WORSHIPING GOD

In light of the pressing criticism that Christians are worshiping the images and statues, I want to make a stand to defend and make clear to the best I can although it may impossible to answer the non-believers.  I am certainly much against with it because these are not God and it is idolatry to pray with these objects.  Long before I had this question of why Christians are praying to those images because apparently I see my fellow Christians kneeling in front of these images.  I cannot understand and accept the validations that they are not praying to these images while the fact they are facing and kneeling in front of those images while saying their grace.  But when God makes way, you will eventually fully understand the seemingly unquestionable fact.  Through reading I was explained.  True and good Christians are not worshiping these images.  Doing grace with these images is not worshiping.  Christians praying in front of these images is not forbidden.  How did that happen?  Praying and worshiping are different.  In praying, we are communicating with God while worshiping is praising therefore it is not worshiping the images and this had answered my question and doubt too.

God said “you should not make for yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything heavens above the earth below, or the waters under the earth.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them”.  It means you should not make images and then you worship them.  You can make images of anything like Saints but do not treat them God by worshiping them.  These images are just mere reminders, memories and recognition to the holiness of the personalities.  The church allows them to be around to value, emphasize and recognize the consecrated life they lived that its flock can get inspired into.  These images are representation of God.  They are not necessarily the God instead they are symbolism of God.  Representation doesn’t mean replacement and so the symbolism.  These images are just retelling to us that God is always here.  Praying while in front of these images is not really offered to the images themselves but to the image of God.  And so such prayer is not idolatrous because the prayer is indeed ultimately offered to the God.  Praying to these images in the churches or in our home’s altar will only become idolatry if you are giving all your heart to the images while praying.  When you close your eyes and you pour your all-heart to the Lord, regardless wherever your place, certainly you are praying to the Lord.  It is not the place and not the scene of it but it is your heart.

Whether you are facing in front of your home’s altar when you are praying, whether you are kneeling or standing, prayers in this sense is communicating with God thru the representation of these images and not worshipping them.  They may stand right there in front of the images but their hearts are in front of the invisible God.  Bowing to these images and Christians’ festivities are ways of offering worship to God through the images and not worshiping the images as another God.  But on the other hand it cannot be denied to happen that some of Christians are really praying to these images and the Church is condemning this.  But this can happen only if the faith of the believers is poor, misinformed and misunderstood.  So why should they pray there, the critics would cry out.  Altar is sacred place.  This is where the holiness is much present so it would just worth to pray in these places.  Nevertheless this is just a place but again, prayers can be done anywhere.  It is just a place but then again it’s still that heart that prays.  And it might as well ask again why not just remove these altars?  No because these are reminders, memories and recognition to the holiness and greatness of God.  After all you should not bother if you are praying wholeheartedly.

I pray alone in my room without any images of God.  Like when I’m praying in a car or in our living room.  I can pray too in the church with so many images in front of me BUT deep within me when I closed my eyes and see nothing not even the images of Jesus Christ that we have popularly known, I am sure I am praying to the one and only God.  I prefer to close my eyes to feel the sacredness of my grace and the presence of God.