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| Image of the Mother of God and Jesus |
‘You shall have no other gods before Me.'
‘You shall not make for yourself an idol, or
any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in
the water under the earth. ‘You shall not worship them or serve them; for I,
the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on
the children, and on the third and the fourth generations of those who
hate Me, but showing loving kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and
keep My commandment.
Without fully understanding the context of the verses in the bible it is easy for anyone reading it to immediately conclude that the Catholic Church is guilty of Idolatry. This has been the sad state of the many religious sects and Bible Alone religion that proliferated during the Reformation Movement. The same movement has spawned thousands of Protestant denominations and independent religions each believing their own doctrines in accordance with their own interpretation of the bible. They have been brainwashed by their false pastors to be of only one-dimensional thinking and understanding of the scriptures. To these Protestant believers and non-Catholic religion we can hear the voice of Ezekiel saying "Son of man, you live in the midst of the rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, ears to hear but do not hear; for they are a rebellious house." (Ezekiel 12:2) They are the rebellious house for they came out of the Catholic Church in protest or rebellion against the Church of the Living God and put up their own rebellious houses or churches.
It is really unfortunate that because of the hardness of hearts of those who have been misled, they have closed their minds to the truth. Jesus said "You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God" (Matthew 22:29) This is the paradox of the so-called Bible alone believing Christians that by relying on their own interpretation of the scripture they instead fall into errors that drove them further away from the Church of the Living God, which is the Catholic Church, the body of Jesus Christ so that the words of the Lord now apply to them "You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life." (John 5:39-40) See that reading the scriptures and presuming you already have life in it is wrong, it is only through the Church which is the body of Jesus Christ that one has life and has the necessary means for salvation.
It is for you who are having a problem with the Catholic Church to whom this is written that you may view the accusation of idolatry against it in the light of the truth. Let us start.
WHAT IS IDOLATRY?
Put it simply Idolatry is the worship of idols as God. Without fully understanding what the meaning of idolatry is one can easily be misled that when they see Catholics, kneeling and bowing in the presence of the statues and images of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Saints in the Catholic Church they immediately conclude that the Church is teaching idolatry and that the Catholics are idolaters. But is it really idolatry? Is the Catholic Church guilty of worship of idols as to God? Let us examine it closely through the correct reading and understanding of the scripture.
The proper way and correct reading and understanding of the scripture is to take the context of the verses and cross-referenced them to other verses. If there are verses that seemed to us to be contradictory with another verse or verses, then our understanding of the verse is shallow because the word of God is truth and therefore it can't contradict itself. So if one verse seems to contradict another verse or one law seemed to have been contradicted by the act of God itself then that act of God by itself gives us the correct meaning of the word. The hidden meaning of the word of God, the mystery behind it is manifested by his own action and his visible works in people. Thus to help us understand what Idolatry is we have to see what God says and what are his works related to it. God can not say one thing and do another or that he will not command one thing at one time and do another thing in another time because God is also a God of time. He is eternal and he is not bound by time and space.
For the Catholic Church to commit Idolatry as alleged by its enemies it must be worshiping Idol. But the Catholic Church is not and never be worshiping idol because it is the church of the Living God founded by Jesus Christ and built through the acts of the Apostles and their successors. The Church and Jesus Christ are one so how can the Catholic Church in itself commit Idolatry? If it so then Jesus will be committing idolatry which is not only impossible but it is false to even think of it. God cannot worship another God because he is himself the object of worship. To be clear about it is this. the Catholic Church can not and can never commit idolatry because it is the body of Christ. The Church and Jesus are one. But Catholics, who are members of the Catholic Church may on their own, by their own error, commit Idolatry. The Catholics may in their hearts and there are indeed sects that continue to profess the Catholic Faith yet fall into error and commit Idolatry but the Church can not, will not, and never commit Idolatry. There is nothing in the doctrines of the Catholic Church that teaches the members to worship idols as God.
To understand what we are saying let us continue with our presentation. Idolatry has two elements involved - Worship and Idol. To judge rightly on who is committing idolatry we have to understand what worship and idol mean.
WHAT ARE IDOLS?
An idol is a person real or fiction, a thing, or idea that is
greatly admired, loved, and worshiped as a God. Idols are many things to many people and races. They may be physical images like icons and statues of persons which represent real people whether still living or who died with body and blood or persons who are not real but just a creation of fiction borne out of the imagination of stories of people that have been regarded as true in spite of the lack of evidence of their existence. They may be things, and animals or abstract images of money, power, or things people do to the point of worshiping them as God. Even a concept of an imaginary God is an idol.
Therefore idolatry can't be limited to just worshiping the visible
physical images but is far more than such an act.
In the Ten Commandment of God, he said "You shall not make for yourself an idol or
any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in
the water under the earth." Taking the verse alone without connecting it to other verses or to the context for which it was said we will end up with a contradictory command from God because, in the Book of Numbers, the same God commanded Moses to make an image of Seraph an ancient snake which he followed and place it on a Pole for those who were bitten by the snake to see and be healed according to the instruction given by God to Moses.
Now does God contradict himself because he commanded Moses the making of an image of a seraph or snake to be put on a pole for people to see and be healed but in another verse, he commanded not to make images or so it seemed according to the understanding of the Protestants? The answer is absolutely not because to God an idol is something that is worshiped by man and that to him is not acceptable for man should only worship Him, the true and only God and so he said you shall not make for yourself an idol. An idol in the said verse is one that is worshiped as God. To worship the image as God means to put our trust in the one we worship, meaning to have faith in the image itself the created being, and not in the True God.
There are two examples that we can learn from, one is the seraph made by Moses which was not worshiped as God but as a medicine according to God's command. Meaning the Seraph represents the Power of the one true God, when they look at the seraph they think of the one true God who has sent them the seraph as punishment for their sins, for their disobedience. In contrast, when they made the Golden Calf, they regarded it as true God which is false. They worship the image as their god not to give homage to the true God who made the animal but to give homage and adoration to the image of the golden calf itself which they truly believed as their God that is idolatry.
Therefore to qualify as an idol is to be worshiped as God. And this is what God hates for there is no other God but him and him alone. He revealed himself to man so that man will know who is the true God and who are idols or gods. In fact, until God gave the commandment, the people in the past were not guilty of idolatry because they did not know who the true God is. They knew there is God but did not know who he is until God revealed himself as the one true God. However an image is not an idol so long as it is not given worship as God itself. Therefore having an image in homes, in altars, and in churches does not qualify for idolatry as we have shown above. The image or statue by itself can not be called an idol unless it is truly worshiped as God.
WHAT IS WORSHIP?
Worship is defined to be the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity. A deity can be based on one’s religion a false God or a True God. For other religions, there is no false God because for them there are many gods and so there is no sin of idolatry in their religion. But for Christianity which originated from Judaism, there is a false God and there is only one true God. Both Judaism and Christianity believe in the SAME One God, the God of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac who is the true God and who showed himself to Moses. But then further on, Christ, who is the Son of God according to Christian Religion, revealed himself as the God Incarnate, a real person with two natures both God and Man. Becoming man, he made the Father known as the Father who art in heaven whom he introduced as the True God. Going further the Lord introduced the Holy Spirit as a Divine person so that sin against the Holy Spirit can't be forgiven. Jesus Christ has revealed to us the One True God that was not revealed yet in the days of Abraham and the Old Testament but in the fullness of time when God Incarnate came down to reveal himself. Thus by revelation through Jesus Christ, the true God is made and he is One God in three persons, The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Thus in the new Gospel of the Kingdom of God, Jesus made known to men that there are 3 Persons in ONE GODHEAD and without a doubt he is one Divine Person of the Godhead for he did not prevent the people from worshiping him. Otherwise, if Jesus is not God himself then he would have been guilty of blasphemy by allowing people to worship him. However, our Faith tells us that Jesus is a true God and True Man. He is the Immanuel of the prophecy, God with us.
When God became a true man with flesh and blood that can be killed as he too died on the cross, he was seen by the naked eyes in person by the witnesses. By becoming a man is Jesus an idol? Again absolutely not because an idol is a false god but Jesus is a true God, the Son of God who came from God not created but begotten. Begotten means reproduction of the Father. He came from the bosom of the Father who is God and therefore he is God from God who is Incarnate and became man.
To elucidate on this some more, man begets man and God begets God. No man can beget a God nor God begets a man. The Father did not create his own son, he begot his own son. In layman's terms, God reproduced another being from his own fullness as God. What he reproduced therefore should be the same God as himself. That is why Jesus has repeatedly said I come from the Father. No one has seen the Father but I and no one knows the Father but the son he said. The son is begotten not made therefore, the Son is God from God, Light from Light, of the same substance as the Father who begotten him.
Now the same God, the son, came down and born of the Virgin Mary and became a true man with flesh, blood, and soul. That is why the son is the true image of the Godhead, the Trinity for in him is the fullness of God, that has become visible with the naked eye when he took the form of a man but have not lost his divinity as God, the son of the Father. Having taken the form of a man can't we now make an image of God in the form of a man since he became a true human being? Of course, we can for how can we witness that God became man if we can't even see how he looks like?
Anyone therefore would preach that Jesus is the Son of God who became man maybe be asked by a pagan then what is he look like? Will you then answer, sorry I can't make an image of him because that is idolatry, what? Isn't that a contradiction of God's action and his commandment if we have to believe that carving an image of Jesus showing he became man is idolatry? How do we then convince a Pagan that we are telling the truth that Jesus really became man but we can't make an image of him?
It is but natural to think that indeed the Apostles must have been asked this question, how was Jesus looked like when he was still on earth and not yet ascended to heaven? And the answer must be, he looks just like us because he is a real and true human being, a true man with flesh and soul. Therefore the very act of the Son of God in becoming a man has resulted in a visible physical God in the flesh that has been seen by the naked eyes of the people who saw him and witnessed his wonders. The God who was an invisible spirit, non-corporeal became corporeal. He is God incarnate. He lived and dwelt with his people the Jews. And so the witnesses have to keep an image of what he looked like as part of their witnessing that they may believe that he is a historical figure who walked on the earth and not just a work of fiction. If the artists can draw and depict creations of God how can he now not make an image and statues of the God incarnate who lived and dwelt in us?
Can we, therefore, say that the statues and images of Jesus Christ are idols? It cannot be. When we look at the many images of Jesus made by man's hand and artistry which is a gift from God too, we don't behold the statue or the image per se, we behold Jesus Christ who is represented by images and statues who is the Son of living God; who is now sitting in the right hand of the Father in heaven with the glorified body of a resurrected man. When we pray and worship Jesus in the presence of his image or statue, we don't pray to and worship the statue or the image, but we pray to and worship the one represented by the Statue who is the true God, Jesus Christ. The one that is seen by our spirit by our soul not by our naked eye but by our unwavering faith. But then some fools will still ask can inanimate things Glorify the true God? The answer is yes. Even inanimate things and animals can behold the Glory of the true God.
Let's check the scripture:
As He (Jesus entered Jerusalem) rode along, the people spread their cloaks on the road. And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:
“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!” But Jesus answered “I tell you, if they remain silent, the very stones will cry out.” (Luke 19:36-44) What is that again let us repeat what the Lord said: "I TELL YOU IF THEY REMAIN SILENT, THE VERY STONES WILL CRY OUT!" Meaning even inanimate things are in continuous praising of God. The whole of creation in the heavens and on earth praise the Lord and Glorify him. He alone is glorified in all of his creation, YES EVEN BY THE VERY STONES THAT YOU CALL IDOLS! So it is not impossible by the power of God that even the statues fashioned out of the inanimate things created by God AND MADE INTO IMAGES BY MAN'S CREATIVE SPIRIT can glorify him if no one does. Psalm 148:7-10 attest to what Jesus said:
Praise the Lord from the earth,
you great sea creatures and all ocean depths,
lightning and hail, snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,
you mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds,
kings of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth
There are elements of worship to qualify it as true worship by the standard of our God. In Matthew 15:7-9 Jesus said “You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.” So by these words, Jesus is teaching us that there is false worship and that act of worshiping in itself does not make it true worship. But true worship is in the heart, in the mind, and in the soul of the person. Worship, therefore, is a true expression of reverence, admiration, and love of God that only God can judge.
Idolatry is not just an outward manifestation since an act of bowing or giving respect to a statue of a hero is not idolatry. Jesus said, “Show Me a Denarius, Whose image and inscription are on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they answered. So Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Jesus did not prevent them from having the image of Caesar on the coin. So the image or statue per se does not make an idol. If the Statue is that of a hero like Abraham Lincoln, Jesus would be asking whose image is that and the people will say Abraham Lincoln and Jesus will say then give to him the homage due to him as your hero. But when seeing the image of a Saint, Jesus may ask whose image is that? ah that is the image of St. Peter Lord. Will the Lord not also say, give to Peter what is Peter's meaning give him honor and respect because he is the head of the Church, the Shepherd I appointed to you? So the image and statue alone and giving homage and respect due to them does not make Idolatry only when we worship the image as God.
Giving tribute to great men does not mean an act of Idolatry. Idolatry has something to do with faith which is internal, coming from the heart. When a man believed that Buddha is a true God and he prays at the statue of Buddha with his mind and heart lifted up to Buddha as his god then he is committing idolatry. His idol is Buddha represented by its statue. The same is true with those who believe and put their trust in Hindu gods that are no different from the Israelites in Exodus who believed and put their faith in the Golden calf which they declare as their god. But is idolatry limited to praying and worshipping the statues and images of gods? No, it's not. When a Muslim prays to his Allah believing that it is the true God even without the statue of Allah, he is committing idolatry in his heart because Allah in the way it is perceived and believed by the Muslims is false God it is an Idol. Idolatry is not limited to the worship of statues and images of gods because it encompasses one's beliefs and faith in gods, not the true God of the Jews and Christians who made his name known YHWH.
Having icons, images, and statues of the "heroes" of Christianity who died for the faith and who dedicated their lives to the Faith is not Idolatry. Having the image and statue of Jesus Christ is not Idolatry because Jesus is the Son of God who became a true and real man with flesh and blood and therefore by becoming a man he has the image of a man. He can be portrayed as a man like us because he is a historical personality having founded his own Church. If we worship his image we are worshiping the True God who became man. He never denied anyone when he was still with us on earth worshiping him and rightly so because he is true God. In fact, an image that Glorifies the True God and revered by man is not an act of Idolatry but a tribute to the true God.
When a Catholic kneels in front of a statue and pray, God sees in his heart what he prays, and if he prays to give glory to him through the Statue of a saint that is not Idolatry because that is the same as a Jew praying in front of the Ark of the Covenant which gives glory to the true God. That is the same man who looks at the Golden Seraph in obedience to God's command given through Moses so he can be healed and be saved from sure death from the bite of the seraph snake. The men who looked at the image of the Seraph have their faith in God and not in the Seraph. So they did not commit idolatry.
Just like when man make statues and images of their country's heroes to be emulated by the next generations so too is the Catholic Church for the church is the Kingdom of God and it has its own heroes of the faith. The saints whose lives serve as examples of how to live as Christians. Whose unwavering faith chose death than to deny Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They are heroes worthy of being emulated and followed. Thus the saints are portrayed in statues, icons, paintings, and other media as heroes of the faith. They have passed the test of faith and lived heroic virtues of Christians in total obedience to the Lord. Catholics give them honor and devotion for what they have accomplished in their lives of true faith and since we profess that the Church is a communion of saints, the Holy Ones those who are still with us and those who have gone ahead of us awaiting the coming again of the Lord in his Kingdom here on earth we pray for their prayers and intercession. Because the prayer of the righteous man is powerful according to St. James. But then one fool will ask how can a dead saint pray for us?
You profess to be a Christian yet you cant still believe that in Jesus Christ even if we die the physical death, we still live. In him, we have eternal life and the saints all continue to hear us and pray for us in heaven. But then again another unbelieving Christian will say the dead knows nothing. They are dead. Come on now, the scriptures will bear us out that the dead know a lot of things. Samuel who was dead was called back through a medium and he was able to prophesy about the death of King Saul and his son. Moses together with Elijah was seen conversing with Jesus in the Transfiguration. And did not Jesus say, you say things because you don't understand the scripture, when we die, we become like angels and angels do hear the prayers of the people who then bring it up to God?
Therefore hear and understand that asking saints to intercede for us in prayer is not idol worship but a glorification of God for he is glorified whenever we acknowledge the good works he did in the lives of the saints. The saints represented by the images and statues are not the object of worship but God who continuously giving favor to the saint even in the death of the saint.
Here are the examples in the scripture of the relics of the saints that did wonders:
In 2 Kings 2:9-14, the prophet Elisha picked up the mantle of Elijah after Elijah had been taken up to heaven in a whirlwind. With it, Elisha struck the water of the Jordan, which then parted so that he could cross.
In another passage in 2 Kings (13:20-21), some people hurriedly bury a dead man in the grave of Elisha, "but when the dead man body came in contact with the bones of Elisha, he came back to life and rose to his feet."
In the Acts of the Apostles we read, "Meanwhile, God worked extraordinary miracles at the hands of Paul. When handkerchiefs or cloths which had touched his skin were applied to the sick, their diseases were cured and evil spirits departed from them" (Acts 19:11-12).
All three passages witness to the power of God working even on the relics of the saints - parts of their body, their clothing, even things that touched their skin, miracles were manifested in them. Somehow the holiness of the saints and God's work on them continue to live even in their deaths. And so with confidence having learned of the power of God to the saints, we pray for them to help us find favor in God as intercessors like Job who God asked to intercede for his friends who offended God in their reasoning to him. God said only if Job will pray for them will he forgive them.
The role of statues and images is not to be worshiped as God but to inspire others to be like them who were found worthy to be in the Kingdom of God and into eternal life. We are drawn closer to God through the inspiration of how they lived and served God and even after their deaths. This should be the right perspective and right understanding of the Statues and images of the saints. They are not idols and the Catholic church does not teach idolatry or guilty of idolatry, never.
By Bro. Manny Chief Apologist
Copyright © 2016 by ONE TRUE FAITH
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