| The following is a dialogue with an Anti-Catholic who was condemning the church's teaching on the veneration of images. He called the Pope the Anti-Christ and this realy ticked me off. I apologize for the sarcasm and crudeness of some of my responses but I believe they are backed up adequately by the Bible. ************ "Make two cherubim out of beaten gold for the two ends of the propitiary" - Ex 25:18 Gee, this is strange. Why is God telling Moses to make graven images after he earlier condemns it in the Second Commandment? After all we know that only pagans and catholics worship idols. Maybe Moses is the anti-Christ trying to lead the people from the true God, and blashpheme the covenant? Or Maybe the Bible's evil! (The Documents of the Beast!) The Ark of the Covent could be the mark of the beast! Or maybe you know nothing about scripture or the Catholic Church!!!! In stating "You shall not carve idols...you shall not bow down before them and worship them" Ex 20:4-5 He is telling us not to worship IDOLS - ie False Gods, images + statutes. The Catholic church does not worship images, but honors those portrayed in the images. He does not mean we cannot make them, or else He would be contradicting himself. And God does not do that. Sacred Art and images help uplift the mind and soul to God. That's why God TOLD the Isrealites to make them. They glorify God and give him honor more beautifuly than just words could. They help men understand God and know God. There is no negative effect to making statutes to honor God. Only when you twist the scriptures in any way you want, are they made to be evil. (cf. Rev. 22:18, 19) As for the words "latin man" adding up to 666, this is very neat. Either way, the Pope is Polish and not latin. How dare you treat the vicar of christ in this way. By mocking him you mock Christ. (see Lk 10:16) He is one of the Holiest Men of our age. Your site has no other use than to guide people away from the truth and give people who know the bible a good laugh. I beg you to repent at once. I'll pray for you In the love of Christ, Jason ******************* Jason, The cherubim was seen by one man, and one man only: the high priest; on one day only: Yom Kippur; in one place: the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, which exists no more. If you feel an intense need to worship these cherubim, I suggest you ask God to transport you to the OT days, making you High Priest of Israel. But if you would like to live in reality, in the NT days in which the sovereign Lord has placed you, then listen carefully. The commandment explicitly commands you to not make a graven image of anything whatsoever, nor areyou to bow down and venerate, honor, revere, or worship it or the person or creature depicted by it. Check your older Catholic Catechisms. These biblical instructions have purposefully been deleted so that the ignorant "faithful" ask no questions, but rather blindly obey the RCC admonition to worship idols. Because the tyranny of the RCC has been broken by the power of God through Protestants, you now have the freedom to worship as you please without being burned. If you wish to do despite to the grace of God and trample the shed blood of Christ underfoot, that is your business. You will soon be answering, personally, to God for your actions. I will be called to testify that I did, in fact, warn you, but you did not heed the warning. If you insist in obeying the Man of Sin, the papal Antichrist, the scarlet Beast, Latin Man, Joannes Paulus II, your end will parallel his (Rev. 19:20). Hoping you make the right decision because of its eternal consequences, Rand Winburn Director Protestant Reformation Publications *****************8 Whoa Rand! Next time try using logic. The High Priest was by far NOT the only person to see the cherubim. The cherubim I'm talking about were not the ones in the sanctuary (1 Kings 6:23-35) God told the Israelites to make the cherubim and put them ON a propitiatory that was used to cover the ark of the covenant(Ex 25:18-21) Inside the ark, were the ten commandments, the very ones which you say contradict that very thing. The very word Propitiatory means "to offer atonement" this means God told Moses to give him atonement by making an image. Why would God tell Moses to make an "abomination" to His covenant and then place upon the very symbol of that covenant? This makes no sense. The ark was carried with the Jews while they wondered in the desert. It wasn't until the time of King Solomon when a permanent place was created for the ark. MANY PEOPLE WOULD HAVE SAW IT! It was the ark that was carried across the Jordan river and made it dry up so they could pass. (Jos 3:3-17) The Israelites are told that when they "see" the ark they can pass. The very miracle is attributed directly to the ark. (v. 7) It is the same ark that is carried around Jericho and made it fall!!!(Jos 6) It is later said that "Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord." (jos 7:6) Does this mean that Joshua worshiped a graven image? I doubt it. But the isrealites constantly honor the ark. They make music to it. (2 Sam 6:15, 1 Chr 15:25,29) The places the ark enters is considered to be "Holy" (2 Chr 8:11) Both David and Eli are said to "fear the ark. (2 Sam 6:9, 1 Sam 4:13) When Samuel brings the ark to the Israelites camp, they shout so loud, the Philistines think they are worshipping a God. (1 Sam 9:1-11) Even the Philistine Idol Dagon, is said to have fallen in worship before the ark.( 1 Sam 5:1-5) When the ark is stolen by the Philistines, the wife of Phenas named her son "icabod" which means "the glory of the Lord departed" (1 Sam 4) Doesn't this equate the glory of God to a graven image? Anyone who touches the ark dies. (1 Chr 13:10) But my favorite quote is the following, "There I will meet you...between the two cherubim on the ark" (Ex 25:22) The great I AM, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob the Creator of Heaven and earth tells us He will meet us between two "graven images"! (Just like the pope's throne between two statues) The only way you can believe what you say, is to say that the covenant of God with Moses was a sacrilegious abomination! - The very covenant that prefigured our salvation! And IF what you said was true, then it would be to say that God allowed the High Priest to venerate images, but others weren't. This would mean God picks favorites. And It still doesn't answer my original question: "If making images is strictly condemned by God, why did He COMMAND the Israelites to make them?. When the Israelites made the cherubim and built the ark and honored it, they were not honoring or worshiping the ark. They were Honoring the Covenant, Power and Promise of God represented by the ark - Represented by two beaten gold angels. When Joshua bowed before the Ark, he was not worshiping wood metal and stone, He was worshiping the God of all Israel in the Great sign of the Covenant he made. The ark drew the mind and souls of the Israelites to God and worshiped God. It was done by his very word. This is the Catholic understanding, and the proper meaning of the scriptures. God did not command us not to make images or statues at all. He said we are not to worship IDOL - ie false Gods. No buddhas, no gahneshes No baals. Making a statue of Christ does nothing more than Honor God become incarnate and draw the mind and soul to God. Catholics do not worship statues. We honor and venerate those depicted in the state. When we make and venerate images of Our Blessed Mother and the Saints, we call upon them to intercede for us and Honor God's miraculous works done through them. The Pope KNOWs a statue of Jesus is nothing more than a statue. He is honoring Christ himself. I suggest you return to you bible and do more studying. What makes you think the Pope is the anti-Christ? There is no evidence on your site to even suggest this, only some bible texts that are ridiculously taken out of context and placed with pictures. It's amazing How Satan can twist the scriptures for his own will! If you really want to know God's will I suggest you study history and the REAL teaching of the Catholic Church. When you base arguments on ignorance you will never understand anything. Once again, I beg you to repent from promoting such Hate-Mongering and Foolishness towards the church of Christ. It is only hurting souls who want to worship God in truth and grace but are being tricked into following a lie and sin. In the FATHER who created us in glory, His Son who saved us from misery, and The Holy Spirit which guides us in truth and grace. Jason. |
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| Copyright 2000, by Jason Kuntz. This article may be copied for personal use , as long as the author is acknowledged. |
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