Why do Catholics believe in statues?

like jesus?

Zing.....

NO there is not zing. Jesus wasn't just someone that lived a long time ago ... HE IS God!

amen!

yet are your statues not graven images ??the commandment strictly forbids even the """making""" of them!i dont recall if it states anything about having to just worship them for me thier mere presence is a sin!

True, traditions are frowned upon when they take the place of God and his commands. To a Catholic, a statue does not stand in the place of God, but glorifies Him even more by recognizing His work through us. In other words, it has nothing to do with the person(represented by the statue) and everything to do with God's grace given to the person. In building the statue, we publicly recognize and proclaim God's graces in sinful humans. It's a visual reminder much like the crucifix is the visual reminder of Christ's sacrifice and the cross is the visual reminder of redemption through Christ's rising. One other thing about traditions...St. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 11:2, praises the Corinthians for holding fast to the traditions handed down to them. Exodus 20:4 is speaking specifically of making graven images for the purpose of idol worship, which is strictly forbidden by the Catholic Church.

I would assume then that you have no crosses, crucifixes, statues/pictures of angels, no images of Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the Apostles, God the Father, a depiction of a dove as the Holy Spirit. Look at any children's bible, Catholic or Protestant, and you will find it loaded with pictures of Moses, Abraham, Jesus, the heavens, and sometimes even demons. Exodus tells us not to make any likeness of things on the Earth. Do you have pictures of yourself, your relatives, your house, animals, etc. Inside the Lincoln Memorial in DC is a statue of Abraham Lincoln. There is also Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, Paul Bunyan and his Ox somewhere in MN, and Philadelphia is filled with statues. Do you consider any of the aforementioned "graven images", therefore sinful? If not, please explain what you believe to be the difference between these and Catholic religious art.

from people of different religions and beliefs. Just like the one you had with some mylotters in the discussions above.

Ok, I thought maybe you meant among Catholics, like disagreements among Catholics about priestly celibacy. I don't really consider my discussions with non-Catholics as controversy. My purpose is to eliminate misconceptions and to properly explain why Catholics do what we do. For somebody of another religion to disagree with me just means that we believe different things. Although I suppose it's controversy in that only one of us can be correct:)

I am sorry. It did come across as you supporting it. I made my first communion at that age. I wasn't confirmed until I was a teen. As soon as I was confirmed; I left the church.

Thanks for taking the time to explain things to me even when you're not a catholic. its nice how one person like you can understand how catholics think even when you have decided to let go of that religion. Just one question: If you were born in a Protestant family (for instance) and they raised you as one, would you have converted to Catholicism later on? Just a thought.

I was also raised Catholic and my entire family, in-laws and all, except for me, is still Catholic. I left, not because I think the system of beliefs is necessarily wrong, but because of the age at which we were confirmed. It is wrong to ask someone to promise he will live a certain life when he is seven or nine years old. All of that being said, I was not defending this practice. I was explaining as well as i could to the person who asked the question.

hi carmelanirel! not all traditions need to be followed but we have to know the meaning behind it before we follow whatever it is. Thank you.