Isnt worshipping jesus image blasphemy?

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   pisean282311posted 13 years ago

   i watched a video where devotees where having some rituals in place which they believe is holy spot where jesus was born...rituals where similar to pagan...i wonder whether worshipping jesus images is blasphemy?

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      mischeviousmeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, absolutely. When the NT argument falls through, it's back to the OT. "Thou shalt not worship craven images before me". If you ask me, Jesus on the cross is very much a craven image. If it comes before God, it's idolatry.

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         pisean282311posted 13 years agoin reply to this

         then why we see so many indulging in image worship?

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            mischeviousmeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            EWhen one's God/god has a face, it has more power.

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         Disappearingheadposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Craven images?
         
         I've never heard of anyone worshiping John Craven.
         
         

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            mischeviousmeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I would worship Wes Craven

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      Greek Oneposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      No it's not...
      
      but worshiping Pisean, as I often do, is indeed taboo

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         Apostle Jackposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         We worship God through Jesus Christ.It is a sin to put anyone or anything before God. Christ taught us to pray to God,and not Himself. Even the cross is idolatry, it is a pagan symbol and should not be a part of the Christian faith.

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         pisean282311posted 13 years agoin reply to this

         @greek one

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      Brenda Durhamposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I don't know what the video showed, but I can tell you this---
      Christians don't (or at least shouldn't) worship images, even an image of Christ.  We worship Him, the risen Savior (Jesus the Christ), not a dead man, for He rose and ascended to Heaven.   We don't worship crosses nor even an image of the Cross upon which He died; we worship Him only.  Christians generally don't even have crosses with Him depicted upon it (crucifixes) although some denominations do.  But I and the Christians that I know sometimes wear empty crosses because even though we recognize His sacrifice, and even though He was totally worthy of worship while He was on the Cross, we view His resurrection as the ultimate event that proclaimed His power over death.  So we remember His sacrifice and are eternally grateful for it; and we see Him now for what He is---the risen Savior.

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      Chris Nealposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, worshipping an image of Jesus would indeed be blashpemy. Jesus came to fulfill the law, not abolish it and the law specifically forbid the worship of images.

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   Eric Newlandposted 13 years ago

   I think there's a difference between using an image as a mental focal point for meditation and actually worshiping that image as if it were God or as if it had power in and of itself. Catholics, for instance, often get accused of doing the latter when they're actually doing the former.

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      aka-djposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      God is Spirit.
      How can an image portray Spirit?
      If anything, it limits Him to that image.
      If you get my drift?

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   Leon Elijahposted 13 years ago

   NO! its idolatory.

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   Emmanuel Marosiposted 12 years ago

   it is indeed blashphemy and idolatory. it violates god's first commandment. "i am jehovah your god, you shall have no other god's before me".

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      Disappearingheadposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      But if Jesus is God incarnate, there is no blasphemy. QED.

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         Chris Nealposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         But if people are worshipping images of Jesus then they are doing something specifically forbidden in the Bible. QED.

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            Disappearingheadposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I'm not sure they are worshipping images; they are using the images to help them to focus on the one the images represent.

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               Chris Nealposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               I know that some people do that, I'm just dealing with the specific question.

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            A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Is there a Christian household on the planet that doesn't have an image of Jesus?

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               Emile Rposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               In America, the only Christian households I've been in that have an image of Jesus are Catholic homes.

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                  A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Then, you've only been in Catholic homes.

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                     Emile Rposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     All the others lied to me? Are you serious?
                     
                     I feel so abused.

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                        A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                        No idea, but most certainly many, if not all Christians have some sort of image of Jesus. Even putting a Jesus fish on the trunks of their cars is considered an image.

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                           Emile Rposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                           How many people park their cars in their house?
                           
                           
                           Anyway, you obviously aren't American, or don't know a great variety of Christians. Most of the protestants I know consider pictures and symbols to be a form of idolatry and steer clear of them.

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                              A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                              Those with a garage built as part of their house, of course. Should I draw you a picture?
                              
                              
                              
                              That's nice. Yes, I do know a great variety of Christians. And yes, they have all kinds of images from crucifixions hanging from their car mirrors to small statues in their homes.
                              
                              What I can't figure out is why you would deny this glaring observation?

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                           Disappearingheadposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                           I do like the Darwin Fish with legs though. Wish I had one of them when I used to go to Church.

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                              A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                              Many folks have stopped putting them on their cars due to the increase in targeted vandalism.

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                                 Disappearingheadposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                 Really? Are you serious?

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                                    A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                    Sure, there are lots of examples...
                                    
                                    http://www.flascience.org/wp/?p=1362

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                                       Disappearingheadposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                       Mmm, America does have its religious nutters doesn't it.

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                                          A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                          Can you imagine the outcry of persecution from Christians if it were the other way round?
                                          
                                          I certainly would expect that kind of behavior from many Christians, especially considering what they say here on these forums, alone.

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               Chris Nealposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Mine.

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                  A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Thanks Chris, that's exactly the answer I was waiting for.

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                     Chris Nealposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     Ooo, mysterious!

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                        A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                        Not mysterious at all, we have discovered one Christian on the planet that doesn't have an image of Jesus.

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                           Chris Nealposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                           Even as I was typing that initial response, I was wracking my brain trying to remember if I had anything in the house that has a representation of Jesus on it or in it. I can't think of anything, but then again I might. That doesn't change my response to the initial question. It's not the representation of Jesus that I worship. I do believe that Jesus walked the Earth and I'm fully aware that He wouldn't have looked like the white, European depictions of Him that are so common in America. But if someone were actually worshipping the image of Jesus, that would be blasphemy.

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                              A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                              The entire point is that if one does have an image of Jesus, they are indeed worshiping it, because they worship Jesus. If you didn't, why not keep an image of Muhammad?

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                                 Chris Nealposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                 That's jumping from point A to point L and saying that points C, D, E, F and G don't exist because they don't fit your hypothesis.
                                 
                                 In other words, just having a representation is not the same as worshipping it. Some people do, I have no doubt, but not everyone and not even the majority.

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                                    A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                    I have no problem accepting your claim, if you can give me any other reasons why a Christian would keep an image of Jesus if not to gaze upon it and worship.

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                                       Chris Nealposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                       Because humans love pictures. We are visual thinkers by nature.
                                       
                                       That may seem like a fine line, which I will concede, but to paraphrase Clint Eastwood, "It may be fine but it ain't invisible!" When I get out Bible stories to read to my kids they do have pictures. I have discussed how Jesus would not have looked like the pictures represent Him. Especially that long hair. My oldest son has even done his own research on what Jesus would and would not have most probably looked like. But I have never taught them to have the picture of Jesus in front of them while they pray. And they don't. When we pray either in a group or by ourselves, we do not have pictures of Jesus, nor do we gaze upon it in adoration. And although I would not say that's true for every Christian in the world, it is certainly true for every Christian I've ever known. In the West people don't generally do that.

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                                          A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                          I'm sure you don't, when you're praying. But, it still doesn't explain the reason for having them, which of course is to worship.

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                                             Chris Nealposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                             Ignored the first part of my answer and if the qualifiers are that important to you then that was a huge, huge mistake. Or giveaway. Either way, what you wound up doing was cherry-picking the section of my argument that, for whatever reason, best suited your purposes.

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                                                A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                                That's just a lame excuse because you have nothing to respond.

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                                                   Chris Nealposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                                   Wow. Well, if it was lame it was nothing compared to that.

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                                             Chris Nealposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                             All right, Captain "Oh you're so lame (I say that so I don't actually have to deal with what you said that I don't want to deal with...)"
                                             
                                             I said we have pictures because human beings are visual thinkers. I said that. You ignored it but I said it and it was the answer.
                                             
                                             And it was also a qualifier. Don't define parameters if you're going to ignore them. Or more saliently, don't expect me to take you seriously if you're going to do that.

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                                                A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                                So, what you're saying is that you have a picture of Jesus to show others in order to help them think visually as to what a guy with long hair and a beard might look like. Uh-huh.

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                                                   Chris Nealposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                                   No, that's not what I was saying.
                                                   
                                                   Uh-huh!

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                                                      A Troubled Manposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                                      Sure, Chris.

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                                                         Chris Nealposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                                                         Gotta love a guy like that!

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