January 12, 2012
Rev. Francis J. Hoffman explains why the faithful can venerate images while not disobeying the second commandment.
As an ex-Catholic, this photo breaks my heart. Dear Catholic people, be set free from idolatry and follow the true Jesus of Nazareth!Fr Francis, director of Relevant Radio, stated that it is now acceptable to venerate graven images, because we beheld the face of Christ in His incarnation.
The question Fr. Francis was answering was from a person wondering if the Catholic Church would consider taxidermy graven images. The priest quoted from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
2130 Already in the Old Testament, God ordained or permitted the making of images that pointed symbolically toward salvation by the incarnate Word: so it was with the bronze serpent, the Ark of the Covenant, and the cherubim.
2131 Basing itself on the mystery of the incarnate Word, the seventh ecumenical council at Nicaea (787) justified against the iconoclasts the veneration of icons – of Christ, but also of the Mother of God, the angels, and all the saints. By becoming incarnate, the Son of God introduced a new “economy” of images.
2132 The Christian veneration of images is not contrary to the first commandment which proscribes idols. Indeed, “the honor rendered to an image passes to its prototype,” and “whoever venerates an image venerates the person portrayed in it.” The honor paid to sacred images is a “respectful veneration,” not the adoration due to God alone.
Fr. Francis said that taxidermy could not lead anyone directly to God, (looking at a stuffed dead animal) and that it would only be idolatry if someone worshiped it.
My Comment:
Did the Apostles set up a shrine full of statues of wood and stone with carvings of Moses and Abraham after Jesus ascended to the heavens? Did they start bowing before them with the excuse that Jesus walked the earth so now it was okay?
Did they open up a Catholic gift shop with lots of statues and rosaries? We know the answer is NO. There is no way Paul or Peter set up a statue in their homes or kept one in their bag when they went preaching from town to town. No bottles of holy water did they carry.
Because the Council of Nicaea decided to make the first commandment null and void does not mean that it is. The Catechism claims it is only veneration and not worship. Is the following photo veneration or worship?
Oh my dear Catholic people, come out of her. The commandment of God can not be erased by any council or any man. Be set free from idolatry by throwing out every statue and image, and the unclean spirits attached to them! Adhere to the Gospel and make Jesus your Master, Savior and Lord.
Source: CNA
John 4:24
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.
Written by Sue
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Filed under: Catholic, False Christianity, Vatican
Isa 44:9 All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant, to their own shame.
10 Who shapes a god and casts an idol, which can profit him nothing?
11 He and his kind will be put to shame; craftsmen are nothing but men. Let them all come together and take their stand; they will be brought down to terror and infamy.
12 The blacksmith takes a tool and works with it in the coals; he shapes an idol with hammers, he forges it with the might of his arm. He gets hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint.
13 The carpenter measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker; he roughs it out with chisels and marks it with compasses. He shapes it in the form of man, of man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine.
14 He cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and the rain made it grow.
15 It is man’s fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it.
16 Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill. He also warms himself and says, “Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”
17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, “Save me; you are my god.”
18 They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand.
19 No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, “Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”
20 He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
The following is from an article I did on icons in Romanism:
Catholicism teaches that images may be made of the apostles and other “saints” (contrary to the Bible’s teaching that all Christians are saints, Rome has to declare people saints after their death based on their good works and other qualifications) so that the faithful may venerate them. Images may be statues or pictures of various types (glass, mosaic, paintings, etc). Let’s look at some paragraphs from the Catechism on this subject:
Paras. 476, 477 “Since the Word became flesh in assuming a true humanity, Christ’s body was finite. Therefore the human face of Jesus can be portrayed; at the seventh ecumenical council (Nicaea II in 787) the Church recognized its representation in holy images to be legitimate. At the same time the Church has always acknowledged that in the body of Jesus ‘we see our God made visible and so are caught up in love of the God we cannot see.’ The individual characteristics of Christ’s body express the divine person of God’s Son. He has made the features of his human body his own, to the point that they can be venerated when portrayed in a holy image, for the believer ‘who venerates the icon is venerating in it the person of the one depicted’.”
Paras. 1159-1162 “The sacred image, the liturgical icon, principally represents Christ. It cannot represent the invisible and incomprehensible God, but the incarnation of the Son of God has ushered in a new “economy” of images… Christian iconography expresses in images the same Gospel message that Scripture communicates by words. Image and word illuminate each other… All the signs in the liturgical celebrations are related to Christ: as are sacred images of the holy Mother of God and of the saints as well. They truly signify Christ, who is glorified in them. They make manifest the ‘cloud of witnesses’ who continue to participate in the salvation of the world and to whom we are united, above all in sacramental celebrations. Through their icons, it is man ‘in the image of God,’ finally transfigured ‘into his likeness,’ who is revealed to our faith. So too are the angels, who also are recapitulated in Christ: ‘Following the divinely inspired teaching of our holy Fathers and the tradition of the Catholic Church (for we know that this tradition comes from the Holy Spirit who dwells in her) we rightly define with full certainty and correctness that, like the figure of the precious and life-giving cross, venerable and holy images of our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ, our inviolate Lady, the holy Mother of God, and the venerated angels, all the saints and the just, whether painted or made of mosaic or another suitable material, are to be exhibited in the holy churches of God, on sacred vessels and vestments, walls and panels, in houses and on streets.’ … the contemplation of sacred icons, united with meditation on the Word of God and the singing of liturgical hymns, enters into the harmony of the signs of celebration so that the mystery celebrated is imprinted in the heart’s memory and is then expressed in the new life of the faithful.
Note also that Catholics pray to the saints for intercession on our behalf.
What response do we have from Scripture? Firstly, Scripture says we are not to make any image to worship or bow down to it because that would be idolatry. (Exod. 20:4-5a)
Secondly, how does anyone know what Jesus looked like? Would not any image of Christ therefore be from someone’s imagination and not really what Christ looked like, and therefore would not the veneration be of another god – one of the artist’s making? Let’s make an analogy here. If I carry a photo of a model in my wallet and tell everyone this photo represents my wife, would I be properly representing my wife? Would it be respectful of my wife or would it cause her to be jealous? God tells us that He is a jealous God, which is why He commands no images for worship.
Images of saints, although not being of God, are nevertheless not to be worshiped (including “veneration”). And, as with images of Christ, these images would be false representations since we do not know what the people looked like.
The issue of praying to the saints would be the same as with praying to Mary. These people are dead and we do not communicate with the dead. Although the Catholic church claims that Mary and the saints are in heaven and are therefore not bound by space and time, the reality is that they would have to be omniscient to hear prayers from people all over the world. The plain fact is that we are told in Scripture that prayers are directed only at God, never to people.
The veneration of the saints and icons is part of the daily practice for Roman Catholics, and yet this is plainly unbiblical and idolatry.
Good article.
There’s a debate currently raging on this very topic between Marian idol worshipers and the fellas at DefCon:
http://defendingcontending.com/2008/06/23/its-all-about-mary/
- Namba
Thanks Namba and welcome.
Did you know that the early Christians depicted scenes from the Bible in the catacombs? For the early Christians, depicting images from the Bible was a way of communicating their new faith. With the coming of Jesus, the promises of salvation evoked in the Old Testament were fulfilled in the New Testament.
Archelogical evidence demonstrates how the early Christians drew on the Old and New Testament Scriptures to form the theological foundations of their new faith. Biblical passages are depicted throughout the catacombs in images, frescoes, sculptures, symbols, and inscriptions. The early Christians of Rome believed Jesus to be the fulfillment of God’s promise of Salvation as narrated in the Bible.
Among the images found in the catacombs are:
The Creation of Adam and Eve
Noah and the Great Flood
Abraham and his Son, Isaac
Moses and the Flight from Egypt
Daniel in the Lions Den
The Young Men in the Fiery Furnace
The Story of the Prophet Jonah
The Birth of Jesus
The Magi Kings
The Madonna and Child
The Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist
The Wedding at Cana
The Samaritan Woman
The Healing of the Paralitic man
The Healing of the Blind man
The Resurrection of Lazarus
The Last Supper
The Entrance into Jerusalem
The Denial of Peter
Jesus before Pilate
The Crucifixion
The Resurrection
The resurrection of Lazarus is the most repeated image in the art of the catacombs. As in the case of Jonah, it refers to the resurrection. Possibly the last great miracle performed by Jesus, it precedes Christ’s Passion.
Christ then called Lazarus out of the tomb, and thus chose his beloved friend to serve as a sign that He, Jesus, was the Author of Life and Redeemer of mankind. [Gospel of John, 11:1-44]
These types of drawings used to tell stories, etc, are not in the same class as icons and statues used for worship (“veneration”).
Agreed.
Sue
Where did you go to School, was it steubenville by chance? Do you know Dr Miravalle?
Yes and yes
*correction* I do not know Dr. M. personally. I did not take any of his classes. This is a small school so you knew everyone per se. Why do you ask?
I went there in 92 – 94 just curious if we were there the same years. What did you study? and what denomination are you now?
I was in Dr Miravalle’s class on Mary when I was there so I recognized the reference to the particular professor.
Graduated 97. I attend an Evangelical Free Church. Are you still Catholic?
I studied Radio/TV Com Arts
Weird, we were there together then in 93/94. Yes, still catholic. did you grow up catholic? why did you chose Steubenville for school?
Yes, grew up Catholic and chose Steubenville because I thought it was the most orthodox Catholic school I could attend.
As I was in prayer tonight with Jesus, I had a sense that He wanted me to share this with you. I was meditating on the early Martyrs during Nero’s reign. They suffered burnings, crucifixions, and exposure to wild beasts. We look around today at our comfortable lives and I felt prompted to share with you that Jesus is calling you to be a martyr of foregiveness and healing. there is someone in your life in need of great foregiveness. Not just in your heart but needs to hear it. And the Lord wants to heal you and let his purifying love burn through your soul to set you free. You are holding on to something dear, that you don’t want to give to him, and he is asking for it tonight. As I was praying about these martyrs, I saw you – Standing there before Jesus who was asking for everything, knowing that it would burn and hurt and tear at your soul as much as any physical martyrdom would. I know he is near you
Amen
Thanks for prayers. Everyone is forgiven in my life. He is not just near me, but lives in me.