Christianity and the graven image

[aussieboy]

The Church CivGeneral and I adhere to derive its teachings from the Bible and tradition.

Now, on the graven image. We don't worship the crucifix, or the Madonna, though it may seem that way. If the crucifix at my church were destroyed, would God's presence be any less? No! It is just something to remind us about god, like a flag reminds you of a country.

And the 'pray to' is a mistranslation of what actually means 'request'. I'm not going on biblical grounds. I'm going on tradition.

 

[GenMarshall]

That's why I don't wear my gold necklace cross anymore or go to Catholic Church.

Actualy, wearing a cross does not consitutes as idolitary. Plus the Catholic Church also does not practace idolitary, as other Catholics such as assieboy and I have pointed out.

 

[aneeshm]

Context man, context. You can't understand anything if you don't know the context, and Scripture is no exception. Let's look at the next sentence, in Exodus 20:5 - "You shall not bow down to them or worship them....."

So in other words, the problem is not making images of things, it's of worshipping them. Unless you're worshipping the cross, there's no problem is having big crosses all over the place. As Cgannon said, it's a symbol of Christ's sacrafice, not an idol.

How , then , are you different from the Hindus , who have never worshipped an idol for its own sake , but have always used it as a tool to focus their attention on the paramatman ?

 

[The Last Conformist]

Exodus 20:4
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Leviticus 26:1
Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.

My question is mainly directed at Christians, but of course anyone is welcome to chime in, as long as it doesnt turn into an attack on Christianity, thats not my intention.

How does Christianity reconcile these prohibitions in the Scripture against the worship of graven images, and the veneration of the crucifix? In most denominations, an enormous graven image of Jesus on the cross is the focal point of the church. Is there soime sort of accepted theological explanation for that apparent contradiction?

I find it somewhat odd that no-one of the Christians here seems to have brought up what I understood to have been the standard explanation for the past 1300 years or so; you shan't make an image of God the Father, for He is transcedent and beyond depiction, but the Son, being fully human, can be depicted just like any other human being.

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

I think that it is safe to say, based on my observations, that some Catholics (by no means all, or even most) are in fact worshipping Mary and the saints, and moving toward idolatry. Even if it against Church rules, I have still seen it. The problem is that they have mistaken the symbol for the thing symbolized. Humans of all types do this all the time.

Like Matt said, in LDS churches we don't use crosses, although this is also because we focus less on the crucifixion and more on the Resurrection. We have lots of pictures, but they are just visual aids.

 

[aussieboy]

I think that it is safe to say, based on my observations, that some Catholics (by no means all, or even most) are in fact worshipping Mary and the saints, and moving toward idolatry. Even if it against Church rules, I have still seen it. The problem is that they have mistaken the symbol for the thing symbolized. Humans of all types do this all the time.

Well, what did you expect? Not all 1 billion of us are familiar with church rules, and some are bound to unwittingly cross doctrinal lines.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

I think that it is safe to say, based on my observations, that some Catholics (by no means all, or even most) are in fact worshipping Mary and the saints, and moving toward idolatry. Even if it against Church rules, I have still seen it. The problem is that they have mistaken the symbol for the thing symbolized. Humans of all types do this all the time.

Kinda true, i get a little worried when i see the zeal of some catholic latin americans during some religious festivals on the news ...

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

Well, what did you expect? Not all 1 billion of us are familiar with church rules, and some are bound to unwittingly cross doctrinal lines.

Not to sound like I am criticizing, but I have seen certain groups where it is the norm and even seems to be encouraged by church leaders. But again, it is hardly surprising; anytime you have an area or demographic group where most of the people are members of one particular religion, those members will tend to act strangly. That is why most Muslim fundamentalists are in Muslim-majority nations, or Mormons in Utah are so wierd.

 

[El_Machinae]

Well, what did you expect? Not all 1 billion of us are familiar with church rules, and some are bound to unwittingly cross doctrinal lines.

Not to harp, but Bozo's point about the Ten Commandments being rather basic tenents seem to indicate that we're interpreting things rather differently.