The question of graven images
Upvote:3
What is an Idol?
From the first two commandments:
Exodus 20:3-5a (ASV)
Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor 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. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them
I think this very clearly describes what is meant by "graven image" ("idol" in other translations): an object of worship, or the representation of such a an object used as a part of worship.
Are We Subject to the Law of Moses?
There is not uniformity among Christians regarding to what extent the Law of Moses affects us. This answer does a good job of summarizing the most common views. Someone who believed that the Law of Moses was give to Israel and is no longer binding might not feel compelled by the second commandment in this regard, because it has at its core the worship of things that aren't God (and perhaps attempting to represent God in some form—but that is a much larger discussion).
Is a Cross or a Crucifix an Idol?
People who have these images/icons in their assemblies or around their necks would not say that they worship them or use them as representatives of God to worship, distinguishing between "veneration" (δουλεία, 1397) and "adoration" (λατρεια, 2999).
Included in this article is a reasonable defense of the practice: My Bible study group asks, “Why does the Catholic religion portray Jesus hanging on the cross while Protestant crosses are empty?”
More post
- 📝 How can I trample on snakes and scorpions?
- 📝 A woman's testimony was considered inadmissible in a court of law. Whose law?
- 📝 Where and/or when did the tradition that Methuselah died seven days before the Flood (for a period of mourning) originate?
- 📝 Should those who fall away and return to the church be baptized again? - Overview
- 📝 Salvation Army and the brass band
- 📝 Shall I pray for what I want but I think I do not deserve?
- 📝 Catholic chronology
- 📝 What are the 19 gifts of the Spirit, as listed by Leslie Flynn?
- 📝 In whose name was Jesus baptized?
- 📝 Should Adam’s and Eve’s death be regarded as a sacrifice?
- 📝 Is every sinful behavior a sin?
- 📝 How were the old saints justified under the law? (Catholic and Protestant views)
- 📝 If there were no punishment for sin would salvation be necessary?
- 📝 Do all believers receive the Holy Spirit at conversion but only a few are filled with the Holy Spirit post conversion?
- 📝 What are some sources of March, 25th being the date of the creation of the world, or of the creation of Adam and Eve, or of their disobedience?
- 📝 Why do adherents in laestadianism consider watching television and listening popular music as sin?
- 📝 Which is the distribution of daily hours for Western (e.g. Benedictine) monks?
- 📝 What is the source of this quote from St. Augustine?
- 📝 Biblical references telling us we should be angry
- 📝 Why would Fundamentalists think Set Theory is anti-Christian?
- 📝 What place does Lilith have in Christianity?
- 📝 What are the foundational texts on biblical interpretation?
- 📝 Is the Hypostatic Union a contradiction?
- 📝 What is Protestant Scholasticism?
- 📝 Do any Christian groups/denominations encourage their members to seek personal revelations from the Holy Spirit to accurately interpret Scripture?
- 📝 How would Reformed Christians deal with h*m*sexual marriage of individuals prior to their conversion to Christianity?
- 📝 Is this about 'sehnsucht'; in which case, can God be Pleasure manifest or is he a being who is full of pleasure?
- 📝 Has the phenomenon of being "slain in the Spirit" ever taken place spontaneously and unexpectedly outside of Pentecostal and charismatic circles?
- 📝 How do Apostolic Christians interpret arguably sexist verses in Sirach?
- 📝 What's the new rite in Tantum Ergo?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 The question of graven images
- 📝 Why did Jesus question God on the cross?
- 📝 Are the images of Jesus drawn with blond hair and blue eyes correct?
- 📝 Has the prohibition against construction and veneration of statues and images been abrogated?
- 📝 A Question regarding arguments against the Nicene Creed
- 📝 Question on John 4:13-14 - How do we drink of the water from Jesus?
- 📝 Why did John the Baptist question the identity of Jesus?
- 📝 What is the meaning of the question Luther's companions shouted on his deathbed?
- 📝 How would miaphysites approach the question of monothelitism versus dyothelitism?
- 📝 What made Jesus question at Mt 21:25 a good example for Christians or was it a bad question because the Jews could not answer?
- 📝 What major views are there on the question of whether God shares moral responsibility for our deeds, good and bad?
- 📝 How are the bread and wine explained by those who forbid images of Jesus?
- 📝 What are the general positions of different traditions on the question "did Jesus have to die?"
- 📝 On Images of God the Father According to Catholicism?
- 📝 How do Latter-day Saints answer the question of why human beings are not created with a perfect character from the outset?
- 📝 Did the Jews use icons and images to help them worship as Catholics or Orthodox worshippers do?
- 📝 Question regarding different translations of the Bible into Japanese
- 📝 How do Catholics answer the question of idol worship within the faith?
- 📝 A Question Regarding the Relationship between God and Messiah
- 📝 Why is the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism so different from the Westminster Confession opening statement?
- 📝 Question for those who hold to the immortality of the soul
- 📝 This question is for Biblical Unitarians. Why does the "Shema" at Deuteronomy 6:4 use the Hebrew word "echad" instead of the Hebrew word, "yachid?"
- 📝 How do Christians that believe in creatio ex nihilo answer the question of why human beings are not created with a perfect character from the outset?
- 📝 Question about the PCUSA treatment of Scriptures
- 📝 Did the coins at the time of Jesus have distinct images and inscriptions?
- 📝 What was the explicit purpose of Jesus' question to James and John?
- 📝 Question regarding the nature of moral absolutes
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church quote any saying of Jesus to which His question in John 14:2 can be attributed?
- 📝 A Question Regarding the Variation of Doctrines within Christendom
- 📝 I have some question about joining the Catholic Church