"You shall not make for yourself a carved image - any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth"
If we followed that injuction to the letter our art would resemble that of Mecca and Medina.
As for the last part of the quote, Catholics don't worship statues - they revere the individuals they represent. As a matter of fact, even the pagan Romans and Greeks didn't actually worship the statutes of their gods - they recognized them as representations. The Ancient Egyptians, on the other hand, appear to actually have believed that their Gods like Amun, resided in statues.
If we followed that injuction to the letter our art would resemble that of Mecca and Medina.
Actually not....more like that of the Jews, which have no problem with representations--AS LONG AS THEY ARE NOT WORSHIPPED. Of course the Orthodox Jews avoid any sort of representation of God but even with them, art of other things is honored.
As for the last part of the quote, Catholics don't worship statues - they revere the individuals they represent. As a matter of fact, even the pagan Romans and Greeks didn't actually worship the statutes of their gods - they recognized them as representations.
Fascinating you bring up the Greeks and Romans.... Your arguments are EXACTLY the arguments those ancient pagans brought up when Christians (actually Roman Catholic ones, ironically) of their day castigated their idolatry. Biblically obedient Christians then rejected the arguments....and so they do today.
Regardless of the idea of whether the diety is in the statue or not the command itself describes idolatry...as not simply having images but also BOWING DOWN AND WORSHIPING them. Anyone who prays before an image....is by definition breaking the command, period.