Why is this not idolatry?

[BSHoop96]

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.

StevenJohn…it sometimes does get a little confusing. This wasn’t meant as a comment to you or on your post.

 

[Steven_John]

Um, the original shows that allhers was responing to Hisalone, not you.

sorry to have jumped in then i had mistaken it as response to me.

The way English conversation takes place confuses me.

 

[BSHoop96]

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.

I’m sorry StevenJohn but I don’t believe that this non-catholic knows many catholics that have told him/her that they *worship *statues. Of course, in any religion, you will have abuses. I don’t deny that. But that abuse would not be condoned by the Church. Read back thru the posts. This person is bound and determined to believe that Catholics worship statues. We as Catholics have told him that it is not so and is not permitted by the Church. Why would we lie about it? I agree with an earlier poster. This person is a troll. Goodbye.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

oh really? Do all these Catholics you know tell you they are worshipping the statues?

##** “Worship”** can be understood as being adoration alone, which is for God Alone - then again, **it can be understood as including the inferior honours which it is permitted to render to His servants, or to objects such as the Gospel-book (which is kissed at Mass). **

---

**So, someone who “owns up” to “worshipping” a Saint may have been giving them adoration: which would be very wrong indeed ; or, may have been according them nothing worse than the honour due to them as the holy and blessed servants & friends of God. **

---

**The difference is very important, & not difficult to make. **

 

[Ronald_E]

Last week I went to visit my father in a nursing home. When I got there I asked him if there is anywhere he wanted to go? He said to church so I took him to the church we went to when I grew up but sadly it was locked even though it was the middle of the day. A gardner saw us and said we could go to the perpetual adoration chapel which was open.
My father and I went inside where the monstance was front and center with little kneeling pews and maybe 4 other people there. Im not going to argue about the monstance and the whole getup although I do believe it to be idolatry however I understand that Catholics believe it is not idolatry because of their beliefs.
The point of this post is there was one man maybe forty who had a dozen or so pictures of everything to the holy face of Jesus, Divine mercy, Virgin Mary. This man held these pictures as if they cards up to his face as he prayed, he also put some of the cards on the seat in front of him spread out so he could see them as he prayed at times he touched the pictures to his forehead.
I have been to many of the Catholic devotions throughout the years and there are some folks like this man tat are definitely over the top. At no time have I seen anyone correct these folks and if pictures of these types of beaviors are posted virtually every Catholic will defend this beavior.

Why?

He is doing nothing wrong. God knows what is in his heart. He loves everything and everybody associated with God. There is nothing wrong with his love for God. Do you see his love for God? I do. His love is innocent.

 

[Steven_John]

**I think you may have missed the point of my post to you
**

I agree with an earlier poster. This person is a troll. Goodbye.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll

Moses (pbwh) offers us that we are not bare false witness.

When i offer false witness except for the mercy of my God / Allah i fear it may be goodbye.

Is your God the God of Mosses (pbwh).

Jesus (pbwh) shared the same God, even when he met an adulterous woman he did not call her a name.

You may benefit to accept in your heart Jesus (pbwh) as the way, but don’t have to.

I intend offer to you in my posts peace.

I pray to Allah / God you accept it and share it this person you were posting to.

 

[Steven_John]

##** “Worship”** can be understood as being adoration alone, which is for God Alone - then again, **it can be understood as including the inferior honours which it is permitted to render to His servants, or to objects such as the Gospel-book (which is kissed at Mass). **

---

**So, someone who “owns up” to “worshipping” a Saint may have been giving them adoration: which would be very wrong indeed ; or, may have been according them nothing worse than the honour due to them as the holy and blessed servants & friends of God. **

---

**The difference is very important, & not difficult to make. **

This post has merit,

If Jesus (pbwh) was a submitter to God
and some one called him good
He should have corrected them and said no one is good but God.

If he had done this who should we honor for goodness in any of us including Jesus (pbwh)?

 

[mariyka]

**I think you may have missed the point of my post to you
**

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll

Moses (pbwh) offers us that we are not bare false witness.

When i offer false witness except for the mercy of my God / Allah i fear it may be goodbye.

Is your God the God of Mosses (pbwh).

Jesus (pbwh) shared the same God, even when he met an adulterous woman he did not call her a name.

You may benefit to accept in your heart Jesus (pbwh) as the way, but don’t have to.

I intend offer to you in my posts peace.

I pray to Allah / God you accept it and share it this person you were posting to.

Hello Steven John,

I think you may not understand the meaning of “troll” in forums. It doesn’t refer to the mythical monsters, but to an individual who “trolls”. Trolling is a method of fishing in which the bait is dropped off of the side of the boat and the boat is slowly moved so the bait attracts the fish without the fisherman having to do anything directly. They just wait until something bites the bait. So when the term “troll” is used, it means something is put forward intentionally to cause others to respond emotionally, and then to watch what happens.

It is not approved of, but neither are accusations of trolling.

Peace be unto you.

 

[JRKH]

Originally Posted by BSHoop96
oh really? Do all these Catholics you know tell you they are worshipping the statues?

Then as a Good Christian you can inform them that this is not in accordance with the teachings of the Church and that they should consult a Priest or other spiritual councilor.

Peace
James

 

[Steven_John]

Hello Steven John,

I think you may not understand the meaning of “troll” in forums. It doesn’t refer to the mythical monsters, but to an individual who “trolls”. Trolling is a method of fishing in which the bait is dropped off of the side of the boat and the boat is slowly moved so the bait attracts the fish without the fisherman having to do anything directly. They just wait until something bites the bait. So when the term “troll” is used, it means something is put forward intentionally to cause others to respond emotionally, and then to watch what happens.

It is not approved of, but neither are accusations of trolling.

Peace be unto you.

LOL that is so funny hey, sorry i did not understand.
We spell it trawling my wife tells me this means with net only

 

[Ronald_E]

I am getting more sure all the time, and I am leaning well toward atheism. I have lernt a lot here to convince me that God doesn’t exist.

If you are relying on people to convince you that God exists, good luck. Namesake, when others are kneeling at statues or pictures, it reminds them of who is with them in their hearts. That was the place I found God. When my heart opened through God’s influence in external events I found that God is Love. Any hardness in my heart causes me to lose sight of God.
When I see someone kneeling and praying before a statue or picture, I see someone who love’s God.

 

[bpbasilphx]

When I was a Baptist (back before I got saved), we said prayers to pieces of cloth.

They were brought up to the front of the church with great solemnity and worshiped with precise ritual gestures executed in unison on command of the leader: “Attenion! Salute! Pledge!”

The funny thing is that BOTH prayers began with the same words: I pledge allegiance… .

Why is this not idolatry?

 

[thirdn6]

This really happened. When I was in my twenties I used to hang out with my friends drinking. One time we had it at the back of a small catholic chapel. One guy was kind of drunk already but could still managed to walk. When we’re finished drinking and gathered to leave he swung by the front of the chapel and started cursing. He was yelling and kind of challenged the statues that if they could hear him they’d walk up and go out of the chapel. We were stunned of what he was doing. He wasn’t a catholic.

Not very long after that incident he contracted a disease. There appeared like boils in all parts of his body- head to toe! Skin infections maybe. He suffered for quite a while. I learned a few years later he died of that disease. Poor guy he never knew what hit him.

If he respected the statues inside our chapel (at least for what they represent) would he have not gotten that disease?

 

[jmcrae]

If he respected the statues inside our chapel (at least for what they represent) would he have not gotten that disease?

It’s tempting to think that there is a cause and effect relationship, but it’s actually more likely that he already had the disease, but just not the symptoms, yet, especially since he did not appear to be behaving rationally.

 

[c659smith]

This really happened. When I was in my twenties I used to hang out with my friends drinking. One time we had it at the back of a small catholic chapel. One guy was kind of drunk already but could still managed to walk. When we’re finished drinking and gathered to leave he swung by the front of the chapel and started cursing. He was yelling and kind of challenged the statues that if they could hear him they’d walk up and go out of the chapel. We were stunned of what he was doing. He wasn’t a catholic.

Not very long after that incident he contracted a disease. There appeared like boils in all parts of his body- head to toe! Skin infections maybe. He suffered for quite a while. I learned a few years later he died of that disease. Poor guy he never knew what hit him.

If he respected the statues inside our chapel (at least for what they represent) would he have not gotten that disease?

Why that is a horrible thing to say. the statues did not cause his desease and statues are not beings. Catholics do not pray to statues.

A statue is a work of art and allows one to have a human concept
of God. Remember God is “I Am” and the Father has never revealed himself to anyone.

As Humans we conceptualize with things we can feel and touch. We have faith and Christ as the Son of God came to earth as Man and God to open the gates of heaven that were closed. I do not know anyone that has seen a soul without a body.

There were many humans that led saintly lives and we do good to emmulate not only for their following and mirroring Christ’s steps but as leaders for the good of mankind.

Again these statues remind us to lead such a life. These Saints to include Joseph and Mary are in heaven with God for then as the Bible does state they are praying and with God so asking them to pray for us as we ask eachother to keep one another in our prayers is only common sense and not a ard concept, that we may be shielded from evil and harm from the devil. For we do not die in Christ but have eternal life.

 

[thirdn6]

No one knew how he got the disease. It wasn’t contagious, though. Like I said, he wasn’t a catholic. He didn’t have respect.

Weird thing is that his father is a church minister!

 

[redrosetea]

You really can’t disrespect a statue, but you can disrespect God, and His house…Statues are just statues…you can disrespect what they stand for, which is what I suspect you were really trying to say

 

[thirdn6]

You really can’t disrespect a statue, but you can disrespect God, and His house…Statues are just statues…you can disrespect what they stand for, which is what I suspect you were really trying to say

Maybe a wrong choice of word on my part . Like I said also, at least he should’ve respected what they (the statues) represent.

 

[c659smith]

Maybe a wrong choice of word on my part . Like I said also, at least he should’ve respected what they (the statues) represent.

I think maybe a better choice would have been the possibility of him being possessed by demons due to lack of faith and hate rather than a punishment for his disrespect.

 

[thirdn6]

I can say he was a good guy. he got along pretty well. had a good sense of humor. What’s inside of him spiritually, I didn’t know. He just exploded and started cursing. If it was a punishment, what’s the reason for being punished… of death?