Is the Crucifix blasphemous?

[spacemonkey]

One of the earliest contradictions I noticed growing up as a Catholic child was that of the Crucifix. One of the Ten Commandments, they would teach me in Sunday School , forbid the worshipping of "graven images". Then you would go into the main hall and behind the alter, loe and behold, would be a 9 foot tall statue of Jesus on the Cross, not to mention statues of Mary or other Saints. So I have to ask, wouldn't the Crucifix (not just a cross, but Jesus on the cross) and the saintly statues be considered "graven images"?

 

[Valjean]

Religions do what is expedient and in their interests. They then alter, emphasize or de-emphasize doctrine to fit the fashion of the time.

Islam and Christianity both share written injunctions against depicting just about anything. Islam used to honor these but now seems to be ignoring them. Christianity, as far as I know, never honored these passages.

 

[spacemonkey]

Religions do what is expedient and in their interests. They then alter, emphasize or de-emphasize doctrine to fit the fashion of the time.

Islam and Christianity both share written injunctions against depicting just about anything. Islam used to honor these but now seems to be ignoring them. Christianity, as far as I know, never honored these passages.

No, but they do honor the Ten Commandments (or so they claim) and they state
I am God your Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, from the place of slavery. Do not have any other gods before Me. Do not represent [such] gods by any carved statue or picture of anything in the heaven above, on the earth below, or in the water below the land. Do not bow down to [such gods] or worship them. I am God your Lord, a God who demands exclusive worship.

 

[Valjean]

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
--- Exodus, 20:4. KJV. Italics mine.

 

[JerryL]

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Why Muslims don't make statues or paint pictures...

That said, it's "idolotry", not "blasphemy"

 

[spacemonkey]

Wouldn't going against the doctrains of your faith be considered blasphemy.

 

[Valjean]

Wouldn't changing the sabbath to Sunday be considered sin?

 

[nutshell]

Wouldn't changing the sabbath to Sunday be considered sin?

I think you're missing the point.

 

[Valjean]

Sorry, I was proposing an example of "going against the doctrines of your faith," that has come to be the accepted norm.

 

[jonny]

One of the earliest contradictions I noticed growing up as a Catholic child was that of the Crucifix. One of the Ten Commandments, they would teach me in Sunday School , forbid the worshipping of "graven images". Then you would go into the main hall and behind the alter, loe and behold, would be a 9 foot tall statue of Jesus on the Cross, not to mention statues of Mary or other Saints. So I have to ask, wouldn't the Crucifix (not just a cross, but Jesus on the cross) and the saintly statues be considered "graven images"?

If they are worshiping them, I would say yes. I don't know that Christians actually worship the cross. I have to admit that I'm not an expert on the subject since LDS churches don't have crosses in them or on them.

 

[Fatmop]

Yeah, I wouldn't say it poses a real problem for too many Christians. I think a bigger problem, ethics-wise, is to wear the cross on a chain around your neck. You have no idea how many people I see with little cross necklaces and cross jewelry.. is this supposed to make them more holy, or somehow remind them that Jesus is there, watching? It certainly doesn't seem to have that effect. Quite often, those I see with Christian jewelry tend to engage in 'blasphemous' behavior all the time. But even if you are a perfectly upstanding citizen, why do you need to wear the cross around your neck? It won't help you get into heaven, after all. I can't exactly imagine St. Peter nodding and winking at the bejeweled Christians, allowing them to skip in line for the pearly gates....

 

[James the Persian]

Yeah, I wouldn't say it poses a real problem for too many Christians. I think a bigger problem, ethics-wise, is to wear the cross on a chain around your neck. You have no idea how many people I see with little cross necklaces and cross jewelry.. is this supposed to make them more holy, or somehow remind them that Jesus is there, watching? It certainly doesn't seem to have that effect. Quite often, those I see with Christian jewelry tend to engage in 'blasphemous' behavior all the time. But even if you are a perfectly upstanding citizen, why do you need to wear the cross around your neck? It won't help you get into heaven, after all. I can't exactly imagine St. Peter nodding and winking at the bejeweled Christians, allowing them to skip in line for the pearly gates....

All Orthodox Christians are expected to wear a cross around their neck, inside their clothes, at all times. We are strongly discouraged from displaying it outside our clothes because such could lead to spiritual pride. We wear it, however, as a reminder of our baptism and of our symbolically having taken up Christ's cross. It is not, because it's hidden, a badge that allows us to be identified in the way you seem to think (this actually may be true of some such people but I can only explain our view) but rather is the spiritual equivalent of a knot in a handkerchief - a constant reminder of who we follow.

James

 

[JerryL]

Wouldn't going against the doctrains of your faith be considered blasphemy.

I'm pretty sure that "blasphemy" requires irreverence, insult, or contempt (or claiming dietyship).

 

[SoyLeche]

If they are worshiping them, I would say yes. I don't know that Christians actually worship the cross. I have to admit that I'm not an expert on the subject since LDS churches don't have crosses in them or on them.

I saw some things in Peru that make me wonder whether or not they worship these images. They have "shrines" (for lack of a better word) dedicated to images. They carry them around the streets on their sholders. One of the biggest holidays in the country is based on a painting.

 

[Scuba Pete]

You won't find one in my house. When Jesus told us to "take up our cross", he was not referring to a piece of jewelery around our necks. Outward signs have a way of becoming a substitute for internal change. God wants the former and could care less about the latter!

One of the earliest contradictions I noticed growing up as a Catholic child was that of the Crucifix. One of the Ten Commandments, they would teach me in Sunday School , forbid the worshipping of "graven images". Then you would go into the main hall and behind the alter, loe and behold, would be a 9 foot tall statue of Jesus on the Cross, not to mention statues of Mary or other Saints. So I have to ask, wouldn't the Crucifix (not just a cross, but Jesus on the cross) and the saintly statues be considered "graven images"?

 

[nutshell]

All Orthodox Christians are expected to wear a cross around their neck, inside their clothes, at all times. We are strongly discouraged from displaying it outside our clothes because such could lead to spiritual pride. We wear it, however, as a reminder of our baptism and of our symbolically having taken up Christ's cross. It is not, because it's hidden, a badge that allows us to be identified in the way you seem to think (this actually may be true of some such people but I can only explain our view) but rather is the spiritual equivalent of a knot in a handkerchief - a constant reminder of who we follow.

James

Nice post, James. While LDS don't use crosses, what you've posted above is actually one reason why we wear that "silly underwear" after going to the temple. We call them garments, they are worn under our clothing, and are a constant reminder of the covenants we've made with God.

 

[Quiddity]

One of the earliest contradictions I noticed growing up as a Catholic child was that of the Crucifix. One of the Ten Commandments, they would teach me in Sunday School , forbid the worshipping of "graven images". Then you would go into the main hall and behind the alter, loe and behold, would be a 9 foot tall statue of Jesus on the Cross, not to mention statues of Mary or other Saints. So I have to ask, wouldn't the Crucifix (not just a cross, but Jesus on the cross) and the saintly statues be considered "graven images"?

Who did you see worshiping graven images?
Your question can be answered in the following thread: post#12
Is it ok for a Christian to venerate Images?

Hope that helps

~Victor

 

[SoyLeche]

Who did you see worshiping graven images?
Your question can be answered in the following thread: post#12
Is it ok for a Christian to venerate Images?

Hope that helps

~Victor

I have met people that believe that a certain image will be the cause of miracles, and that if they don't have a copy of it around, bad things will happen. Define "worshiping".

 

[Quiddity]

I have met people that believe that a certain image will be the cause of miracles, and that if they don't have a copy of it around, bad things will happen. Define "worshiping".

The example you stated would be a "no no" in Catholic teaching. Read Do Catholics Worship Statues?

This should clear some things up.

~Victor

 

[SoyLeche]

The example you stated would be a "no no" in Catholic teaching. Read Do Catholics Worship Statues?

This should clear some things up.

~Victor

It was in Peru, and the Catholic Church organized the carying of the image through the streets, along with building shines for the different images... take it for what it's worth. I don't claim to be an expert on the subject, but South America Catholicism seems quite a bit different from the Catholicism of the rest of the world.