The 2nd the 3rd and the 4th commandments

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I debated with an anti-Catholic who told me that “Catholics do not keep the 2nd 3rd and 4th commandments, they worship mary, pray to idols and they use the lords name in vain.”

I’m kind of new and I still need more knowledge to help defend the one true faith. Thanks.

-Guy 🙂
 
Guy355 said:
I debated with an anti-Catholic who told me that “Catholics do not keep the 2nd 3rd and 4th commandments, they worship mary, pray to idols and they use the lords name in vain.”

I’m kind of new and I still need more knowledge to help defend the one true faith. Thanks.

-Guy 🙂
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Ask him first…how does he know we worship mary, pray to idols?

How does he know we use the Lord’s name in vain?

Ask for specifics and sources, and then we can start refuting and provide you responses.
 
Guy355 said:
I debated with an anti-Catholic who told me that “Catholics do not keep the 2nd 3rd and 4th commandments, they worship mary, pray to idols and they use the lords name in vain.”

I’m kind of new and I still need more knowledge to help defend the one true faith. Thanks.

-Guy 🙂
Click to expand...
First, you should know that the number of the Ten Commandments is different from Catholics and some Protestant groups. There is no numbering of the Ten Commandments in the Bible. Our numbering is different, but the content is the same.

Second, ask this person to detail out and provide verification of their claims.

Third, learn and know the facts. Catholics do NOT worship Mary. This is SPECIFICALLY and ABSOLUTELY prohibited for Catholics. Worship/adoration is due ONLY to God. Any Catholic that does this is committing a GRAVE sin.

Catholics do pray to saints. But learn what we mean by praying to saints. When we pray to saints, we are asking those who are in Heaven to pray FOR us TO God. I GUARANTEE your Protestant friend has asked people to pray for him/her. So he/she is guilty of doing the exact same thing. And the Bible tells us to pray for one another, and the Bible shows us the saints and angels taking our prayers and presenting them to God.

And some Catholics do take the Lord’s name in vain. When they do, they are sinning. But the Church teaches us NOT to do this. I’m not sure where your friend gets this idea that Christians are going to be sinless. But the Church is ADAMANT that we are to honor the Lord’s name, and not to take it in vain.

I would suggest looking through the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can look it up by topic and research the actual teachings of the Church on these matters.

Here is one section on venerating saints and the worship due to God alone.

scborromeo.org/ccc/p3s2c1a1.htm#2129
** IV. “YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FOR YOURSELF A GRAVEN IMAGE . . .”>

2129 The divine injunction included the prohibition of every representation of God by the hand of man. Deuteronomy explains: "Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, beware lest you act corruptly by making a graven image for yourselves, in the form of any figure. . . . "66 It is the absolutely transcendent God who revealed himself to Israel. “He is the all,” but at the same time "he is greater than all his works."67 He is "the author of beauty."68

2130 Nevertheless, already in the Old Testament, God ordained or permitted the making of images that pointed symbolically toward salvation by the incarnate Word: so it was with the bronze serpent, the ark of the covenant, and the cherubim.69

2131 Basing itself on the mystery of the incarnate Word, the seventh ecumenical council at Nicaea (787) justified against the iconoclasts the veneration of icons - of Christ, but also of the Mother of God, the angels, and all the saints. By becoming incarnate, the Son of God introduced a new “economy” of images.

2132 The Christian veneration of images is not contrary to the first commandment which proscribes idols. Indeed, “the honor rendered to an image passes to its prototype,” and "whoever venerates an image venerates the person portrayed in it."70 The honor paid to sacred images is a “respectful veneration,” not the adoration due to God alone:

Religious worship is not directed to images in themselves, considered as mere things, but under their distinctive aspect as images leading us on to God incarnate. The movement toward the image does not terminate in it as image, but tends toward that whose image it is.71*
 
Guy355 said:
I debated with an anti-Catholic who told me that “Catholics do not keep the 2nd 3rd and 4th commandments, they worship mary, pray to idols and they use the lords name in vain.”

I’m kind of new and I still need more knowledge to help defend the one true faith. Thanks.

-Guy 🙂
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“they worship mary” - false
“pray to idols” - false
“use the lords name in vain” - depends on what they mean by that

There are people who use the word god or christ as a type of “expletive”, which should be discouraged, but very few if any (practicing) Catholics would actually use those words in a way that was explicitly directed at and meant to be derogatory to God or Christ.
 
Guy355 said:
I debated with an anti-Catholic who told me that “Catholics do not keep the 2nd 3rd and 4th commandments, they worship mary, pray to idols and they use the lords name in vain.”

I’m kind of new and I still need more knowledge to help defend the one true faith. Thanks.

-Guy 🙂
Click to expand...
Rule #1 in debate - the burden of proof rests with the one making the positive claim. In this case, the burden of proof rests with the one claiming that Catholics DO worship Mary, etc.
 
Catholics have statues in their homes and churches. Some read the divine commandment against idols, “graven images,” as a prohibition against religious objects of any type.

My response has always been to point to the statues of war heroes erected town centers. The Saints are the heroes of the Church. They serve as examples of individual who have heroically lived the Christian faith. I also like my mother’s response. She would simply ask who doesn’t have pictures of their children around their house. We, and the Saints who walked before us, are God’s children. We are family.

Back to the 1st Commandment which prohibits the worship of another god or the formation of an idol for the purpose of worship (2d Commandment for non-Catholics) of a false god.
God instructed the 10 Commandments, carved in stone, to be stored within the Ark of the Covenant which was to be decorated with golden images of cherubim (Ex.25:10-22). He also commanded the people to decorate the places where they worshiped.
There is even the story of how God called the people bitten by snakes in the desert to look upon the image of the snake (the historical basis the insignia worn by doctors) to be healed. This story is read as a precursor to looking on the Cross of Christ as our Healer.
Even when Catholics kneel before a statue, or burn candles or put flowers before it, they are not worshiping the statue.They are expressing their love and honor for the person represented by the statue. Would anybody think that person who puts flowers on a grave worships the tombstone instead of honoring the person who was buried there?
 
Guy355 said:
I debated with an anti-Catholic who told me that “Catholics do not keep the 2nd 3rd and 4th commandments, they worship mary, pray to idols and they use the lords name in vain.”

I’m kind of new and I still need more knowledge to help defend the one true faith. Thanks.

-Guy 🙂
Click to expand...
Don’t listen to them. That’s not true at all. We don’t call God’s name in vain, (2nd) the church teaches us to attend the mass very Sunday (3rd) and to respect our Parents (4th).

Why would anyone say Catholics don’t respect their parents?

And NO, we do not worship saints and Mary. We only ask them to intercede for us ( It’s like asking your elder brother to talk to your father on your behalf )
 
JesusMonSauveur said:
Don’t listen to them. That’s not true at all. We don’t call God’s name in vain, (2nd) the church teaches us to attend the mass very Sunday (3rd) and to respect our Parents (4th).

Why would anyone say Catholics don’t respect their parents?

And NO, we do not worship saints and Mary. We only ask them to intercede for us ( It’s like asking your elder brother to talk to your father on your behalf )
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Again
Using the Catholic numbering.
II.Thou shslt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Most of us have been taught not only not to curse, but to show reverence when using the name of our Lord. As a child I was taught to bow my head at the name of Jesus. Nor could I say His name without saying, “Jesus Christ.” A new convert to a different denomination had difficulty understanding that.
The 1st Commandment calls us to love the Lord our God alone and to have no other gods before Him. For Catholics, the commandment against idolatry is contained in the 1st commandment.
The first 3 Commandments are based on the Great Commandment to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and strength. We learn early to use our body in worship. kneeling, genuflecting, and making he Sign of the Cross.
III. Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it Holy.
I do not ever remember the Mass being canceled because of weather, although non-Catholic churches have canceled their services. In a spirit of charity, we need to recognize that the priest generally lives right next to the church and has not needed to travel. The Eucharist has been available for the Faithful who could make it.
A Baptist friend was surprised when I refused breakfast “in order to remain hungry for God’s Word and Eucharist” before Mass. It was a new concept for congregations who have fellowship before their morning service.
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We should always accord profound Love, Reverence and Respect for Our Lady Mary Mother of Jesus

(a) for the fact that our Heavenly Most Holy Blessed Virgin Mother is Jesus’ Mother and ascended into Heaven as The Holy Queen
(b) On most occasions without beseeching Our Heavenly Most Holy Blessed Virgin Mother our prayers would not have any hope of being answered through Jesus’ Divine Love and Mercy; this is my Faith and belief; in fact it is our Catholic Church who has always placed Our Heavenly Most Holy Blessed Virgin Mother Mary on a High Holy Pedestal during our Prayers in Mass.
(c) Never would I be categorizing our Heavenly Most Holy Blessed Virgin Mother Mary in the Light of Saints.
  1. The Annunciation:
And when the Angel had come to Her (The Blessed Virgin Mary) he said “Hail, full of Grace, the Lord is with Thee, Blessed art Thou among Women”
  1. The Visitation:
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and cried out, saying “Blessed art Thou among women and Blessed is the Fruit of Thy Womb”
  1. The Birth of Jesus:
And She brought forth Her firstborn Son and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a Manger because there was no room for them in the Inn.
  1. The Presentation:
And when the days of Her purification were fulfilled according to the Law of Moses, they took Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (Mary and Joseph)
  1. Finding of The Child Jesus in the Temple:
And it came to pass after three days that they found Him in the Temple sitting in the midst of the Teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions.

How would you have felt seeing and feeling your Son or Child’s pain being crucified?

Our most Blessed and Holy Virgin Mary Mother deserves and should always be given our utmost Love and Respect not to mention utmost Reverance at all times.

Love and best wishes to you my Brother or Sister in Christ
 
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