Statues and Icons and Art... OH MY!

Talking about the Catholic Practice of Statues

"What don't you Catholics understand about Exodus 20:4-5?  '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.   You shall not bow down to them or worship them...'  You guys have statues and you bow to them!"  Catholicism has also been charged with changing the commandments to hide this from the people.

          This is a great topic and is often a starting point in conversations with non-Catholic Christians (Protestants).  This article is broken up into three parts: a 'bumper sticker' answer; a mid-length explanation; and an in-depth yet still remember able answer.

The "Bumper Sticker" Answer

          As a practicing Catholic, I have never worshiped a statue; I have never seen anyone worship a statute; I have never been taught or counseled to worship a statue.

          A full study of  Scripture shows that God was not forbidding the making of art, but was forbidding Idolatry  [the worship of that stone, wood, metal or paint in and of itself as a god] .  Catholicism uses religious art as many use family pictures -  to remember family and events better than they would without them - or as an instrument to teach the stories of the Bible to the illiterate.

The Mid-Length Answer

          Catholicism has always taught that the first Commandment is "You shall have no other gods before me.  You shall not make for yourself a graven 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 or serve them."  Ex. 20:3-5.  However a close look at Scripture will show that shortly thereafter (5 chapters) God commanded the making of 2 gold cherubs (Ex 25:18).  There is also the story of the Brass Serpent in which God, again, commands the making of a Brass or Bronze Serpent where anyone who looks upon it will be saved.  Jesus uses this as an example of himself.

          We can also see from Scripture that bowing is not reserved for worship alone.  Jacob bowed low to Esau seven times (Gen 33:3) and Solomon - a prefigurement of Christ - bowed to his mother, the queen (1 Kgs 2:19).

          Some may ask: 'Show me one place in Scripture where someone bows to a statue?'  Joshua 7:6 shows Joshua and the Elders prostrating themselves (a form of  bowing) in front of the Arc of the Covenant.  What is on the Arc?  Those two gold cherubim mentioned before.

          In Exodus 20:3-5, God was not forbidding the making of art, or forbidding honoring anyone the art depicted.  He was forbidding Idolatry.  Catholicism uses religious art as many use family pictures -  to remember family and events better than they would without them - or as an instrument to teach the stories of the Bible to the illiterate.

The In-depth Answer

          Look around yourself right now.  Are there any images " of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth"?  Any pictures of family?  Any paintings?  Carvings?   Look carefully: children's toys, food labels, movies, T.V.... Are these all forbidden by this commandment? 

          But some may object, God was speaking of religious objects in a religious context.  Unfortunately Scripture does not make this distinction.  But even if it did, look around many Protestant church buildings:  there are images and statues of Jesus, Mary, the Apostles, doves, grapes, angels, lambs, etc.  Even the most Fundamentalist of denominations will have at least a cross.  How about Cress Scenes?  Children's Picture Bibles?  The movie, "The Passion of the Christ?"  Are not all of these, including the cross, an image of anything that is in heaven, in the earth or in the water?

          But the objection continues, Catholics kneel before, bow to and even kiss these images.  Again, in everyday life we recognize that kneeling, bowing and kissing do not equate to worship:  Do soldiers worship the American Flag (another image) when they salute it?  Or when the same soldier, deployed, talks to and kisses a picture of his family he is separated from?  Do the Japanese and Chinese people worship each other when they bow in greeting?  Did Reformers commit idolatry when they kneeled before the princes and kings supporting their efforts?  I've talked to Protestants who love the Bible so much, they kneel before it as they read it.  Are any of these committing Idolatry? 

          Through Scripture we can see that God was not forbidding art and other images in general, nor was He forbidding using gestures to give honor to people or situations even those depicted in art.  He was forbidding the worship of those images in-and-of-themselves; in a word: Idolatry. 

          The Catholic Church has always recognized and taught this distinction.  In Part 3, Chapter 1, Article 1 of the Catholic Catechism, the Catholic Church teaches that the First Commandment is " I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.  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.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them..."

          However, that is not the last word, or only word, Scripture has on images.  In Exodus 25:18, a mere five chapters later, God commands the making of statues:  "And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat [of the Arc of the Covenant]."

          In Exodus 26:1God commands that cherubim be woven into the tabernacle curtains.

          In Numbers 21:8-9 God again commands the making of a bronze image:  "And the LORD said to Moses; 'Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.'  So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live."  Christ later uses this as a prefigurment of himself (Jn 3:14).

          Some objections then say we are only to make religious art / statues when God commands us to.  This also does not take into account all of Scripture:  1 Kings chapters 6 and 7 describe the temple with many images in it:  cherubim, palm trees, flowers, gourds, oxen, lions, and wreaths (6:23,29,32, 35, 7:24, 25, 29, 36).  None are explicitly commanded but God blessed the temple by His presence. Even in Ezekiel's vision of the heavenly temple, Ezekiel also sees many statues and carvings: palm trees, cherubs, a man's face, a lion's face, leaves etc.  Can God be contradictory?  Catholicism recognizes that especially since Jesus became the "icon" of the Father, He blessed all art, even religious art in churches (Col 1:15).

          But, some continue, it's the bowing, kneeling and kissing of these images that make the problem.  I would ask: is bowing, kissing or kneeling always "worship" in Scripture?  Did not Jacob bow himself to the ground seven times to Esau (Gen 33:3)?  Did not Solomon, a prefigurement of Christ, and the King of all Israel, bow down to his mother (1 Kgs 2:19)?  Was Judas' kiss worshiping Christ or betraying Him?

          But can you show me, says the objector, even ONE place in Scripture where someone bows to a statue?  Joshua 7:6 shows Joshua and the Elders going prostrate - an extreme bow - before the Arc.  But don't forget what's on the Arc: two 5' tall gold statues.  To the Protestant onlooker this would be Joshua bowing to a statue.

          What's the difference?  The difference is in the heart.  The Catholic Church is clear that if someone bows before a statue thinking it, in-and-of-itself is the source of power, that is Idolatry and in the Catholic Church that person could lose their salvation for doing so.  But one can also, properly disposed, bow before a statue to honor, not worship, the person or situation that statue or artwork depicts.

          If an objector is still insistent that a Catholic is committing the sin of Idolatry after this explanation, the objector is claiming to read hearts, something only God can do, and is therefore setting themselves up equal to God, which is Idolatry of self.

          Why do Catholics have artwork, statues and other images?  Catholicism uses religious art as many use family pictures -  to remember family and events better than they would without them - or as an instrument to teach the stories of the Bible to the illiterate.  The Catholic Church recognizes that throughout the history of the world, and even world-wide today, the majority of people cannot read.  The Catholic Church is committed to getting Scripture to the people anyway possible.  So, in addition to reading it to them every day [at a rate of virtually the whole Bible per year] the Catholic Church puts art and statues that depict the various people, places and events from the Bible in the churches so the illiterate can still learn the stories and teach them to their children.  We can thereby honor and worship God more fully through the honor of the people and events depicted, than we could without these pieces of art.

          I hope this helps you understand the Catholic Church's possession on religious statues and artwork.  For further information please go to www.catholic.com keyword search 'statues'.