[Stacey]

I would like for someone who is either well-versed in the Catholic religion or who goes to the Catholic Church on a regular basis to explain to me how the use of idols and repetition of certain prayers is supported by your religion. Given the commandment in Exodus 20:2 (or 3/4 depending on the Bible version) to not worship any other Gods nor to make images (idols) of things in the heavens or earth, why do Catholics believe in having idols of the Virgin Mary and icons of Jesus? Also, Matthew 6:7 indicates Jesus said that when praying we should not use 'vain repetitions' or should not say the same things over and over when praying. However, Catholics recite the Lord's Prayer and Hail Marys, etc. How does your religion support these things in reference to what God says about them as recorded in the Bible? (I know other religions do things such as these, like Buddhists, but I only know of one religion -Catholicism - that has the Bible as a guide but partakes of these behaviors.)

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Name : Stacey, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jehovahs Witness, Age : 28, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jeff31176]

There is a strong sense in the Catholic tradition that God's story of salvation in the Bible is continued in the life of the Church. Furthermore, this story of salvation has been shown to us repeatedly through the lives of the Saints. The 'idols' you mention (pictures, statues, etc.) remind us of the story of salvation. They are created for the glory of God, who acted through the lives of the saints, not for the glory of the saints themselves.

Repetitive prayers (for example, the 'Our Father' and 'Hail Mary' in the rosary) likewise point beyond themselves to mysteries of the rosary. These mysteries are the Biblical events that make up the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The repetitive prayers are a sort of mantra that helps the person praying to focus on the events of salvation.

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Name : Jeff31176, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 45, City : San Antonio, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : HR Professional, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Augustine23611]

Thank you for your respectful inquiry. First, our images of Christ, Mary and the saints (statues, icons, etc.) are not idols. We do not worship them; we worship God alone (who is only depicted on the image) and venerate, i.e., honor Mary and the other saints, seeking their intercession before God. We reason that they are far closer to Him than we are - after all, they're in Heaven - and can pray for us just as people in this life pray for each other. As for creating images, the Old Testament is full of worshippers doing precisely that, as with cherubim, etc. The sin would lie in worshipping the image as a god, not in creating the image as a reminder of what it depicts. We single Mary out for greater honor because God Himself did so: 'Blessed art thou among women,' as she was chosen to be the mother of Christ and said 'yes' when she could have easily said 'no.' As for the repetitions, there is nothing vain or fruitless about them. Reciting words with no meaning behind them would be vain and sinful, and we do not do that. We constantly tell our loved ones in this life that we love them, and nobody thinks that is odd or vain. An Orthodox commentator put it best: we repeat a prayer 40 times because we might not really 'mean it' until the 38th time!

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Name : Augustine23611, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 39, City : Columbia, State : SC Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Sanvean]

Idols are things that people worship in place of God. Catholics do not actually pray to the statues in churches; therefore, they are not idols. They are just reminders of holy people of God We also do not worship the saints or the Virgin Mary. We venerate them, because we believe they led holy lives and are good examples for us to follow. Catholics believe that the souls in heaven can still pray for those of us here on earth, and so we ask Christ's mother and many other holy people who have passed away to aid us. Of course, we still pray for God to help us. Still, it is comforting to ask a saint who faced the same problem or illness or temptation we are facing to pray for us. Catholics are not supposed to say prayers in 'vain repitition.' When we say the rosary, for example, which consists of many Our Fathers and Hail Marys, we are supposed to think about each prayer and its meaning. Unfortunately, many people just rattle them off as fast as possible. We believe that the Catholic church is the original church founded by Jesus and that we are the only Christian denomination that was created by God and not a man. Therefore, we value our ancient traditions with the same veneration we give to the Bible.

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Name : Sanvean, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 23, City : Lansing, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : journalist, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[William-Irwin]

the question of why catholics use idols and icons in worship when the scripture says not to must be answered by looking at your interpretation of the scriptures. in the book of exodus the israelites are instructed not to make any graven images, this is true. But why not? Because god hates statues? of course not. they are not to make any graven images for the purpose of worshiping the images. catholics do not worship the images but allow the images to point to the reality they represent. we do not worship the crusifix but allow it to focus our worship on the loving Christ who died on that cross for our salvation. we dont' worship the image of the virgin mary, or the person of mary for that matter, but we allow the image to remind us of the Wonderful 'yes' that mary gave to god when she was told she would be the mother of our lord and how we should give the same whole hearted 'yes' to our god that she gave. god cant be against statues simiply because they're statues. the arc of the covenant had two statues of angels on it's lid. how could the spirit of god dwell with something he considers blasphemous? not likely I'd say. now, I challenge you to look at your interpretation of jesus' instruction against vain repetition of prayer? why would he say that and does the rosary fit the description of vain repetition? I'll let you think on that more yourself

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Name : William-Irwin, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 26, City : Oklahoma City, State : OK Country : United States, Occupation : insurance adjuster, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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