 |
| Source: Google |
Nowadays,
we have heard from almost all sects of Protestant origin criticizing Catholic
Christians for idolatry. For them, since
we have prayed and fulfill our liturgies while an image of the Crucifix, Virgin
Mary, Saints and other sacred images are in front of us, we are guilty against
the First Commandment: "You shall
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your Soul, and with
all your Mind."
They vigorously point to us this
Mosaic Law as the violation of the Catholic Christians. Consequently, many of
the laity felt awkward when they heard this accusation. I sensed the need to
respond to this issue for our brethren to know the truth.
What the Old Testament says?
Let
us examine what happened in the Old Testament.
In Exodus 20:4-5, God said, "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of
anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You
shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a
jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the
third and fourth generation of those who hate me." These texts would seem to support the
accusation.
Let
us go further.
In
Leviticus 26:1, God said, "Do not make idols or set up an image
or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land
to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God." This prohibition made even more clearer in Deuteronomy 4:16-18 which said, "beware lest you act corruptly by
making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness
of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the
likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, the likeness of anything
that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under
the earth."
Beware!
Curse is upon anyone who violates the Law of God, Deuteronomy 27:15, "Cursed
be the man who makes a carved or cast metal image, an abomination to the Lord,
a thing made by the hands of a craftsman, and sets it up in secret. And all the
people shall answer and say, 'Amen.'"
The ban is
very strong but what the Israelites did amidst this prohibition?
The same Old
Testament would tell us "that images were tolerated and even permitted"
in the land of Israel. The Hebrew people were even commanded by God himself to
carve images. See the following texts:
First, in Exodus 25: 17-19, "You shall make a mercy seat of pure
gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide."You shall make two cherubim of gold; make them of
hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make
one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the
cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends;"
Second, in Exodus 25:31-33,
"You shall make a lampstand of
pure beaten gold - its shaft and branches - with its cups and knobs and petals
springing directly from it. Six branches are to extend from the sides of the
lampstand, three branches on one side and three on the other. On one branch
there are to be three cups, shaped like almond blossoms, each with its knob and
petals; on the opposite branch there are to be three cups, shaped like almond
blossoms, each with its knob and petals; and so for the six branches that
extend from the lampstand."
It is more worth noting that aside
from God's instructions on how these structures are to be created; He himself
took the initiative in the construction. In Exodus 31: 1-6, God inspired and filled with His divine spirit Bezalel, son of Uri; Oholiab his assistant and assured Moses
that He "endowed all experts with
the necessary skill to make all the things I have ordered you to make."
There is yet another God's command to
Moses greater than any other commands. I said it so because from that image
emanate God's healing power. God commanded Moses to carve a bronze serpent,
raise it through a pole and whoever is bitten and looked at it recovered (cf. Number 21: 8-9).
Furthermore, this religious practice
concerning the creation of images and their usage to adore the one true God of
Israel did not remain in the dessert. Let us visit the chosen people as they already
settled in the promise land to see how they make use of craftsmanship to
beautify their temple with those majestic images.
1
Kings 6:19-28, narrated to us how the inner circle called the Holy of
Holies of the Temple of Jerusalem built by King Solomon "to house the ark of Lord's covenant" adorned with two
giant cherubs. It does not end here. See 1
Kings 6:29-35 and find out how the foundations of the Temple of the Lord
completed in seven years with so much "representations and
sculptures" of "cherubim, palm trees and open flowers" from the
entrance to the inner most of the Temple.
Still, worth quoting here to continue
my presentation is 1 Kings 7: 18-29 to
illustrate distinctly how the Temple of Jerusalem being extravagantly bedecked
with numerous images such as pomegranate, lily, lion, oxen, sea and cherubim. This
majestic temple was destroyed in the 6th century BCE, however prophet Ezekiel has a vision of a future temple
to be built "with cherubims and palm trees (cf. Ezekiel 41:18).
Thus, we can surmise here that the
"grand Temple of Yahweh in Jerusalem was filled with numerous images,
paintings, statues and decoration."
Could anyone refute this account?
Well, I know for sure those who
continue saying Catholic Christians are blasphemous or idolatrous for having
images in their churches are ignorant of these verses or they are not reading
this part of the Bible.
In any ways, I am not insulting anyone
here. But whoever insists the accusation, he hasn't grown mature in his faith,
he is immature because he's not taking the Bible seriously.
Despite the Old Testament's witnesses,
I could not decipher any reasons whatsoever why there are sects who continually
dissent and criticize this religious practice of Catholic Christians, making it
a point of entry to attack or reproach the parishioners. How today's believers
could despise what has been allowed in the ancient time? Not even prominent
prophets of Israel disapproved in the creation of images. Have you heard of Elias, Elijah, Amos and other
prophets speak against these images in their temple?
Have you heard other prophets spoke
against images?
Yes! Certainly, there are other
prophets who vehemently speak ill towards worshipping idols. That's our topic
for the next section of this article.
Are you not wondering about these
discrepancies in the Law? Is the Bible which we believed to be the Word of God
inconsistent with its teachings?
The answer is no! The Bible is
consistent to teach the Law, to love God above all other gods and to give Him
praise, to Him alone. And the Bible itself maintains that having images in the
house of worship did not prevent anyone one from adoring and worshiping the
true God or render him sinful.
If that is so, how come God did in an
instance or two, specifically in the giving of the Ten Commandments, abhors
anyone from crafting images?
This confusion should compel us to
learn the real teaching of the Bible concerning the creation of images and its
Temple usage.
The BIBLICAL truth: Yahweh versus images
Helpful in understanding the Bible is
knowing the historical context of the verses being discussed. In our case it is
the creation of images and its prohibition in some instances.
Accordingly, in the "primitive
oriental thinking, a divine person resided in the image of the deity. When
somebody created an image, the god came to reside in it." Israelites are
not exempted with this mentality. See Genesis
31: 30, "when Rachel, wife of Jacob robbed her father Laban of his
idols, Laban complained that his gods, not their images, were taken from
him." Likewise in Judges 18: 24, where
Micah "accused the Danites of robbing him of his gods when they marched
away only with images."
Therefore, for the ancient people including
Israelites, "To possess a certain image was to have control over the power
of the god concerned, to exert a kind of dominion over it, and allows one to
use it depending on one's whim, thereby creating a god based on human standards."
This is radically contrary to worship Yahweh, the One true God of Israel. See Exodus 3:13-14, God did not reveal His
image and His name, instead He instructed Moses to tell the people that He is
the "I AM who am." Most biblically scholars argued God's rationale
for concealing His image and name, that He is beyond anything hence cannot be
controlled by anyone.
Unfortunately, "Israel seriously
fell into the temptation of idol worship." Giving praise, worship and
adoration to whatever they created. They even offered sacrifices and burnt
incense to the idols. This cult diverts the chosen people from the true God. Thus,
Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel furiously stood against this
kind of cult.
Gladly, their exhortation was not a
labor in vain. The people of Israel heed their voices as a message from God.
Consequently, the whole nation of Israel proclaimed Yahweh as the One true God
of all nations throughout the succeeding centuries. Their faith matured through
time, as Valdez has noted, "whatever image, altar, prayer, or worship that
was celebrated in whatever places or language, was destined only for Him."
Then, the idol worship diminished if not totally eradicated.
In addition, Bp. Knecht has also noted
on his commentary that "These images served for the glory of God and the
edification of Israelites. It is evident, therefore, that it is pleasing to God
that we should venerate the images of the angels and saints."
What the New Testament says?
As God dealing with people of matured
faith, He decided to manifest Himself closely to humanity than ever. An
invisible God of old, made Himself visible to the human eye in the New Covenant,
thru Jesus Christ. Hence, Jesus is
the image of God par excellence. The CCC has put it this way, "By becoming
incarnate, the Son of God introduces a new "economy" of images."
"Thus, who are we to prohibit it, if God himself now wanted to get out of
His "faceless" phase and become visible through an image?"
Paul, whose writings were the oldest
manuscripts to be incorporated in the Bible, proclaimed Jesus as the true image
of God (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:4). His
proclamation in Colossian making it even clearer that Jesus was the image of
the invisible God (cf. Colossians 1:15).
Jesus affirmed Paul's claim in John 14:8 where He said to Apostle
Philip, "He who sees me has seen the Father." Because "I and the
Father are one" (cf. John 10:30).
Practically, "Churches, temples,
even cemeteries put up images for psychological reasons. They helped in
prayer." Truly, there is a sense of holiness and sacredness that emanate
from an image that somehow helps the believer feel God's presence. Likewise, sacred
images elevate the church's holy ambiance.
Why?
Because these sacred images remind us
of heavenly hosts and people who saintly live with the Lord on earth.
Remember how God instructed Moses to
carve a serpent and raise it through a pole so that whoever is bitten to death
yet looked at the bronze serpent recovered in Numbers 21: 8-9, as we have
mentioned earlier? God has to raise Christ on the cross so that whoever looks
at it and believes might be saved (cf. John
3: 14-15). These New Testament texts suffice to prove that God continually uses
tangible instruments to help us grow in faith drawing us closer to Him.
Yet this growing in faith to God has a
much greater challenge that of reproducing Christ's image among us. After His
paschal mystery (His passion, death and resurrection), Paul reminded the
faithful in Romans 8:29 the task of
all baptized persons to conform their lives to that of Christ Jesus, the only
Son of God. In doing so, we are making Christ alive in us. After all we
constitute the mystical body of Christ.
Thus, it would suffice to say that
creating images and using it in one's religious services requires mature faith.
Its usage should not exceed as an instrument to get closer to God. Helping you to
imbibe God's values easily and give witness to it.
Sources:
The New American Bible
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
Bp. Frederick Justus Knecht, DD. A Practical Commentary on Holy Scriptures, 2003.
Ariel Alvarez Valdez.
The Bible:
Questions People Ask, vol. 2, 2005.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11045a.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment