No ... we don't need images but icons and statues are like photos of loved ones that we carry in our wallet or turn into wallpaper on our computer. In the Bible, there are many many passages where the Lord commands the making of statues. For example: "And you shall make two cherubim of gold [i.e., two gold statues of angels]; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end; of one piece of the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be" (Ex. 25:18–20). Similarly Ezekiel 41:17–18 describes graven (carved) images in the idealized temple he was shown in a vision, for he writes, "On the walls round about in the inner room and [on] the nave were carved likenesses of cherubim."
For many of us Catholics, to look upon Christ crucified is a reminder of the sins we committed and for which He shed every drop of His blood. It is humbling ... to say the least.
Thanks for your reply. it was very informative to me. God bless.
I keep a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by my front door so that, when I open the door, it is one of the first things that callers see. The effect it has had on some has been very interesting.
Except those statues or "holy pictures" are not the real image of anyone they are from the artists imagination.
So the question is if we look at an image of Jesus, when no one knows what he looked like.. is that in truth an idol..
The nation of Israel thought the golden calf was an image of God..but God did not think so
There are no pictures of the people that lived for most of Christianity's history..it is ,like prayer to the dead all made up