A STRAIGHT ANSWER TO QUESTION; Did GOD really condemn the making of any Images and Statues? Ex 20:2-5 - I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me. Answer: Absolutely NO! Let us read 1st Deut 5:7 that states “You shall not have other gods besides me. On this verse it quite clear what GOD has prohibited, it is the WORSHIP to any gods not the making of Image and statues as a whole. On 1 KINGS 6 God commands Solomon to make images of things in both “heaven above” and “the earth beneath.” 1 KINGS 6:12-13 “Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou will walk in my statues, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee....” It is very clear again “if thou will walk in my statues”, on this passage it is very clear that there are certain statues that GOD not only permit to create but He himself commanded to create w/c is His HOLY STATUES. The Ark of the Covenant would be placed in the temple Solomon was building, and it would be the center of the worship of God’s chosen people. Notice in verses 23 - 32 the commands God makes on how the interior of the temple should be built with figures, carvings, etc. And notice in I KINGS 9:3 how God is pleased with Solomon making graven images for the Temple. “I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there forever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.” It is obvious - God is not saying we cannot have statues and is saying we cannot worship them. 1 Kings 7:29 - God commands the making of images… even images to be placed in the Holy Temple. If images and statues were inherently evil, why would God insist they be crafted and placed in his Holy Temple? Put this in our minds and HEART, It is the worship of images of idols that God forbids. As Christians, we use statues and paintings to show honor to those who were faithful to God, and to remind us of those we love. Praying before a statue of Jesus does not imply we are worshiping the statue any more than someone kneeling and praying with a Bible in hand is worshiping the Bible. 2 Kings 13:21 - Relics are not just items of superstition. Many people throughout the centuries have been healed by God through bone fragments or pieces of clothing belonging to holy men and women. God uses any means He chooses to bestow His Grace upon His people. As God’s creatures, God sometimes communicates to us through our senses using material objects. This is just one Scriptural example of how God brought about miracles using the bones of a saintly person. How about bowing to statues, thus GOD prohibited the bowing to any Images and statues? Again NO! Absolutely NO! As Exodus 20:5 is stated- do not bow down or serve statues, it does not mean literally not to bow down or serve. What this verse really means is that we are not allowed to WORSHIP them. To WORSHIP graven images is what this verse means and not literally bowing down. The action of bowing to people or even Holy Images or Statues is just to pay respect to the person represented by it. If bowing means worshiping then there are a lot of people in the Bible that already SINNED because of bowing or serving. Let us read the following verses; Genesis 33:3 Jacob bows down to Esau, the person, seven times. Genesis 27:29 May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed and those who bless you be blessed. 1king 1:23 the prophet Nathan bows down to before King David. As we can read on the verses above, bowing and serving is not literally mean worshiping but just to pay respect and honor. Of course the WORSHIP only belongs to GOD and we Catholics Christians understand this very well. Now let us read 1 Kings 7:29 - on the borders that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. On the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work. It is very clear that it does not mean we should not have images and statues. If so then God would contradict Himself, and we know God does not do that in the Bible and His teachings. He is not strict and absolute in the context of this teaching. Just 5 chapters later - God gives Moses explicit instructions on how to construct the “Ark of the Covenant.” Exodus 25:17-19 this was to contain the presence of God and was to be venerated as the holiest place in all of Israel. Absolutely God not only allow us but HE commands us the making of images… even images to be placed in the Holy Temple. If images and statues were inherently evil, why would God insist they be crafted and placed in his Holy Temple? Again it is the worship of images of idols that God forbids. How about praying in front of the Holy Images and Statues? Again NO! Praying in front of Holy Images and Statues does not mean worshiping them. Praying before a statue of Jesus does not imply that we are worshiping the statue any more than someone kneeling; if this is the case then praying with a Bible in hand would also mean worshiping the Bible. Now let’s read again 1 Kings 6:12 - ‘Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes, obey my ordinances, and keep all my commandments by walking in them, then I will establish my promise with you, which I made to your father David. (NRSV) I KINGS 6 - God commands Solomon to make images of things in both “heaven above” and “the earth beneath” I KINGS 6:12-13 “Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou will walk in my statues, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee....” The Ark of the Covenant would be placed in the temple Solomon was building and it would be the center of the worship of God’s chosen people. Notice in verses 23 - 32 the commands God makes on how the interior of the temple should be built with figures, carvings, etc. And notice in I KINGS 9:3 how God is pleased with Solomon making graven images for the Temple. “I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there forever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.” It is obvious - God is not saying we cannot have statues - He is saying we cannot worship them. 1 Kings 7:29 God commands the making of images… even images to be placed in the Holy Temple. If images and statues were inherently evil, why would God insist they be crafted and placed in his Holy Temple? It is the worship of images of idols that God forbids. As Catholics, we use statues and paintings to show honor to those who were faithful to God, and to remind us of those we love. Praying before a statue of Jesus does not imply we are worshiping the statue any more than someone kneeling and praying with a Bible in hand is worshiping the Bible. 2 Kings 13:21 - Relics are not just items of superstition. Many people throughout the centuries have been healed by God through bone fragments or pieces of clothing belonging to holy men and women. God uses any means He chooses to bestow His grace upon His people. As God’s creatures, God sometimes communicates to us through our senses using material objects. This is just one Scriptural example of how God brought about miracles using the bones of a saintly person.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 09:20:33 +0000
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