Statues and Images

[DJK100]

Hi Lucius,

I find it useful to actually print out a little hand out to give to the people that are having questions much like the ones you are encountering. Here is a good link to a short 3 page answer to your question. Print it out and photocopy it for your friends at work.

catholic.com/library/Do_Catholics_Worship_Statues.asp

Hopefully that helps.

 

[DiscipulusLucis]

You also asked this question in the “Ask an Apologist” forum and they have answered it. The “Search” feature is your friend and you will find a lot of the answers to your questions if you do a quick search to see the many threads on this topic and others. Hope this helps.

Thanks, this was my first post on the forum and I was kind of confused with the navigation.

 

[LPS]

You might suggest that your Protestant friends look up descriptions of the temple Solomon built at God’s explicit direction. It is filled with statues and images You see, the “issue” isn’t statues and images themselves, but the worship of them - the Israelites were worshipping the golden calf as a god.

Peace to you!

 

[EricFilmer]

There are many evangelists at my workplace, and this is something they love to criticize catholics for…

Ask these evangelists if they have nativity sets.

If they do then they, themselves, have statues of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

 

[patrick457]

I’m sure this question has been asked a million times, but why does the Church condone the worship of statues of Saints, Mary, and Jesus on the cross when the bible says not to worship any statues or images?

Who said that Catholics worship the icons or the statues?

In fact, it says not to make any likeness to anything on heaven and earth, which would put most artists out of a job, but I suppose if you read it within the context of the surrounding lines you could side step the literal interpretation of that singular line, and take it to mean don’t worship.

If that was the case, then God has pretty much violated His own commandment by ordering the manufacturing of ‘graven images’ and apparently condoning people who make them. The Israelites (and later, the Jews) themselves are in deep straits too, if what was forbidden was the making of any likeness themselves. See also: Ark of the Covenant, Tabernacle, Nehushtan, Solomon’s Temple, Solomon’s Palace, LMLK seals, Dura Europos Synagogue, Beit Alfa Synagogue, Hamat Tiberias, Sepphoris Synagogue.

 

[puzzleannie]

I’m sure this question has been asked a million times, but why does the Church condone the worship of statues of Saints, Mary, and Jesus on the cross when the bible says not to worship any statues or images?

.

the Catholic Church does not and never has condoned the worship of any manmade object. correct your information, rephrase the question propely in line with truth not fiction, and discuss.

 

[PRmerger]

I remember the old saying that images and icons in the Catholic Church are the catechism for the illiterate.