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Are statues in churches idolatrous?


Most people often accuse Catholics of idolatry by quoting Exodus 20:4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." This verse is in the context of the first commandment 'I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other gods before me. Since the Israelites never seen God, they resorted to making images of created things and worshiped it as god which was prohibited then and still holds true for us today. However, does it mean that God prohibited the making of all statues?

God himself ordered the making of statues
Just 5 chapters after the prohibition on making idols, God orders the making of enormous gold cherubim on the mercy seat of the Ark of the covenant in Exodus 25. The Ark of the covenant was revered by the whole of Israel and was considered most sacred. Hence it is clear that, God did not have an issue with all statues, but only those which were used in the worship of false gods.

Statues for religious purpose
When the Israelites were struck with a plague of serpents in the dessert, God ordered Moses to make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole, so that whoever is bitten by a serpent, can look upon the bronze serpent and live. Thus we see statues used in rituals as a source of  blessing to the people.

Why are there no images of God in the Old Testament?
God himself explains this in Deuteronomy 4:15-20 stating that since he took no form among the Israelites when he bought them out of slavery, they must not make him in any form or likeness of created things. However, this is not the issue, when we come to the New Testament.

Image of God in the New Testament
God takes physical form, in Jesus. Colossians 1:15 says Christ is the image of the invisible God. We also see the Holy Spirit revealing  himself during Jesus' baptism in the form of a dove. That is why in churches we often see pictures of Jesus and the dove representing the Holy Spirit. Again, any Catholic who has read the life of Sister Faustina knows how God ordered her to make the Divine Mercy image which has been a source of great strength to people struggling with hopelessness. The depiction of the Heavenly Father, in children's Bibles is found in the vision of Daniel 7:9. Christians of all denomination know that it is difficult to teach little children about God without the use of images, it is an important teaching tool  for kids and also for the illiterate. It also helps you remember and draws you into a closer relationship with an invisible God. It is similar to keeping photos of loved ones in your wallet or on your walls. It is not the photo you love, but the person it represents.

What about statues of Mary and the saints?
If we were to make statues of men and women and worship them as gods, it would definitely be idolatrous, but that's not what Catholics do. We pray to Mary and the saints, asking them to pray for us as instructed by the Bible. The Book of James tells us to pray for one another that we may be healed and that a prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects (James 5:16-17). We do not believe that the saints in heaven are dead, but that they are fully alive and perfected in Christ as they have partaken of his body and blood. The Book of Revelations tell us about the saints worshiping God, playing instruments, singing, making request to Christ and also offering prayers for saints on earth (Revelation 4:10, 5:8, 6:9-11).

Mary the first among the saints exhibited at the wedding feast of Cana how she takes our request to her Son in our times of need. More importantly, she along with all the saints that have gone before us, set an example for us to imitate. To show us that sincere obedience to God in adverse situations is not only humanly possible but that it will also be divinely rewarded.

Simply understood, idolatry is when SOMETHING or SOMEONE  takes the place of god in your life. It can be anything from your career, to someone you are too attached to, or an object that you consider to be a god. All worship must be directed to the true God, making him the first priority in your life.












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