Here is the standard answer you get from a good catholic about why idols are the best things in the world.................One of the principle purposes of images is to help instruct. The state and city governments erect statues of the nation’s founding fathers to inspire patriotism and loyalty. The Church erects statues of Christ, His Mother and the saints to teach her citizens loyalty to God.
Sacramentals are objects, which serve to elevate our minds toward God. Statues are sacramentals blessed by Mother Church. Saint Paul told the Romans to render honor to whom honor was due. Honor certainly is due to Christ and in a different, lower degree, honor is also due to those heroic men and women who died following Christ. That is the basis, the principle for our veneration of images.
Statues adorn our churches and homes. There is a distinctive difference between Catholic and non-Catholic churches. Catholic churches present an atmosphere of beauty and warmth. This homelike feeling is due principally to the Presence of Christ in the tabernacle, but also the welcoming lifelike statues.
During the many ages before the invention of printing, Catholics learned their Faith from studying the figures of the saints and holy scenes in the stained glass windows of our churches.
This bit of double talk is from here ; victorclaveau.com/Doc's/statues.htm ..Out of one side of his mouth he says the statues have no power, and out the otherside he says theyelevate the mind and inspire catholics on to greater heights, of idolatry, that is. Its not the statues that will separate you from god when you die, its not being born again that lands you in hell
ReplyDeleteI understand that the translation of the Greek word anothen is not again but above.
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