#26 Are Images of Jesus, Mary, Saints, or Angels Helpful or Harmful? Do Relics &Rosaries have Power?

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ARE IMAGES AND STATUES OF JESUS, SAINTS, ANGELS, OR MARY HELPFUL OR HARMFUL?
DO RELICS AND ROSARIES HAVE SPIRITUAL POWER?

Merriam-Webster’s Definitions to Consider: How similar are these terms?
Icon - “an object of uncritical devotion; a religious image usually painted on a small wooden panel”
Idol - “an object of extreme devotion; a greatly loved or admired person; a picture or object that is worshipped as a god”
Amulet - a small object worn to protect the person wearing it against bad things (such as illness, bad luck, etc.)
Charm - something worn about the person to ward off evil or ensure good fortune
Fetish - an object of irrational reverence or obsessive devotion

Passages of The Catechism of the Catholic Church to Consider:
“The veneration of sacred images is based on the mystery of the Incarnation of the Word of God. It is not contrary to the first commandment.” (CCC 2141)
“now that he has made himself visible in the flesh and has lived with men, I can make an image of what I have seen of God … and contemplate the glory of the Lord, his face unveiled” (CCC 1159)
“‘Following the divinely inspired teachings of our holy Fathers and the tradition of the Catholic Church (for we know that this tradition comes from the Holy Spirit who dwells in her)…holy images of our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ, our inviolate Lady, the holy Mother of God, and the venerated angels, all the saints and the just, whether painted or made of mosaic or another suitable material, are to be exhibited in the holy churches of God, on sacred vessels and vestments, walls and panels, in houses and on streets” (CCC 1161)
“Medieval piety in the West developed the prayer of the rosary” (CCC 2678)
“ the rosary, an ‘epitome of the whole Gospel,’ express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.” (CCC 971)
“sacramentals…prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it” (CCC 1670)

Scriptures to Consider:
2 Kings 18:4–6 And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it"
Exodus 20:4–5 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath"
Deuteronomy 4:16–19 “beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female"
Isaiah 2:8 "Their land is filled with idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made.” (ESV)
Acts 17:29 “we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.” (ESV)
Colossians 2:18 “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels”
Romans 1:22–25 “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man"

Questions to Consider:
If objects from the Old Testament such as the bronze serpent, the ark of the covenant, and the cherubim were so important for our faith, why do we not have them today?
Why did King Hezekiah destroy the bronze serpent in 2 Kings 18:4? How does verses 5 & 6 describe King Hezekiah?
Why is the ark of the covenant now in Heaven and not on earth? (Revelation 11:19)
What does Acts 19:19 teach us about dangers that can be found in objects? When should we get rid of or destroy objects? Why is trust the critical issue?
Why did the early church father Eusebius warn against amulets being dangerous? When can an object like a rosary, relic, statue, or image become more like an amulet in our hearts?
Why did people use objects as idols in the Bible? What were they trying to gain? What were they trying to get rid of? When can an object become an idol in our hearts today?
Why are we warned about putting our trust in objects like horses and chariots (military might) for protection from evil?
In Acts 5:15-16 was the healing from the proximity to Peter, or from the faith in the Spirit of the Living God that caused them to draw near to Jesus within Peter?
Did the woman’s proximity to Jesus heal her? Did the woman’s touching of Jesus heal her? Or was it her faith? Objects and proximity to objects are not needed. Faith in Jesus is what is needed.
In John 5:1–11 at the Pool of Bethesda Jesus does not choose to heal everyone. Why not?
Why doesn’t Jesus, Peter, or Paul require an offering in return for the healing that came? Is it wrong for the Church to collect offerings in conjunction with healings?
SEE: “What Does the Bible Say about Idols?” www.trustworthyword.com/idols