jmfcst that's a pretty ridiculous demand. You're basically saying Catholics should change their ways because other Christians don't like it. Do you see the logical issue here? I'm sure many evangelicals would be offended by people including the minister wearing jeans to church, but that doesn't mean any church I go to is going to change on that.
Rom 14:13 "make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way."
1Cor 8:13 "if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall."
1Cor 9:22 "To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."
In other words, you put aside everything not fundamentally necessary, even your own freedoms, in order to save others. Which is why I dont eat "unclean" meat in front of those who believe it is unclean.
Therefore, if the Catholics are not involved in idolatry with their statues, then why dont they lay aside their statues? Since there is no command in the NT to make statues, then certainly they wouldn't be sinning by removing them. And, trust me, it would go a LONG way to bridging the gap between Catholics and Protestants if the Catholics were to lay aside all their trinkets and statues.
Heck, no doubt there's probably a bunch of protestants who think there is spiritual value in having a cross hanging in their homes, as if somehow hanging a symbol of Christianity protects their household from the forces of evil. That's idolatry...instead of using a cross simply to witness to others that you believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
so, please, dont try to tell me the Catholics dont think there is some spiritual force endowed upon them by having all these trinkets and statues surrounding them. And, again, I'll throw many protestants into that same category.
When you read the book of Acts, or any other part of the NT, do you see any power being displayed through the use of trinkets and statues to overcome evil, or does the power of a person to overcome come through having the Holy Spirit within?
Heck, there is even a case where specific needs were met by items that were blessed and carried to those who beyond the reach of the laying on of hands, but there is no mention that these items were retained beyond their immediate need:
Acts 19:11 "God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them."
And the very next verse backs up the idea that symbolism or the attempted invoking of another person's relationship with Christ does not amount to a hill of beans when it comes to power over evil:
Acts 19:13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
If trinkets and statues were necessary, then the early Chruch would not have survived because they were so persecuted they were lucky to escape with the clothes on their back. After all, it was belief in the word of God that allowed people to tap into the power of God. So, why after beginning with the power of faith in God's word, would you attempt to derive power or protection from trinkets and statues? it makes no sense.
It's kind of like the Galatians, who after receiving the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ, attempted to mix the Law of Moses into their practice:
Gal 3:5 "Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?"
Likewise, to the Catholics I would say, "Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you include statues in your practice, or because you believe what you heard?" So since statues have nothing to do with the power of God, but rather it is about believing the testimony about Christ, don't make them a part of your religious practice since they will only serve in cluttering up the path between you and Christ.
For cluttering up your path to God has always been Satan's goal, and he does so not by replacing truth with a lie, but rather by mixing lies with the truth. That's what he did to Eve in garden, Satan took a truth and added a lie to it. Satan has never cared how religious people get, he simply wants to clutter the truth, which is what he did to the churches in Galatia.
And even though they were deceived into mixing stuff that didn't belong in the practice of Christianity, the churches of Galatia were STILL Christian. They still believed in Christ. Yet Paul wrote to them the most emotional letter of the NT, perplexed that they had allowed men to convince them to clutter their salvation to the point that Paul claimed that those very same churches had lost connection with Christ.
And Paul basically said to the churches of Galatia, "You've cluttered your religion with a bunch a junk. Clutter it enough, and you will lose, or have already lost, connection with Christ. For all your power in God - his salvation, his grace, his forgiveness of your sins, his gift of the Holy Spirit, his ability to overcome sin - is tied to your belief in the word of God regarding his Son, Jesus Christ, and nothing else. Period. End of Story."
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Yeah I am defending Catholicism here. That should tell you something.
yes, it does, and I am sure my Catholic brothers are comforted by your support.
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