deb7648 said:
Im fairly new in the lord and have many ?
one is if the bible speaks against graven images
why do so many churchs have crucifix's
statues of mary large picture's of christ.
thanks for helping me understand
hi deb
I know your question has been answered to your satisfaction, but I would like to add a litte more that might also be helpful.
Iollain hit it for you to help you see that indeed, it is how the images are used that is the issue, not the images themselves.
But then there was some confusion later about 'bowing down" to images . . .
If you go back to the 10 Commandments where it says
Thou shalt not make any graven images, niether shalt thou bow down to them or worship them
Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exo 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:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
we have to make sure that we are understanding exactly what is being said and not being said.
A graven image was not simply an image. It was an object made of wood, stone or metal with the purpose that the object itself, would become a god.
So a graven image is an idol as understood at the time this commandment was given. An idol was one of these objects. The objects did not "represent" a god . .. the object itself WAS the god.
Understanding this puts verse 5 into perspective.
We are not to bow down to, or serve, these idols .. objects of wood, stone or meta, which were, THEMSELVES, gods.
The images used in Christianity are not objects that are believed to be GODS THEMSELVES, any more than a picture of someone you love is believed to be a god itself.
So these images don't come under any ban of being made, or even being bowed down in front of.
If a christian kneels down in front of a crucifix, that christian knows that the crucifix is simply a material object with no power of its own . . it is NOT a god itself.
But as a chirstian looks upon a crucifix, and contemplates what Jesus did on the cross now visually represented before his eyes, it is perfectly natural to kneel in adoration of JESUS HIMSELF and to pray to JESUS HIMSELF before a crucifix.
Too many are too quick to judge
on appearances, and too quick to judge someone guilty of worshipping an object. But worship is
an intent of the heart, and unless one can see into another's heart, they can't know, and to presume the worst is to be uncharitable.
LOVE:1Co 13:5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
1Co 13:7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Love does no wrong to one's neighbor, but when some 'well meaning', but poorly informed, christians accuse their brethern of worshipping idols simply because they kneel before God in front of a crucifix or an icon or other religious image, they do harm, they wrongly think evil of their brother's intentions, they wrongly believe something evil about them.
Just remember that worship is an issue of the heart, of what is happening on the inside, and not an issue of meere appearances on the outside. No Chirstian worships an image in violation of God's command in Exodus . . they can't, for they never make such an image into a god.
Peace
