Here’s one source:
Exodus 20:1-6 DRA
And the Lord spoke all these words: I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth.
Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them: I am the Lord thy God, mighty, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me: And shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me, and keep my commandments.
It’s a good thing we Catholics don’t adore and serve the statues we make then!
Because that’s the point of that commandment. It’s saying, don’t make statues AND adore (serve) them (meaning the statues).
It’s NOT saying don’t make statutes PERIOD. It can’t be saying that. Or else Mount Rushmore, the Washington Monument, and even GRAVESTONES people put to commemorate their beloved dead are all idolatrous.
And speaking of the gravestones, some of which do have likenesses of the dead (presumably in heaven) on them, when people visit a graveyard and kneel “before” the gravestone they aren’t worshipping the gravestone, rather they are showing respect and devotion to the one they love.
That’s not idolatry either, just like when Catholics, on occasion, kneel before statues of the Saints.
This has all been explained before, but of course, I’m going to guess (I cant know for sure since I can’t read minds but I’ll bet I’m right), you are still going to insist “It IS worship of a statue, because some BOW before them and not just kneel”.
To that I would reply, “Irrelevant “. Because a simple physical act doesn’t change what’s in a person’s heart, and that is what God judges when it comes to the sin of idolatry. Otherwise, I guess we’re under the Law!
I see nothing further to add, as that’s the entire “debate” as it has always gone around here, ad nauseum, time and time again. Those who insist we Catholics are idolatrous evidently won’t stop (even given the perfectly reasonable apologetic above) and the Catholics won’t stop, not committing idolatry, but loving and honoring the Saints in Heaven.
I just posted this because no one had chimed in already (probably too sick of doing it over and over again) and I had the time now to do it.
But go ahead, if you wish, INSIST you know what is in our hearts if you must. I won’t be responding further.