt that it’s a sin to have such things as objects of art. If it bothers you, Montie, just put it away.
 
Lee44 said:
was there not something mentioned in the 10 Commandments about graven images??? :rolleyes:

Lee44
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*Graven *is the key word. An image becomes graven when one worships it in place of God. When an image is given the worship due to God alone it has become graven. When an image has no meaning to the owner and is not worshiped, it is not graven. Rather it is artwork.
 
1ke said:
*Graven *is the key word. An image becomes graven when one worships it in place of God. When an image is given the worship due to God alone it has become graven. When an image has no meaning to the owner and is not worshiped, it is not graven. Rather it is artwork.
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I see “artwork” well lets just say thats one way of looking at it. :rolleyes:
 
Montie_Claunch said:
My uncle had a statue of Sheeva (which he got rid off) and my mom just got me a little statue of buddua. Is having such statues ok or is it a sin? I am not worshipping it but, it is still on my mind. Thanks and God bless.
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It’s ok Montie. I have several statues from the Far East when I was in Viet Nam. My favorite one is called the “Happy Buddua”, he is the one with the big belly and we rub it for good luck. Only in fun of course. If anyone says you are violating the law just ignore them. There will always be someone trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.
 
1ke said:
*Graven *is the key word. An image becomes graven when one worships it in place of God. When an image is given the worship due to God alone it has become graven. When an image has no meaning to the owner and is not worshiped, it is not graven. Rather it is artwork.
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I don’t think that is what graven means. I have understood it to mean carved, like “engraved”.

I can’t find anything that gives the definition of “graven” as anything different.
 
Bruised_Reed said:
I don’t think that is what graven means. I have understood it to mean carved, like “engraved”.

I can’t find anything that gives the definition of “graven” as anything different.
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But then why isn’t any artwork a sin? Wouldn’t Michelangelo’s statue of David be sinful?

God directed statues to be put on his ark, so why isn’t that sinful?

If you follow the verse through it says something along the lines of “Don’t make graven images for yourself and worship them.” So, I am guessing that worship is the key word not graven.

I do have a different take then some of the other posters. I am in the south and such a witness would be a bad witness to me for my Baptist brethern. So, at least in the southern USA, I wouldn’t have such an item.
 
Montie_Claunch said:
My uncle had a statue of Sheeva (which he got rid off) and my mom just got me a little statue of buddua. Is having such statues ok or is it a sin? I am not worshipping it but, it is still on my mind. Thanks and God bless.
Click to expand...
I feel a little differently than other posters. I agree that just owning it as a piece of art is not sinful. But I do question the witness we give to other people when we have something like that in our homes. My family lived in Asia when I was a child and we had many artifacts of that time. I ended up with several in my home. As my husband and I started our family, we decided to keep only those that were just ‘art’ and got rid of those that could be used as religious symbols. So we have several carved teak tables, but the buddua statue is gone.

When someone walks into my home I want them to know we are Catholic, not just people who think “anything goes”. I am not saying that those posters who own and display sure items believe that. But vistors to their home might just think that!

So there you go, “They will know we are Christians by our decor…” 🙂
 
Lee44 said:
was there not something mentioned in the 10 Commandments about graven images??? :rolleyes:

Lee44
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Yeah. It says we’re not to make them “for ourselves” as objects of worship. At this point in the history of western civilization NOBODY is in danger of material idolatry.

When I look at religious images from other traditions, I certainly do not attribute anything divine to them and neither does anybody else. Often, particularly Hindu images, convey ideas that we share with all the great faith traditions – I see such art as the groping of the human heart towards the greater truth that we have been privileged to receive through divine Revelation.

Monty: it’s ok. I don’t think you’re about to light incense to it!
 
Sometimes I think my house has too many graven images in it and I should get rid of them. We seem to have one in almost every room. Nearly every night, I and my family members walk from room to room to gazing upon them in what appears to be worship.

Question: Should I burn my tv’s or just take them to the dump?
 
Bruised_Reed said:
I don’t think that is what graven means. I have understood it to mean carved, like “engraved”.
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Yes, “graven” by itself means to carve or engrave. The word “image” alone means a physical likeness or representation of a person, animal, or thing.

But the term “graven image” does not mean “engraved physical likeness” it is an idiom. It means *idol *. It’s not just any image, just any engraved thing. The term “graven image” in the dictionary means *an idol *or a material effigy that is worshipped. And, that’s what it means in the bible. The image isn’t just an image, it’s a graven image when it’s worshipped. It’s an idiomatic phrase, not just the sum of the two words that comprise it.

That is the point I was making. Sorry it wasn’t clear.
 
deb1 said:
But then why isn’t any artwork a sin? Wouldn’t Michelangelo’s statue of David be sinful?

God directed statues to be put on his ark, so why isn’t that sinful?

If you follow the verse through it says something along the lines of “Don’t make graven images for yourself and worship them.” So, I am guessing that worship is the key word not graven.

(…)
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I think worship is the opperative word, too (think being the opperative word in that sentance 😉 ). I did find some definitions that defined graven as carved, engraved, made by hand. However, I didn’t find definition that meant sinful and I wonder if there is one.

Or is it the context?:hmmm:

ETA:
Ahh. So it is context. I see now.
 
Bruised_Reed said:
Or is it the context?:hmmm:

ETA:
Ahh. So it is context. I see now.
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No. the definition of graven image is idol.
Context or not.

Here is the entry from dictionary.com for you to chew on…
graven image *–noun *an idol.
[Origin: 1350–1400; ME[URL]http://cache.lexico.com/dictionary/graphics/luna/thinsp.png[/URL]]

[URL='http://Dictionary.com']Dictionary.com[/URL] Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
[/QUOTE]
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