Rightly stated. The big "IF" appears again and the famine of understanding* (shema) the word of the Lord has made Christendom a desert and a wilderness in which most fall away.
Am 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing* (shema) the words of the LORD.
Words and Images mean things even if people foolishly seek to change their meanings. That is why G-d made commandments about them and talked about them so much.
Sun Worship in Church Vocabulary
Too Long in the Sun: Images -- excerpt:
The Egyptians dedicated many obelisks to Ra, the god of the sun. The obelisk shape has been defined as that of a phallic symbol, or a ray of the sun extending to heaven. Today obelisks, or steeples adorn many buildings which have been labeled as churches. Does this honor our Creator? ...Christmas Before Christ? The Surprising Story
Another "image" that has supposedly been "Christianized" is that of the "mother and child". We have shown that the worship of the mother and her child, the re-incarnated sun god, has been one of the main components of sun worship since ancient times. The child represented the reborn sun god, proclaimed to be husband of the mother. That enabled her to claim the title "mother of god" - "queen of heaven".
Please notice the "nimbus" surrounding the heads in many depictions of the "mother and child." This "nimbus’ or radiant light, in the form of a circle or halo, originated in sun worship. The nimbus was used to indicate the radiance of the sun gods or goddesses.
There were no such depictions of the Biblical Mary and Christ by early believers. Later, however, as paganism began to corrupt the worship of God these representations began to be accepted by those calling themselves Christians. Mary was given the title "Theotokos - Mother of God" and these icons began to be placed on the eastern wall of churches, toward the rising sun, where they had always been in the pagan temples.
The only honest conclusion that can be drawn is that there is no Biblical, archaeological or historical evidence that any of the before mentioned "images" were used by first century believers. Where did these symbols originate?
We will again quote the "church" historian Tertullian - He sums it up nicely from a human standpoint: "If, for these and other such rules, you insist upon having positive Scripture injunction, you will find none. Tradition will be held forth to you as the originator of them, custom as their strengthener, and faith as their observer."
Jesus sums it up perfectly: "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."
