Why do Protestants say that only God is holy?

[IndigoChild5559]

And what is more strange... why do they say that this is what the Bible teaches?

If you go to any Bible Concordance, you will find that the word holy is used for a plethora of things, people, places, times, etc. Though admittedly, only God is the threefold, "holy, holy, holy." Here are some examples.

People can be holy:
Exodus 19:6
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Things can be holy:
1 Kings 8:4
And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

Places can be holy:
Nehemiah 11:1
And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities.

Times can be holy:
Exodus 31:14
Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people

Basically it looks to me that anything set aside for God's special purposes is called holy.

So given all this scriptural evidence for things other than God being holy, why do Protestants, who value scripture, teach such a decidedly unscriptural doctrine?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

And what is more strange... why do they say that this is what the Bible teaches?

If you go to any Bible Concordance, you will find that the word holy is used for a plethora of things, people, places, times, etc. Though admittedly, only God is the threefold, "holy, holy, holy." Here are some examples.

People can be holy:
Exodus 19:6
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Things can be holy:
1 Kings 8:4
And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

Places can be holy:
Nehemiah 11:1
And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities.

Times can be holy:
Exodus 31:14
Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people

Basically it looks to me that anything set aside for God's special purposes is called holy.

So given all this scriptural evidence for things other than God being holy, why do Protestants, who value scripture, teach such a decidedly unscriptural doctrine?

I assume lord and messiah as well, if I'm not mistaken?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

And what is more strange... why do they say that this is what the Bible teaches?

If you go to any Bible Concordance, you will find that the word holy is used for a plethora of things, people, places, times, etc. Though admittedly, only God is the threefold, "holy, holy, holy." Here are some examples.

People can be holy:
Exodus 19:6
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Things can be holy:
1 Kings 8:4
And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

Places can be holy:
Nehemiah 11:1
And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities.

Times can be holy:
Exodus 31:14
Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people

Oy vey! How did you manage to write that OP and fail to reference to the Holiness Code?

 

[Vouthon]

So given all this scriptural evidence for things other than God being holy, why do Protestants, who value scripture, teach such a decidedly unscriptural doctrine?

One word: Catholics.

Because of Catholics. And their ardent desire not to be anything like....Catholics, traditionally speaking following the Reformation schism and before the advent of ecumenism in the 20th century.

From our Code of Canon Law:


Code of Canon Law - IntraText

Can. 1171 Sacred objects, which are designated for divine worship by dedication or blessing, are to be treated reverently and are not to be employed for profane or inappropriate use even if they are owned by private persons.
​

In their theological disputations with the Catholic Church (circa. sixteenth - seventeenth century) - a Christian denomination literally obsessed with 'holiness' - our non-Lutheran and non-Anglican Protestant friends felt the need to throw the baby out with the bathwater (and the kitchen sink with it) in favour of a radical "only God is holy" attitude that extricated their theology far away from falling into the dreaded popish, Romanish ways.

We have always held that the physical is the vehicle for conveying God's grace, a notion which Protestants in the Reformed tradition (Baptists, Anabaptists, low-church Anglicans) have historically rejected out of hand.

Catholicism is a 'sacramental' faith tradition - in addition to the seven sacraments (that rely on consecrated 'bread and wine' or Holy Communion, Holy Chrism oil, holy chalice etc.) we have a whole host of so-called lesser sacramentals or sanctified things, such as 'holy water':

Holy water - Wikipedia

Holy Rosary beads:


Rosary - Wikipedia

The Holy Rosary[1] (/ˈroʊzəri/; Latin: rosarium, in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"),[2] also known as the Dominican Rosary,[3][4] or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used in the Catholic Church and to the string of knots or beads used to count the component prayers​

Blessed salt:

Blessed salt in Christianity - Wikipedia

Holy relics of dead saintly figures that are venerated by the faithful:

Relic - Wikipedia

The practice of venerating relics seems to have been taken for granted by writers like Augustine, St. Ambrose, Gregory of Nyssa, St. Chrysostom, and St. Gregory Nazianzen. Dom Bernardo Cignitti, O.S.B., wrote, “...[T]he remains of certain dead are surrounded with special care and veneration. This is because the mortal remains of the deceased are associated in some manner with the holiness of their souls which await reunion with their bodies in the resurrection.”[14]​

Holy cards:

Holy card - Wikipedia

Holy doors:

Holy door - Wikipedia

Holy cross necklaces:

Cross necklace - Wikipedia

Holy Ash (marked on the forehead during Ash Wednesday):

Cross necklace - Wikipedia

Holy Easter Palm Branches (which we fold into little crosses during Mass on Palm Sunday, kinda cute):

Palm branch - Wikipedia

Holy Pilgrimage Shrines:

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes - Wikipedia

And yada-yada-yada....I could literally go on for aeons of time until I'm as old as Methuselah rhyming off every little object or natural resource that the Catholic tradition believes can exude "holiness" or "sacred power" after being blessed (as for instance by a priest or bishop).

Other examples:


Catechism of the Catholic Church - Sacramentals

1671 Among sacramentals blessings (of persons, meals, objects, and places) come first. Every blessing praises God and prays for his gifts. In Christ, Christians are blessed by God the Father "with every spiritual blessing."177 This is why the Church imparts blessings by invoking the name of Jesus, usually while making the holy sign of the cross of Christ.

1672 Certain blessings have a lasting importance because they consecrate persons to God, or reserve objects and places for liturgical use. Among those blessings which are intended for persons - not to be confused with sacramental ordination - are the blessing of the abbot or abbess of a monastery, the consecration of virgins and widows, the rite of religious profession and the blessing of certain ministries of the Church (readers, acolytes, catechists, etc.). The dedication or blessing of a church or an altar, the blessing of holy oils, vessels, and vestments, bells, etc., can be mentioned as examples of blessings that concern objects...

1674 Besides sacramental liturgy and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account the forms of piety and popular devotions among the faithful. The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in various forms of piety surrounding the Church's sacramental life, such as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross, religious dances, the rosary, medals,180 etc.​

 

[Vouthon]

Thus so as to distance himself from the dreaded Church of Rome with its alleged 'heathenisms', the early early Protestant reformist theologian John Calvin (1509-1564) condemned the idea of Catholic "holy water" in his Institutes of the Christian Religion.

He denied its apostolicity and condemned it as an 'invention':

Should any one ask them where they get their holy water, they will at once answer,—from the apostles. As if I did not know who the Roman bishop is, to whom history ascribes the invention, and who, if he had admitted the apostles to his council, assuredly never would have adulterated baptism by a foreign and unseasonable symbol; although it does not seem probable to me that the origin of that consecration is so ancient as is there recorded.
​

This represents the beginnings of that kind "only God is holy" theology which you are seeing in a far more developed form today @IndigoChild5559.

In terms of the "holiness scale", though, of Judaism versus Catholicism: we Catholics probably just about win the prize as the 'holiest' religion over our Jewish friends - because we even have....ahem....


Holy Prepuce - Wikipedia

The Holy Prepuce, or Holy Foreskin (Latin præputium or prepucium), is one of several relics attributed to Jesus, a product of the circumcision of Jesus. At various points in history, a number of churches in Europe have claimed to possess Jesus's foreskin, sometimes at the same time
​

 

[Estro Felino]

I think that nobody possesses the absolute truth.
Being raised Catholic, I see there is lots of self-criticism within our Church.
And, it is by 90% about idolatry.

Catholicism likes to sanctify objects (from Latin sanctum facere, to make something holy).

I like this aspect of the religion, as traditional aspect.
But I see that many Catholics turn these objects into amulets. White witchcraft.

I think Protestants have a point. I think it is fair that there are Churches who focus on other aspects.

 

[74x12]

And what is more strange... why do they say that this is what the Bible teaches?

If you go to any Bible Concordance, you will find that the word holy is used for a plethora of things, people, places, times, etc. Though admittedly, only God is the threefold, "holy, holy, holy." Here are some examples.

People can be holy:
Exodus 19:6
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

Things can be holy:
1 Kings 8:4
And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

Places can be holy:
Nehemiah 11:1
And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities.

Times can be holy:
Exodus 31:14
Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people

Basically it looks to me that anything set aside for God's special purposes is called holy.

So given all this scriptural evidence for things other than God being holy, why do Protestants, who value scripture, teach such a decidedly unscriptural doctrine?

I don't know of anyone who says that but I wouldn't be surprised if some do say it. You are correct that the Bible never says that.

Jesus did say that no one is good but God and that's what I believe and that is supported in the Tanakh like the book of Job.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Oy vey! How did you manage to write that OP and fail to reference to the Holiness Code?

 

[IndigoChild5559]

I think that nobody possesses the absolute truth.
Being raised Catholic, I see there is lots of self-criticism within our Church.
And, it is by 90% about idolatry.

Catholicism likes to sanctify objects (from Latin sanctum facere, to make something holy).

I like this aspect of the religion, as traditional aspect.
But I see that many Catholics turn these objects into amulets. White witchcraft.

I think Protestants have a point. I think it is fair that there are Churches who focus on other aspects.

How do you deal with the gazillions of scriptural references to things that are holy?

 

[Estro Felino]

How do you deal with the gazillions of scriptural references to things that are holy?

Sure....
I do believe certain things are holy.
But a balance is needed...I recall my parents' house was a sort of shrine with religious objects everywhere. Crucifixes, statues and pictures of all the Our Ladies (Fatima, Lourdes, Međugorje....they all look different).

 

[Valjean]

Swiss cheese is holy....

 

[metis]

"Holy" does not mean "perfect"-- it means "special". Sacred - Wikipedia

 

[Vouthon]

But a balance is needed...I recall my parents' house was a sort of shrine with religious objects everywhere. Crucifixes, statues and pictures of all the Our Ladies (Fatima, Lourdes, Međugorje....they all look different).

LOL awww, that gives me fond reminiscences of my great-grandmother (bless her memory, she passed away back in 2011!). Her house was like that - she even had a 'font' with holy water from Lourdes, rosaries, crucifixes, medallions of St. Anthony of Padua, you name it

If there was a 'holy', sanctified object anywhere in the Catholic world, some copy of it probably ended up in her bedroom.....

 

[Muffled]

I believe they are using a commnly held concept that holy means without sin.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

I believe they are using a commnly held concept that holy means without sin.

Well, that's not what holy means, though. Holy means set aside for God's purposes.