Idol worship was rampant at the time God gave Moses the 10 commandments when many people throughout the lands did not know the true God. People were worshiping images and idols in the form of birds, animals, reptiles, and a host of other things. These images were worshiped as though they were divinities, and many people were offering sacrifices to them. These images were in fact “graven images” which represented a rejection of the true God, and that is why worship of an “image” as a "divinity" is always a violation of the first commandment which forbids us to worship false gods.
Protestants accuse Catholics of worshiping "Graven Images" and use these verses to make their claim:
In Exodus 20: 4-5 we read:
4: “"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.”
5: “You shall not bow down to them or serve them."
And in Exodus 32:31 we read:
31: “Alas, this people have sinned a great sin; they have made for themselves gods of gold.”
Let us be perfectly clear. The Pagans HAD TO BE WARNED against the sin of idolatry which they were committing, but to accuse Catholics of being Idolaters because they have images of Christ, and the Saints, is based on a “misunderstanding” of what the Bible actually says about the purpose and uses of Statues.
God did NOT forbid the use of STATUES for RELIGIOUS worship. He did NOT forbid the use of images if they are not worshiped as false gods.
There is a difference between an “image” and a “graven image,” and there is a difference between an “image” and an “idol.”
In fact, God ordered them to be made!
Is there any scriptural evidence to prove this? Yes, there is plenty.
In Exodus 25:18-20 we read:
18: “And you shall make two Cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.”
19: “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.”
20: “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.”
I would like to note that Angels do not have wings, nor do they have bodies. They are spiritual realities. Nevertheless, God ordered that a physical representation of Angels be made in bodily form and be present when He was worshiped as the true God.
What makes these Cherubim different from the golden calf hammered out by Aaron?
The golden calf was an image used to worship false gods and this makes it a graven image. It was an idol used in the worship of demons. The images God commanded to be made for the Ark of the Covenant represented spiritual realities that are not worshiped as God, and that is the difference.
Then there is the Bronze Serpent that the faithful looked upon in the desert to be healed.
In Numbers 21:9 we read:
9: “Moses therefore made a BRAZEN SERPENT, and SET IT UP FOR A SIGN: which when they were bitten looked upon, they were HEALED.”
We also see that David gave Solomon the plan to build an altar of incense using “images.”
In 1st Chronicles 28:18-19 we read:
18: “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.”
In 2nd Chronicles 3:6–14 we see the same, and I would like the to note several things which I will point out.
7: “The house, its beams and thresholds, as well as its walls and its doors, he overlaid with gold, and he engraved Cherubim upon the walls.” (The gold was from Parvaim.)
Please note: Solomon “engraved images” and God did NOT regard them as “graven images.” And these images were of Angels in a BODILY FORM OF A MAN.
8: “He also made the room of the Holy of Holies. Its length corresponded to the width of the house, twenty cubits, and its width was also twenty cubits. He overlaid it with fine gold to the amount of six hundred talents.”
9: “The weight of the nails was fifty gold shekels. The upper chambers he likewise covered with gold.”
10: “For the room of the Holy of Holies he made two Cherubim of carved workmanship, which were then overlaid with gold.”
Did you see that? He “carved images” and “overlaid them with gold.”
Please note the immensity of these images in the next verse, and I would like to point out to Protestants that the wings of these two images spanned about 30 feet in total. God was not jealous that “images” were to be seen in His presence. In fact, He directed David and Solomon to make them.
12: “one wing of each Cherub, five cubits in length, extended to a wall of the building, while the other wing, also five cubits in length, touched the corresponding wing of the second Cherub.”
13: “The combined wingspread of the two cherubim was thus twenty cubits. The Cherubim stood upon their own feet, facing toward the nave.”
14: “He made the veil of violet, purple, crimson and fine linen, and had Cherubim embroidered upon it.”
And in verse 19 we read:
19: “All this he made clear by the writing from the hand of the LORD concerning it, all the work to be done according to the plan.”
All of this was done by the “Hand of the Lord.”
Protestants reject images made in the “likeness” of something. In fact, the “likenesses” fill the entire room. There is irrefutable evidence that they have no claim against “likenesses.”
We read in Ezekiel 41:17-22:
17: “to the space above the door, even to the inner room, and on the outside. And on all the walls round about in the inner room and the nave were carved “LIKENESSES.”
And as to “Carved Images” Protestants are wrong yet again.
In verses 18-22 we read:
18: “of cherubim and palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Every cherub had two faces.”
19: “the face of a man toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. They were carved on the whole temple round about”
20: “from the floor to above the door cherubim and palm trees were carved on the wall.”
21: “The doorposts of the nave were squared; and in front of the holy place was something resembling”
22: “an altar of wood, three cubits high, two cubits long, and two cubits broad; its corners, its base, and its walls were of wood. He said to me, “This is the table which is before the LORD.”
When you look at the sanctuary in a Catholic Church it is fashioned in the EXACT same manner as the Holy of Holies, and the Tabernacle. It is in keeping with the Covenant of God because this is where the fulfillment of the Old Covenant takes place.
In Hebrews 9:6 we read:
6: “These preparations having thus been made, the priests go continually into the outer tent, performing their ritual duties”
So then, when Protestants accuse Catholics of idol worship because images of angels and saints are present in a Catholic Church it is because they have failed to see the Scriptural evidence which supports this and the reasons for it.
Images of Angels represent real Angels which are present when God is worshiped in the Mass just as they were when He was worshiped in the Holy of Holies in the Old Covenant.
We also have evidence of “Bowing Down” before the “Temple,” and, as we have seen, the Temple has “Images” in them.
In Psalm 5:7 we read:
7: “But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I BOW DOWN towards YOUR HOLY TEMPLE.”
In Revelations 3:9 we read:
9: “Behold, I will make those of the assembly of Satan who claim to be Jews and are not, but are lying, behold I will make them come and FALL PROSTRATE (bow down – proskuneo) at your feet, and they will realize that I love you.”
And in Luke 15:25 we read:
25: “But she came and began to BOW DOWN (bow down – proskuneo) before Him, saying, “Lord, help me.”
In Luke 24: 4-5 we read:
4: “And it came to pass, as they were astonished in their mind at this, behold, two men stood by them, in shining apparel.”
5: “And as they were afraid, and BOWED DOWN THEIR COUNTENANCE towards the ground, they said unto them: Why seek you the living with the dead?”
Why didn't the Angels admonish them for BOWING DOWN TO THEM?
In Ecclesiasticus 4:7 we read:
“Make thyself affable to the congregation of the poor, and humble thy soul to the ancient, and BOW THY HEAD to a great man.”
And in Genesis 49: 8 we read:
8: “Juda, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hands shall be on the necks of they enemies: the sons of thy father shall BOW DOWN to thee.”
Let us look now at what Scripture says about “relics.”
In 2nd Kings 13: 20-21 we read:
20: “The man was cast into the grave of Elisha; and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, HE REVIVED, and stood on his feet.”
In Acts 19:12 we read:
12: “So that even there were brought from his body to the sick, handkerchiefs and aprons, and the DISEASES departed from them, and the wicked spirits went out of them.”
And what about things like “Shadows.”
In Acts 5:15 we read:
15: “So that when Peter went by, that at least his SHADOW might fall on one or another of them … and they were ALL CURED.”
In Matthew 9: 21-22 we read:
21: “A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak .. “Woman your faith has saved you.”
And what about things like Aprons, and Handkerchiefs? We see they were even used in EXORCISMS.
In Acts 19: 11-12 we read:
11: “And God wrought by the hand of Paul more than common miracles.”
12: “So that even there were brought from his body to the sick, HANDKERCHIEFS and APRONS, and the diseases DEPARTED FROM THEM, and the wicked spirits went out of them.”
Protestants would do well if they went to the Catacombs to see how the “Early Christians” understood the matter of “Graven Images.” There are over 500 miles of Catacomb that they know of, and they have not excavated all of them to this day. The people of that day were giving their lives for the faith, they went “underground” to stay alive. There you will see IMAGES IN THE FORM OF PAINTINGS, STATUES, CARVINGS, AND EVERY FORM OF IMAGE YOU CAN THINK OF? You will see “Images” of Jesus and the Saints, and you will never say anything against the proper use of “Images” again.
We use statues, paintings, and other artistic devices to remind us of someone, or the depiction of something just like it helps YOU to remember your mother, or father, or someone you care about when you look at their photograph.
We built edifices and stained glass windows for the “Transmission of the Faith.” Every stained glass window and statue in medieval Churches told a story. Illiterate people could look at the pictures on the stained glass windows of the Church and understand the story. Not only were the statues and painting beautiful, they were also very functional. They told the Bible story and the Priest could point to them during his homilies. Statues and stained glass were for teaching tools and reminders.
If we walk around any classic sanctuary you'll see a statue, and each saint holding his symbol. A well trained Christian could learn the stories of all those saints, and pass them along to their children, even if he couldn't read. With a proper explanation one could learn the whole story of John the Baptist, along with all the relevant connections of his life to Christ. These are not “false images” to be worshiped, but reminders of the story of Salvation.
Let's not forget that there are many Protestants that have “pictures” of Jesus and other Biblical “pictures” when they teach Sunday school. Some even use Nativity scenes. If one measured Protestants by the same rule, then by using these “graven images” they would be practicing the “idolatry” of which they accuse Catholics.
When they watch television and view the movie “The Passion” they are watching “Images” of Jesus.
You hold a Bible when you read it, and you venerate a book because you regard it to be Sacred text. That text is ink in the form of symbols that correlate to images of words, sentences, and paragraphs. Well, images of “text” or “saints” are the same thing.
Rest assured, that Catholic Church teaches,
From the Council of Trent:
“Idolatry is committed by worshiping idols and images as God, or believing that they possess any divinity or virtue entitling them to our worship, by praying to, or reposing confidence in them.” (1566, 374)
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:
“Idolatry is a perversion of man's innate religious sense. An idolater is someone who “Transfers his indestructible notion of God to anything other than God.” (CCC 2114)
The making and use of religious statues and images is a thoroughly biblical practice. Anyone who says otherwise does not know his Bible.
Roger L.
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