Do Catholics worship statues?
By Tom Quiner
No, Catholics do not worship statutes.
Never have. Never will.
As much as I love my Protestant brothers and sisters, I do get frustrated when they cling to such inaccurate perceptions about the faith to which I converted.
I turn to the excellent resource, Catholic Answers, for an explanation for Catholic belief regarding this issue:
“Catholics worship statues!” People still make this ridiculous claim. Because Catholics have statues in their churches, goes the accusation, they are violating God’s commandment: “You shall not make for yourself a graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: you shall not bow down to them or serve them” (Ex. 20:4–5); “Alas, this people have sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold” (Ex. 32:31).
It is right to warn people against the sin of idolatry when they are committing it. But calling Catholics idolaters because they have images of Christ and the saints is based on misunderstanding or ignorance of what the Bible says about the purpose and uses (both good and bad) of statues. ”
People who oppose religious statuary forget about the many passages where the Lord commands the making of statues. For example: “And you shall make two cherubim of gold [i.e., two gold statues of angels]; 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 of 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” (Ex. 25:18–20).
David gave Solomon the plan “for the altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. All this he made clear by the writing of the hand of the Lord concerning it all, all the work to be done according to the plan” (1 Chr. 28:18–19). David’s plan for the temple, which the biblical author tells us was “by the writing of the hand of the Lord concerning it all,” included statues of angels.
Similarly Ezekiel 41:17–18 describes graven (carved) images in the idealized temple he was shown in a vision, for he writes, “On the walls round about in the inner room and [on] the nave were carved likenesses of cherubim.”
Read more here.
The sad fact is that Protestants must believe these lies about Catholics, otherwise they would have to face the fact that they themselves are heretics following a false religion. It’s a waste of time for a Catholic to explain anything about Catholicism to them. They prefer to listen to non-Catholics, because the lie is the very basis and context of Protestantism. The only sin in their religion is the telling of the truth, and for this reason they love Francis, a truly Protestant ‘Pope’.
Please explain the statement, “Otherwise they would have to face the fact that they themselves are heretics following a false religion.” Well, I don’t follow a religion, but rather Christ, who was crucified for my sins, rose on the third day, ascended to heaven, and one day, will come back for His children. So, if I’m to be classified as a heretic, well, Christ endured much more, than being called a heretic. Blessings.
Sounds to me like you’re on the right path. I appreciated the opportunity to answer your question. Catholics consider Protestants to be our brothers and sisters in the faith. I’m not sure to what she referred in her use of the word “heretic.” There are Catholics and Protestants alike who embrace heresies. Your description of your faith was Christianity 101. Way to go!
Thank you for your support. Blessings.
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I have a question. When my friend got married at a Catholic church, he and his bride stood in front of a statue of Mary, and bowed down to it. What is this rite all about? I have never understood it. BTW, I used to be the official Organist for the Catholic Charismatic conventions at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Great fellowship.
The simple answer is veneration, not worship.
Thank-you. You know. It doesn’t matter what denomination one is, as long as you believe that Christ is the only way to heaven. I’m a protestant, and I don’t go for attacks. God Bless my Catholic brethren. Blessings.
Thank-you.
Taking down heretics and taking names! Go, you!
Thank-you, Ms. Contrite Catholic. This convert has much to be contrite about, too. I like to clear the air about the many Catholic misperceptions which abound with our Protestant brothers and sisters, some of which I once bought into.
Seriously, I’m always stunned how many congregations in this branch take special time to bash Catholics. It’s like they have to insight fear, so no one comes and looks! Having said this, even within the church, I find lots of misconceptions and just bad information. It’s sad ?
And sadly too many Catholics are just as bad. I heard of a recent poll that said over half of Catholics thought that Pope Francis said gay marriage is okay.
As one who was raised Evangelical Protestant, I heard every lie about Catholics and Catholicism many, many times before I ever got to know any Catholics personally (which didn’t happen until I was in my teens, if you can believe that). I have managed to unlearn the nonsense I was taught about Catholicism, but it still annoys me when I hear ignorant people spouting off this kind of b.s.
I think most of the misinformation is based on pure ignorance. I try to use this blog to set the record straight on some of the very issues I was once ignorant on. Great to hear from you. Thanks!
Here’s the thing: When I was a kid, information was nowhere near as plentiful and readily available as it is today. Not knowing any actual Catholics myself, what little information I could get about Catholicism was all second-hand, from people (all of them Protestant) who (supposedly) knew more about the subject than I did. In other words, I had an excuse for my ignorance. Nowadays that excuse does not exist. If people cared to find out the truth, they could do so; if they persist in believing lies, it’s because they’re lazy or just don’t care.
That said, I appreciate your efforts at setting the record straight. My blogging buddy Chrissy the Hyphenated does the same thing quite often, which I also appreciate. Pushing back the frontiers of ignorance, one blog post at a time…
You’re spot on. I know some people want to believe the worst about Catholicism for all kinds of reasons. Those who are open to the Truth are surprised, usually pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the faith.