Why is this not idolatry?

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When one prays or worships God sould not their focus and attention be on Him. This mans focus was on pictures his attention was diredted towards those pictures.

I request the moderators close this tread and I will open a new one on what is idoatry?
 
Aren’t they called icons? The pictures I mean? I think there’s a reference in the cathecism, but I don’t have a copy at my house. Can anyone dig it up for me?
 
Hisalone said:
When one prays or worships God sould not their focus and attention be on Him. This mans focus was on pictures his attention was diredted towards those pictures.
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How do you know this?
A man running a race not focused on running but on winning.

Peace
James
 
Delora said:
Aren’t they called icons? The pictures I mean? I think there’s a reference in the cathecism, but I don’t have a copy at my house. Can anyone dig it up for me?
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The sacred image, the liturgical icon, principally representing Christ. It cannot represent the invisible and incomprehensible God, but incarnation of the Son of God has ushered in a new “economy” of images:

St John Damascene
(Previously God who has neither a body nor a face absolutely could not be represented by an image. But now that he has made himself visable in the flesh and has lived with men, i can make an image of what i have seen of God…and completed the glory of the Lord, his face unveiled.)
 
Steven_John said:
The sacred image, the liturgical icon, principally representing Christ. It cannot represent the invisible and incomprehensible God, but incarnation of the Son of God has ushered in a new “economy” of images
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Don’t any one go off without reading my prior posts,
this says that you can not make an image of the God that Jesus (pbwh) prayed to and taught those that follow his way to.

So icons are digressions of the way to pray that Jesus (pbwh) taught.

An exception to what i offer would be to pray to God and ask Him to make you more like the one the icon represents to you.

I would have trouble maintaining my prayer focus on invisible and incomprehensible God while focusing on an icon.

The icon would be useless to me any way as invisible and incomprehensible God would have better image of who the icon represents than the icon can to me.

I can never speak for another’s guidance but from what the catechism offers here it would be easy to turn icons into idolatry.

Even pagans say better safe than sorry.
 
Has anyone even read post 14?
hasikelee said:
Wow, people really lose their sense of reality sometimes.

Ever had a girlfriend? I hope you didn’t put a picture in your wallet or car or by your bedside, you girlfriend worshipper!

In fact, you must be on the up and up. Surely you don’t have any photos of anyone in your house. I bet you are anti-camera.

And I guess little Johnny kissing a photo of his dad who is in Iraq is obviously just a photo worshipper. He couldn’t possibly be missing his dad.

Some people grew up without enough :hug1: :hug3: :console: :grouphug:
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Steven_John said:
(Previously God who has neither a body nor a face absolutely could not be represented by an image. But now that he has made himself visable in the flesh and has lived with men, i can make an image of what i have seen of God…and completed the glory of the Lord, his face unveiled.)
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Without disrespect to St John Damascene i think he missed the message
Jesus (pbwh) offered if he means material icons.

He may have done better to say make myself an image of what i have seen of God.
 
Namesake said:
That is patently untrue. I know many Catholics who really do worship the statues. I understand that they are not to do that. Regardless, Catholicism lends itself toward idol worship. It’s so common.
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:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: oh really? Do all these Catholics you know tell you they are worshipping the statues?
 
Hisalone said:
Michael the three Hebrew boys could have bent their knee to the statue and in their hearts not worshipped it however they did not choose that course. Intentions is not what is at core here, How many martyrs could have said Lord you know I believe you but then done something different…
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**It would have looked like idolatry, & their captors would have thought the “three holy children” (as they often called) were agreeing with the king’s decree. They were not, & could not, because only God is God. And the Babylonians, admirable as they were in many ways, did not know the One & Alone True God 😦 - unlike the Jews; including the 3HC. **​

**In the surroundings you’ve described, a Catholic is - by the sound of it - adoring the True & Only God, in Catholic surroundings, with only other Catholics in the pews. Since Catholics are Christians, the analogy breaks down: he was praying to God in a manner recognised as Christian with only Christians to notice; so the danger & evil of scandalising unbelievers in the way that the 3HC would have, did not arise. **

Since you are asking a question, & not making an accusation, you don’t sound scandalised - only perplexed.

**Hope that helps 🙂 **
 
Talk about too many rules and such that we Catholics have. I will use all means I have to bring me closer to Christ. That is the great thing about being Catholic. I pray the rosary because it stills my mind and allows me to focus more deeply on prayer and on Christ. Do I worship stone, wood, paper, beads, Mary, all the Saints, because I use all these things to bring me closer to Christ? Am I an Idolater if I look at or touch a statue while praying? Am I an Idolater if I kneel down before a statue of Jesus or any of the saints when I pray? Do I think that cold piece of stone, hunk of wood, burning candle, is really Jesus or a God? Do I think that stone and wood can hear my prayers? Well that is between me and Jesus. You just keep looking for that boogieman and I will continue to form my will to Christ and try to live each day as he would want me to. Judgment is for God not man. And if you have a problem on how I choose to Pray and worship Jesus……well that is your problem and not mine.
 
Namesake said:
It’s really pretty simple. Some people really are convinced that Catholics worship idols. That doesn’t mean they are correct, but it does mean they really believe that. We won’t ever agree on that issue, but still, lots of people are convinced. I am one such person.
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You believe it because you want to. We are Catholics and we have plainly told you that we don’t. Idol worship is not permitted in Catholicism.
 
Hisalone said:
When one prays or worships God sould not their focus and attention be on Him. This mans focus was on pictures his attention was diredted towards those pictures.
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**Of course it should be 🙂 - why else have the Bible read on Sundays ? To do that is a form of prayer; & are we not, all of us, commanded to “pray always” ? ****Some things can only be done in one way - eating, for example. To bite counts as eating - singing, running, swimming OTOH do not. Worship is not like eating: it can be carried out by more than one kind of action: reading the Bible, praying, singing are all forms of it. And so is veneration of the Saints. **​

**When we venerate the Saints, we are no more ignoring God than when we love one another, or honour our parents. We have been told to do both these latter.****Yet we have been commanded to adore or (if you will) worship God; there is no contradiction, because the two lesser loves are a means of responding obediently to the Infinite Love; they are so far from being obstacles to It, that they are God-commanded means of fulfilling It. **

So with venerating the Saints - it is so far from being an obstacle to adoring God, that it is a form of love of God, a means to it, & meaningless apart from it.
I request the moderators close this tread and I will open a new one on what is idoatry?
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allhers said:
So in the future we may as well not respond to your questions right, since you seem to only respond to those who agree with you. How does anyone learn anything when they do that?
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I dont follow this post, i have some language difficulties.

Are you saying my post was in error or it was wrong for the respondent to speak to me?

They thanked me,
this is not the true path,
the true path is for us to give all thanks to Our God.

I took their gratitude in faith to be to God as no one is good but God.
 
If you don’t even believe there is a God how can you judge the motives of people that do believe and are worshiping Him

Many people have a childlike devotion to the saints…it is pure and innocent…Why do you care how others worship as long as you are free not to?
 
Steven_John said:
I dont follow this post, i have some language difficulties.

Are you saying my post was in error or it was wrong for the respondent to speak to me?

They thanked me,
this is not the true path,
the true path is for us to give all thanks to Our God.

I took their gratitude in faith to be to God as no one is good but God.
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Um, the original shows that allhers was responing to Hisalone, not you.
 
BSHoop96 said:
Lying is a sin but since you don’t believe I guess that doesn’t matter to you.
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I offer you the opportunity not to speak for what you cant be sure of.

I f some one who they saw as Catholic said they did, then to them it would be true.

I would not like to see you bare false witness.
 
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