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Do Catholics Worship Statues?
Nativity scenes at Christmas. Protestants have them so do they worship idols?
Do Catholic's worship statues or other holy objects?
The answer is NO! To do so would be a sin against the 1st commandment. Unfortunately, Catholics are sometimes accused of worshiping statues, images, and relics by those who do not understand the Catholic Faith. To be clear, having or making images does not go against scripture and does not equate to worshiping idols. Statues in Catholic Churches are simply art that reminds us of Jesus, The Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, Saints, and Angels. Catholics do not worship these statues in any way. We all have photo’s of our family members, but we obviously do not worship the photo or the family member. Catholic statues and art simply remind us of our heavenly family members which include Jesus, Mary, the Saints, and the Angles.
Bible verses that back up the Catholic tradition of statues and other forms of sacred art:
“And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end; of one piece with the mercy
seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the
faces of the cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark; and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between
the two cherubim that are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you of all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel.” (Ex 25:18-22) God commands sacred images to be made.
”And the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” (Numbers 21:8-9)
“In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high. Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house; and the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house. And he overlaid the cherubim with gold. He carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms.” (1 Kings 6:23-29)
“On them he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied upon the carved work.” (1 Kings 6:35)
“and on the panels that were set in the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim. Upon the frames, both above and below the lions and oxen, there were wreaths of beveled work.” (1 Kings 7:29) Solomon's temple: statues and images commanded by God.
”And God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.” (Acts 19:11-12) Paul's handkerchiefs and apron cure sickness.
“So Eli'sha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. And as a man was being buried, lo, a marauding band was seen and the man was cast into the grave of
Eli'sha; and as soon as the man touched the bones of Eli'sha, he revived, and stood on his feet.” (2 Kg 13: 20-21) Elisha's bones.
“so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and pallets, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them. The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.” (Acts 5:15- 16) Peter's shadow heals.
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