Posted on 01/03/2002 6:26:46 AM PST by cathway
.45MAN: I think you will find this to be very interesting.
Thank you for not letting your bigotry get in the way of the facts. Protestant and Jewish clergy cases of child abuse are greater in number than that of the Catholic clergy, facts borne out by many studies.
This good Bishop is from my hometown area (greater Westerly/Pawcatuck), right on the Rhode Island/Connecticut south shore. He is a virtuous man and a humble servant of Christ. My family has known him for a long time. Would that most were like him.
Arlington diocese is a wonderfully orthodox diocese. I attend St. Mark's in Vienna for Mass when visiting my brother and his wife. Very active parish.
If good bishops are timid about reigning wayward local pastors in it, perhaps it is either a tactical mistake or a long range tactical strategy that looks bad now but may bear fruit later.
This good Bishop is from my hometown area (greater Westerly/Pawcatuck), right on the Rhode Island/Connecticut south shore.I distinctly remembering visiting that area with some college friends. We stayed at a huge house on the water -- my recollection is that the name was something like Guanachontaug Pond [sp?]. One of the most beautiful, tranquil spots I've visited anywhere. If that's where you live, I'm jealous!
What does this quote have to do with images of Christ? I guess we do have doctrinal disagreements! You've taken this totally out of context. Paul is writing that should our earthly dwelling, a tent, be destroyed, we have a heavenly dwelling built not by human hands but by God waiting for us, and we yearn for it. What does his discourse have to do with viewing an image of Christ?
The RC's you are talking about are living like Catholics and believe ALL that the Church preaches and teaches, and have every right to call a spade a spade. We normally label those who are CINOs (Catholics in name only as cafeteria Catholics), and you're right, they are very much like prots, they pick and choose what they want or move on. Are there priests who are disobedient to the faith, even Bishops? Yes! Does that change anything the Catholic faith teachs and preserves? NO!
Dominus vobiscum.
Never mind. No words will do. ;-D
Yes. But what about:
"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).In the above verses, God Himself commands that graven images be made. Now either God and the Bible contradict themselves, or your interpretation of the Commandment against the making of images is wrong."Make [a statue of] a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and every one who is bitten, when he sees it shall live. So Moses made a bronze serpent, and set it on a pole; and if a serpent bit any man, he would look at the bronze serpent and live" (Num. 21:8–9).
"[David gave Solomon the plan for the] golden chariot of the cherubim [statues of angels] that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. All this he made clear by the writing of the hand of the Lord concerning it all, all the work to be done according to the plan" (1 Chr. 28:18–19).
"On the [Temple] walls round about in the inner room and [on] the nave were carved likenesses of cherubim." (Ezekiel 41:17–18)
The answer, of course, is that your interpretation of the Commandment is wrong. God approves of the use of statuary, stained glass, ikons, and other graven images when they are used for their intended purpose: the glorification and adoration of God. God forbade the adoration of the statues themselves, and of the Canaanite "gods" the statues represented, not the making of graven images per se.
Ever kneel in front of the Bible to pray? The Bible is a book, and, since every book is by definition a graven image, such worship would constitute idolatry by your standards. Of course, only an idiot would think that keeling in front of the Bible is the same thing as worshiping the Bible! In the same way, kneeling to pray before a Crucifix is no more idolatrous than kneeling to pray before a copy of the Bible. In both cases, the graven images serve only to point us towards the One Whom alone we may adore.
For more on this subject, see here.
Not all Protestants are created equal. :-) Besides, we do not worship/venerate or otherwise abuse the objects d'art so as to violate one of the Ten Commandmants. Except for Episcopalians and some odd independents, we generally do not carry them into our worship rituals.
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