fordman, no one is supposed to actually get on their hands and knees to pray to a statue. Yet we see the pope doing exactly that. You do NOT need to bow before a statue to show honor for it. SO, if the pope doesn't worship Mary's statue, why does he bow down to it?
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. However, you confuse the legitimate veneration of a sacred image with the sin of idolatry. Though bowing can be used as a posture in worship, not all bowing is worship. In Japan, people show respect by bowing in greeting (the equivalent of the Western handshake). Similarly, a person can kneel before a king without worshipping him as a god. In the same way, a Catholic who may kneel in front of a statue while praying isn’t worshipping the statue or even praying to
it, any more than the Protestant who kneels with a Bible in his hands when praying is worshipping the Bible or praying to
it.
Also, a practicing catholic CANNOT also be a practicing christian.. there's no such thing as a "catholic christian." That's like saying I'm a Muslim and follow Mohammed, but I'm also a christian who follows Jesus. YOU CANNOT SERVE TWO MASTERS.
This is probably one of the most absurd accusations I've ever heard! The name
Christian predates all Protestant and Evangelical Churches by over a millennium. Those of you who think that Catholics are not Christian may be surprised to learn you accept the authority of several Catholic councils every time they pick up your Bible. The Bible didn't fall out of the sky, spiral bound with an NIV sticker on it. It has a rich Catholic history. If you would spend any time studying the Church Fathers, it would make it abundantly clear that early Christian beliefs were Catholic. Their complete unity over the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is only one example.
You are mistaken--Mary and the saints DO NOT pray for us. They can't. They don't intercede on your behalf--only Jesus is capable of that. And that's another diff between catholics and christians. Christians don't believe that Mary hears and answers prayers, and intercedes. Nor do christians go to Mass. We don't bow down before statues that have no worth at all, whether physically or spiritually. Christians pray to JESUS ONLY. Catholics pray to Mary, the saints AND Jesus, which is an erroneous thing to do, because ONLY JESUS HEARS AND ANSWERS PRAYER. It's futile and stupid to pray to Mary and the saints!!
Think so huh? The bible says differnt!
"But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." Matt 22 :31-32
Those in Heaven, their bodies have departed from us but Christ tells us they are alive and continue to be part of the Body of Christ. (Col 1:18, 24) A prayer to a saint is simply asking another Christian to pray for you to God Almighty. It's that simple. It is not to perform magic, it is not conjure of the dead to foretell the future and it is not a form of worship. It is simply a request that those in the presence of God pray for you to God himself. This is exactly what Protestants do when you ask a family member to "pray" for them. There is no difference. Those Christians on earth as with those glorified Christians in Heaven are all part of the Body of Christ. Jesus Himself tells us that they are alive and St. Paul instructs us in the Holy Bible that "that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for everyone, for this is good and pleases our Savior." 1 Tim 2: 1; "Pray at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me . . ." (Eph. 6:18). (All the saints, those in Heaven and those on Earth).(All the saints, those in Heaven and those on earth.
If you read any prayer to a saint, it includes or concludes, with a phrase like "pray for us." The "Hail Mary" is a case in point. Read the last stanza:"pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, Amen." As for the rest of the prayer, one can see that it takes its form from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke and Paul's teachings on the Body of Christ. (Col 1:18-24) Why would anyone object to a pray with Bible verses verbatim out of Christ's 3rd Gospel? One can only guess unless the objection is from the last stanza" "Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, Amen." One can only object to this stanza if one believes that those glorified souls in Heaven are 1. not Christians (anymore) and 2. (for some reason) not part of the Body of Christ , and the instructions given by St. Paul in 1 Tim 2:1 (that is pleasing to Our Savior BTW ) "that supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks be made for everyone, for this is good and pleases our Savior." 1 Tim 2:1 does not apply to them! I would ask what Biblical verse objectors are using to declare that those in Heaven are "outside" the Body of Christ or are excluded from the 1 Tim 2:1? The objection is unbiblical, unfounded and based on learned prejudice from years of misinformation about the Holy Bible and the teachings of Christ's Apostles.
On the contrary, what is unbiblical is "praying to Jesus" as one would advocate instead. "Praying to Jesus" is not in the Bible. Jesus himself tells his Apostles to pray to his Father and he tells us how in the "Lord's Prayer." It is a healthy and holy Catholic/Protestant practice to "pray to Jesus," but it is not Biblical in any sense of the word. As the Bible tells us, not everything is in the Bible to include the unbiblical idea that everything IS in the Bible. (John 20:30, John 21:35)
The Holy Bible tells us to invoke those in Heaven to pray WITH us, and it tells us explicitly in many places how they pray FOR us. Protestants object to the practice because they have been indoctrinated over the years that the "Intercession of Saints" or as the Apostles Creed calls it the "Communion of Saints" is somehow Unbiblical.
If someone asked me to pray for them, I definitely would BUT I'd confine that prayer to Jesus only. Mary and the saints cannot and do not hear or answer prayers, and THAT is what catholics refuse to believe: that a sinful dead woman CAN answer their prayers.
Hmmmm.... this is where you are confused. For you see, Protestants do the exact same thing when they "pray" (ask/petition) to a spouse, a mother or friend to "pray for them." They "pray/petition" others to pray with them or for them to Almighty God. Again, that is the meaning of the word "pray." "I pray thee." "I ask thee." Look it up.
It is not worship, that is reserved for God alone. It is a
petition or a
request.The Holy Bible tells us there are two kinds of prayer.
1. A prayer can be a prayer of
petition OR a prayer of worship. The prayer of petition asks (prays) for something while the other type is one of worship which glorifies God with no petition. The psalms are excellent examples. Some are prayers of petition and some are pure prayers of worship. Most Protestant prayers to God are
prayers of petition. The following is an example of a Catholic prayer to God that is
not a petition but a prayer of worship.
"Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen."
2. But
ALL prayers to fellow Christians in the Body of Christ are
petitions (whether the Christian in the Body of Christ is here or in Heaven). Protestants use prayers of petition in the exact same why when they utilize pray groups or pray chains. They are simply asking fellow Christians to pray/petition God on your behalf.let me ask you a question, are those Holy Christians, the saints in Heaven outside the Body of Christ? Are they outside His Body even tho they are in His presence? Yes or No? I say no. They are not outside the Body of Christ. They are part of The Body of Christ and the saints described in Rev.5:8, offering up their prayers on behalf of those other Christians in the Body of Christ still on earth. To beleive otherwise is to fracture Christ's Body and self declare that the right arm of Christ's Body is separated from His left arm. In other words, i.e. that one part of Christ's Body cannot help or pray for the other part of His Body even while he is the Head of the Body. (Col.1:18)
If this is your contention, what biblical verse are you using to split Christ's Body in two so that those in heaven cannot pray or intercede for those on earth as the Holy Bible tells us they do. Or what verse can you quote that prohibts those Christans in the Body of Christ on earth from asking those in THE SAME BODY to pray with and for them? I don't think you can find such a verse, so this objection is by defination: UNBiblical.
Pax Christi