Images of Jesus and Saints idolatrous?

This has been something that has affected relationships, created unnecessary pain and divisions in Christianity since its birth. This is also one of the things that has bothered me when I was younger. I had offended some of my Roman Catholic friends because of this. So, are the images of Jesus, Mary and of the Saints idolatrous?

Here is the 2nd commandment of the ten given through Moses found in Exodus 20:2

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments. (NKJV)

Now this is the way I understand it. The making of images is not idolatrous nor prohibited from this verse. What is prohibited and considered idolatrous is the making of images for worship. The first sentence should not be broken down into sections to understand what it really says. The sin of idolatry is, intentionally making images for worship. That means we cannot make any image of anything or anyone with the purpose of worshiping it or making it, the idol or image to replace Jesus or God.  So, the making of images therefore is not idolatrous if the purpose is not to worship them.

Of course I do question already the present practices in different parts of the world wherein images of Jesus, Mary and the saints are paraded, celebrated and revered to the point of making these statues center of worship, and treated like they are the real persons. We should not worship the appearance of God, but rather the person. Some practices even have people have pieces of cloth wiped over these statues while being paraded, believed to cause healing  and these people are called "devotees". Devotees to the statues, not to God. Now I think this is already idolatrous. One of which I personally seen is the feast of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo Manila Philippines. 

Again, my stand is that the making of images not for worship is alright, like that of the cross worn around the neck or a fish on a bumper sticker,which count as symbols of Christianity and of our Lord Jesus. Making images of anything and or anyone with the purpose of worshiping them is idolatrous.

Why Attend Church?

A christian is not meant to live life alone.  When a person becomes a christian he or she becomes part of a family of faith. The Bible clearly teaches this. This is found in Ephesians 3:4-15, Acts 2.  Christians are born again into a body consists of believers and in which Jesus Christ is the head.  In Hebrews 10:25 it says, "Let us not give meeting together as some are in the habit of doing."

Another reason a christian attends church is fro spiritual growth. Spiritual maturity does not happen away from the family of believers or a local church wherein the Word of God is preached and taught, sacraments are observed, worship of God happens and fellowship with fellow believers are present. It is within this context as well where we try to imitate the early christians who devoted themselves to the apostles teachings and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42

Finally, let me say that entering or membership to a local church is not a means of salvation. Membership and attendance to a church is a natural result of being a christian who belongs to the Family of God.

Spiritual Growth

There are people who call themselves Christians and yet are ignorant of the basic doctrines of their own faith. There are those also who seem to be so comfortable or unconcerned about their faith and think that attending church once in a while is enough.

To be a Christian one must be "born again".  Jesus said that those who repent and recieve him as Saviour and Lord are "born again" -- John 3:3 This is not physical but rather spiritual.  This is what is called the spiritual birth. With this spiritual growth is a must. A baby born cannot stay as a baby forever.  A baby will grow and learn. The same way spiritually, once the spiritual birth happens, spiritual growth follows.

To be a christian is to have a personal relationship with Jesus. No relationship can flourish and be sustained if there is no heartfelt, regular communication. This is what we call prayer. The health of ones prayer life is a reflection of ones  spiritual maturity.

In a relationship it is also essential to spend time reading and studying God's Words, the Bible, His revelation of himself.  The Word of God provides the foundation for a healthy prayer life as well as for all other aspects of ones christian living.  So prayer is a person communicating with God while , the Bible is God communicating  with a person/s.  The reading and study of the Bible is like the daily meal for the spiritual body. So therefore without it there will be death or starving spiritually, lack of it will lead to malnourishment and unbalanced diet will lead to other consequences.

The last basic essential element for spiritual growth is the active participation in a church that is healthy, well balanced, Bible believing, Christ centered Church.  The Church as the scripture says is the body of Christ for which He is the head. Once one becomes "born again", he immediately is born to a family of faith, the universal church.

Hebrews 5:13-14

New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

True Christianity

People might wonder when they see the title for this post, "True Christianity".  I think people already have knowledge or a preconceive idea or ideas about Christianity. So what is there to know and what is there to be considered as true Christianity?  Most people understand and consider Christianity as a religion or one of the great religions of the world. But I tell you there is something most people misunderstand  about Christianity. This is what I call true Christianity.


The reputation of Christianity as a religion is tainted if not destroyed because it is not understood in its truest essence both by Christians  themselves and others. There are things done in history and even today in the name of Christianity which are actually inconsistent to the teachings of Christ Himself, the founder and head of the Christian Church.  One example of this is the killing of the innocent because they were considered as pagan and against the Christian Church. There are such cases both big and small in history and up to this moment.  People who  have this stand and behave this way are not truly Christians. They may call themselves Christians because they are not members of any other religion, but then Christianity is not just membership to a religion.


True Christianity first and foremost is A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP. This is what people do not understand about Christianity. It is not joining Christianity as a member or follower.  One cannot be truly a Christian without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.  True Christians then are those who came into a relationship with Jesus as Saviour, saviour from sin against God, people and the self and also as the Lord or master of their lives, the one they will obey and serve the rest of their lives. The Central figure of true Christianity as a religion and or the Christian Church is Christ Jesus himself not the Church. the basis of doctrine, teaching, faith and the practical aspect of Christianity is the Bible, the Word of God, not church policies, church interpretation of the Bible, nor other people. The Bible itself proclaims that it is a lamp to the feet and light to the path. That means then that if the Christians in history and today based their actions on the Word then Christianity's reputation and influence in the world would even be greater. 


The true Christian is the one with personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord and also the one who is mandated to share the message of redemption and salvation only through Jesus Christ to others through teaching, preaching and reaching out to people in any way and not to kill because others disagree or are going against the Christian belief. Again true Christianity is a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

QUESTIONS

I was thinking of what to post next. I looked at the 2 posts I have and an idea came. I believe that the statement that the "Bible is Divine" causes a lot of people to grin, smirk and raise their eyebrows, because the statement is difficult to comprehend with our finite minds. The statement starts a series of questions in the minds of readers. One would be, how can you be so sure that the Bible is divine?. Another would be, What do you mean by divine? There are more and more question that naturally flow out with just that one statement. 

I appreciate it if it does just this to you. If you stop and consider and ponder what you have read then you are in the highest form of conversation. I hear one time in a radio program that the highest form of conversation is ideas, the second is events and the third and lowest is persons.  What came to my mind when I heard the third is "gossiping", and yes it is true. That is the lowest kind of conversations we can be in.

My point is that if this blog or anything in this blog leads you to think about ideas, beliefs, perspectives, values and attitudes, well and good. It is very good to ask questions. Please do converse with me or what is in this blog with an open mind and heart. When we learn to converse, listen, reflect and consider we are not far from wisdom.

The Bible is Divine

My posts would not be deep discussions of my beliefs, but rather descriptions and or summaries. If there would be anybody wanting to interact with me the comments space, message box or my email may be utilized. I will gladly interact with whoever with the condition that it would only be just a discussion. 

The next belief I would like to share is my belief that the Christian Bible, both old and New Testaments are divine in origin. This is difficult to demonstrate and most of it would really fall in what we call personal convictions and or faith.

First, in classical history the Bible has a very strong support in terms of manuscript compared to other works which may include the works of Caesar, Aristotle, Plato, Homer, Tacitus and others.

Second, I believe that it is basically unaltered from the original copies. This is affirmed by scholars who have compared earliest existing manuscripts with manuscripts written centuries later.

Third, the reliability of the Christian Bible is attested by testimonies of the authors who themselves were first person witnesses or are in close association with the first person witnesses to the documented events ans also by secular historians who validates the people, events, traditions, customs and many other things in the Biblical records.

Fourth, Archaeological findings and research and interpretation of scriptures validates the Bible's reliability. An example of which is the historicity of Pontius Pilate, the one who approved the crucifixion of Jesus and also Caiaphas, the high priest during Jesus' time who was in the religious trial of Jesus.  The reality of these people in history has solid archaeological evidences.

Fifth, are the prophecies or predictions which are accurate and truly fulfilled in history. The advancement of kingdoms from Babylon through the Medo-persian, Greek empire, and the Roman empire which resulted in the persecution of the Jewish people under Antiochus IV Ephipanes, the defilement of the temple, his own death and then the Freedom of the Jews in 165 B.C. under Judas Maccabeus were all predicted by Daniel, or is in the Book of Daniel written 530 B.C.  This is just one example of many prophecies that came to pass and this points to the fact that the Bible is divine and is reliable.

Basis of Belief

I believe that one has to have something to make as a foundation or basis for beliefs. This only applies to persons who have reached the age of accountability, where in they have full capability and ability of understanding independently, because children in the most part of their early lives are still just absorbing what is fed in their minds and wills.

So, then to make this short the basis of all you see in this blog is the BIBLE, the Christian bible. I believe in Christianity based in the Bible. I believe because I am convinced of it. Christianity is the most distinct and clear of all the religions I have encountered and studied about.

What makes Christianity very convincing and most distinct to me are:

1.  It is founded and grounded in history and evidence. Jesus the founder and head of Christianity lived, died and resurrected. All these can be validated by the testimony of many in the Bible accounts as well extra-biblical evidences.

2.  It is only Jesus who claims to be God who came in human flesh. 

3.  It is the most coherent in its structure in its doctrines. It speaks to all areas of life such as suffering, human laws, morality, evil, meaning of life, justice, love and many more. In short it speaks of the reality of our condition now.