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Some anti-Catholics still propagate a lie that Catholics worship statues of the Virgin Mary and other saints, in direct contradiction to the Second Commandment; "Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath. . .Thou shall not bow down thyself to them nor serve them." (Exodus 20: 4-5; Deuteronomy 5: 8-9)
Response: First of all, Catholics consider that injunction against idolatry part of the First Commandment , not the Second. The 10 Commandments are nowhere numbered in the text of the Scripture, so Catholics, Protestants and Jews each number them differently. Catholics consider, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" and "Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image.." to be one command, while most Protestant divide them into two. Second, the Baltimore Catechism, a Catholic religious textbook used for decades to educate Catholic children in the Faith, says, "we do not pray to the crucifix or to the images of Christ and of the saints, but of the person whom they remind us." (I, q. 96) This is the official teaching of the Church, we do not worship statues, we used them to remind us of our beloved family in heaven, even as you might look at a photo of a relative when he or she is far away. We are familiar with that commandment and would never pray to a plaster statues, since the statue itself can do nothing. USING THE STATUE IS NOT IDOLATRY God was forbidding idolatry, not the mere making of images. That's why he added the words, "Thou shall not bow down to them nor worship them." He doesn't want us to make images for the purpose of idolatrous worship. This commandment doesn't apply to artwork, like Michelangelo's David, or monument like the Lincoln Memorial or the Statue of Liberty, since none of these images are intended for idolatrous worship. And since we Catholics, do not worship our holy images. This commandment doesn't apply to Catholic practice either. The images of Saints are not idols therefore it is allowed just like God allowed the images of Cherubim. Cherubim are heavenly creatures and they, too, are saints because they are all holy. The word idolatry comes from two words "idol" and "latria". Latria is a Latin word which means adoration. Catholics gave "latria" ALONE to God. The saints are not idols and the kind of act we give to them and their images is called in Latin as "Dulia" which means veneration. In case you do not know, St. Paul already gave the definition of idol, he said, "We know that an IDOL is without existence..." (1Cor 8:4 CCB). Our Saints are real people with real existence therefore they are not idols. Most of all, Catholics do not consider them as gods but fellow citizens in heaven who already have gone before us. We love and praise them because their lives are worthy of emulation. St. Paul said, "I implore you, dearly beloved, do as I do" (Gal. 4:12). By the way for your information, the term idol does not only mean graven images. It could mean "money" (Eph. 5:5) or immoral acts, "Therefore, put to death what is earthly in your life, that is immorality, impurity, inordinate passions, WICKED DESIRES and GREED WHICH IS A WAY OF WORSHIPPING IDOLS" (Col. 3:5 emphasis mine). "THOU SHALT NOT MAKE UNTO THEE ANY GRAVEN IMAGE"! If God really intended to ban all images, then why did he later command the Israelites to make images of angels to adorn the Tabernacle? In Exodus 25:18, shortly after issuing the commandment in question, God says "Thou shalt make also two cherubims of gold: of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat." These cherubim of the Ark were images of things in heaven above," and so seemingly prohibited by Exodus 20:4-5! Question: Is God contradicting himself? The answer is NO, for although they were intended for use in the Tabernacle, and thus had a religious purpose, they were not themselves objects of worship! Again, in Numbers 21:8-9, when the Israelites were plague by serpents, the Lord told Moses: Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon the pole: and it shall come to pass that everyone who is bitten, when he look upon it, shall live. " Moses did so, and people were healed by looking on it! If God opposed all images, why would he have chosen to heal his people through one, and even made it a type of the Messiah (John 3:14-15)? 1 Kings 6:29 tells us that the walls of the Temple were covered with "carved figures of cherubims, and palm trees, and open flowers, within and without." These are likeness of things in heaven and on earth! 1 Chronicles 28:18-19 indicates that King David made numerous gold and silver images to adorn the future temple, and that he did so according to God's command (v 19). And 2 Chronicles 3: 10-13 informs us that Solomon has 2 huge golden statues of angels constructed for the Holy of holies. Nowhere does God ever object to this proliferation of images in the Temple of Jerusalem, in fact his blessing of the Temple implies divine pleasure with the whole thing (2 Chronicles 7:18). Many Catholic Churches are similarly filled with holy images; indeed, the Temple of Solomon resembles a Catholic Church more than a typical Protestant one
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October 2016
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