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why do catholics kneel on the graven images
- Thread starter kingiking
- Start date
Andal
resident hypnotist
Catholics do not kneels before graven images. They kneel before images of saints, Jesus, or Mary because those images are focal points for prayer. They kneel because they are in prayer and it is before the image because the image serves as a reminder of God's love to them. They aren't worshiping the image, therefore it is not graven in the Biblical sense. The image is a tool for prayers.
I think out of all of the Western traditions the Catholics really understand the importance of facilitating worship of God through the experience of the five senses.
Any Catholics, feel free to correct me here.
I think out of all of the Western traditions the Catholics really understand the importance of facilitating worship of God through the experience of the five senses.
Any Catholics, feel free to correct me here.
Metalic Wings
Active Member
Correct? I think you put it better than anyone else (and better than I could have. I was still thinking this was about kneeling on images.)
Although I'm not quite sure if I could still be considered catholic, that really does sum it up. =D
zenzero
Its only a Label
Friend kingiking,
Since this is posted in the general religion section which is correct as every human does so while praying.
This is simply because the individual energy [which is all forms including human] has manifested out of the universal energy or existence or consciousness or god etc. in their respective form. BEING simply means that which is always on the path or way towards that merger with that of which it is a manifestation.
This understanding leads to the realization by merging completely with the universal energy and on complete merging the form drops when the individual and the universal completely merges.
The process of merging is also undertaken through prayers and wherein the individual shows his acceptance of the universal as gesticulates by kneeling down and folding his hands. The choice is individual.
Love & rgds
Since this is posted in the general religion section which is correct as every human does so while praying.
This is simply because the individual energy [which is all forms including human] has manifested out of the universal energy or existence or consciousness or god etc. in their respective form. BEING simply means that which is always on the path or way towards that merger with that of which it is a manifestation.
This understanding leads to the realization by merging completely with the universal energy and on complete merging the form drops when the individual and the universal completely merges.
The process of merging is also undertaken through prayers and wherein the individual shows his acceptance of the universal as gesticulates by kneeling down and folding his hands. The choice is individual.
Love & rgds
When the roman empire became christian it was necessarry for the emporer to apease the paganism and mithraism (a religion from persia) so the deities images in the temples were replaced by christian images (deities) also many of the pagan and mythraic festivals were christianised, eg easter and christmans. 25th of december being the birthday of Mithras, the legendary god man of the religion named after him. The earlyist christians probably didn't have images and after christianity became romes religion some disgreed with having idols and icons and so they destroyed them (iconoclasm- the destruction of icons) It seems that in order to connect to God who is mysterious in inconcreivable people have to have an image to pray to, this can be a physical image (ie catholics an hindus) or a conceptional one (protestants and muslims) This allows the mind to focus on a point and connect to the devine.
OmarKhayyam
Well-Known Member
Actually no. Try to get your mind around this (apparently) new to you concept.
It is THEIR religion. If what they do strikes you as strange or useless or just plain wrong - so what?
Unless you ARE a catholic WHY do you care? Are you in any way affected by what they do or not do? If you disapprove does that make any difference to them? Should it?
Mind_Zenith
Broadcasting Live!
I'd hate to see what you'd think about me praying to the Gohonzon...
I personally disagree with much that is done in the Catholic Church but I don't descriminate as I disagree with the teachings and dogma of most organizes religion.
I am glad that the Catholics have the BALLS to at least stand up for what the Bible teaches in principal. HMMMM?? Abortion, NO. Homosexuality, NO. Personally I think this is thread Moot as most religions wont stand for anything but what is popular.
Ask a more relevant question, why are religious entities that don't follow their holy book tax exempt?
Let them bow in front of a statue as they are kneeling before the statue to worship an unseen God not worshiping a graven image. I worship the same God BTW.
I am glad that the Catholics have the BALLS to at least stand up for what the Bible teaches in principal. HMMMM?? Abortion, NO. Homosexuality, NO. Personally I think this is thread Moot as most religions wont stand for anything but what is popular.
Ask a more relevant question, why are religious entities that don't follow their holy book tax exempt?
Let them bow in front of a statue as they are kneeling before the statue to worship an unseen God not worshiping a graven image. I worship the same God BTW.
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Azakel
Liebe ist für alle da
Do you have anything to back up this baseless claim of yours?
Ignorance of religion and the people that follow them doesn't count ether.
Gay church leaders in many denominations of the Christian faith. Politically correct that is POP.
Terrorism against the world by many misguided Muslims. Kill the Infidels, they are not worthy. That is POP.
The religions of the far east (India and the orient) generally do no harm.
Do you need specifics? they are easy enough to post but you know this is true so why waste time.
EDIT: the church of Scientology does much and TBH I admire many of their convictions though I don't follow Hubbard.
Terrorism against the world by many misguided Muslims. Kill the Infidels, they are not worthy. That is POP.
The religions of the far east (India and the orient) generally do no harm.
Do you need specifics? they are easy enough to post but you know this is true so why waste time.
EDIT: the church of Scientology does much and TBH I admire many of their convictions though I don't follow Hubbard.
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Azakel
Liebe ist für alle da
Christianity is but one religion and your denomination but 1 of 33,000 that have been. What's your point?
Islam is but one religion and the bad one but few. Once again what's your point?
How does this prove your "Many religious will just do what's popular"? Maybe you should read up on the Eastern religions, they teach non-violence.
Yes you should be specific, because right now it still looks like you don't know what you are talking about.
There are also many other religions and unless you know about them your still just making Generalized claims that are baseless.
You are correct and I did qualify it in my response but I will clarify.
A lot of Christian Denominations and some radical Muslim sects dont follow their own Holy books.
I do not consider the far eastern faiths in the same light as organized religion, as I qualified it in my post. That is not to say they have no organization but they tend to move differently than the Abrahamic faiths.
BTW if you need to argue this then you need to live in my world as you are not on earth in the 21st century.
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I think you've said it very well. Catholics do not worship statues, figures, etc., only God is deserving of adoration. We kneel to them to pray. We kneel in front of the Eucharist because Jesus is present. It is also a sign of respect and honor.
Smoke
Done here.
The traditional Christian position is that the Incarnation of Christ changes everything. Whereas before the Incarnation God could not be represented by art, after the Incarnation, having appeared in the flesh, he can be -- and some would even say that he must be, as a witness to the Incarnation. Images of his Mother and of all the saints are justified both by extension of that principle and by the argument that pagan idols represent fictitious beings, but images of the saints represent real people -- and people, moreover, who have put on the divine nature.
There are, in Christianity, two types of worship: adoration (latreia) and veneration (doulia). Adoration belongs only to God. The saints are not adored, but venerated. Images also are not adored, but venerated. In venerating images Christians honor not the images themselves but the person they represent.
In the Eastern churches it's traditional to venerate two-dimensional icons rather than statues, and it's thought that the veneration of statues poses a greater danger of tempting believers to idolatry than the veneration of two-dimensional icons does. Nevertheless, the theology that explains two-dimensional icons explains statues equally well, and the distinction is more a matter of custom than of doctrine.
Personally, I'm inclined to think that Christian iconoclasm comes more from Islamic influence than from the Bible. Iconoclasm was unknown in Eastern Christianity until the Muslim Caliphate began conquering Christian lands, and in Western Christianity iconoclasm was only introduced with the Reformation. However, Reformers also adopted a novel view of the scriptures (novel from a Christian point of view) that was more in line with the Jewish view of the Torah and the Muslim view of the Qur'an than with the traditional Christian view of the scriptures. So the issues do get blurred a bit.