What is wrong with those people who to pray to statues?

[VioletVortex]

If you pray to a statue or some other symbolic representation of your god, you are still symbolically praying to said god. The statue is just a way to make the god it represents more tangible and easier to understand by people.

 

[roger1440]

What is wrong with those people who to pray to statues? Don't you think they are not praying to God and only praying to them self's? What is wrong with those people who pray to them self's?

What is wrong with those people who to pray to statues? They have way to much free time on there hands.

 

[Ahanit]

There is nothing Wrong with those.....

Some people have not the ability of Imagination they need material help to get contact to what ever they want to contact.
That is not only the Statue who helps to pray to a god/godess/saint it is also the Ritual clothes, the Magic circle, the religious Symbols which act as crutch for those with not enough imagination.
I Don't think that there is a context between the Statue and the self, that makes no sense to me... If I want to pray to my self, my higher self, my unaware parts, my Ka, I would sit in front of a mirror if I had not the ability of Imagination.
As follower of the left hand path I see no wrong aspects in praying to the self because gods and godesses may give me Inspiration, hint, knowledge, but I am the only one, who has the ability to change my own life. It is my work not theirs. So for change I have to learn about myself, I wouldnt call it Prey but a dialogue with the soul. But for followers of monotheistic paths both words maybe the same in this context.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

Kinda like watching porn. It's not the real thing but it's better than nothing.

I couldn't possibly comment.

 

[sayak83]

What is wrong with those people who to pray to statues? Don't you think they are not praying to God and only praying to them self's? What is wrong with those people who pray to them self's?

What is wrong with people who pray to thin air?

 

[Kelly of the Phoenix]

What is wrong with those people who to pray to statues? Don't you think they are not praying to God and only praying to them self's? What is wrong with those people who pray to them self's?

I don't think most people are, actually. The images tend to represent (S)omeone and isn't considered divine itself, unless in some symbolic way.

There is no gods but God. Its a sin(mistake, error) to worship people, angels or "high beings".

1st commandment - "you shall not have any other gods besides me"

I haven't seen this translation. The ones I HAVE seen are a henotheistic warning that while there may be many gods, you just have to give Yahweh top billing, is all.

Praying to statues is more like:

"Dear statue of Jesus. I know you, ten feet tall bulk of cement. You saved me from my sins. I know you, statue of Jesus, will listen to my prayers. Thank you statue of Jesus. Amen."

Odd

Egyptians, IIRC, had something like automatons, with mouths of statues opening and the god(dess) (the priest[ess], actually) would speak to the petitioner. Nice system.
Or maybe it was Greek. Can't remember. I only know that several countries in the ancient world had them.

 

[Ahanit]

Egyptians, IIRC, had something like automatons, with mouths of statues opening and the god(dess) (the priest[ess], actually) would speak to the petitioner. Nice system.
Or maybe it was Greek. Can't remember. I only know that several countries in the ancient world had them.

It tis an Egypt Ritual, not only used for let speak the God or goddess through the Priest/ess. The main use of the Mouth opening Ritual was for burial, so that the dead people can speak the formulas they need as protection on their way to the Duat, the land of death.

 

[Kelly of the Phoenix]

I'm not talking about opening dead people's mouths, though. I'm talking about primitive robotics.

 

[BSM1]

Interesting comparison. Hmm. I wont ask.

Thanks. I'm in way too deep already....

 

[jonathan180iq]

What is wrong with those people who to pray to statues? Don't you think they are not praying to God and only praying to them self's? What is wrong with those people who pray to them self's?

It's not the statue that they are praying to - it's what the statue represents.

It's a little loony, in my personal humble opinion. But let's at least talk about what's actually happening when someone prays before an idol.

 

[Vinayaka]

It's not the statue that they are praying to - it's what the statue represents.

.

This is not always the case. Sometimes it's the mystical energy within the statue, and the statue is seen as a conduit, much the same as copper is for electricity, or our nervous system is for pain, or a flower is for it's fragrance.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Maybe it's simply helping the individual focus, or the spirit of Christ is dwelling within the statue?

You are right. It is. Just comparing how odd it would be if Catholics were praying to statues.

 

[jonathan180iq]

This is not always the case. Sometimes it's the mystical energy within the statue, and the statue is seen as a conduit, much the same as copper is for electricity, or our nervous system is for pain, or a flower is for it's fragrance.

Right.
That's the belief, anyway.
But I still say that people are praying to what the thing represents to them. If they want to believe that the statue is a conduit for the energy of the gods or whatever, that's great. There's certainly no evidence for objects being a conduit for magical energy, though. So what they are praying to is, as I said, what the object represents to them.

They're praying to their ideal. That's the whole point.

 

[sovietchild]

What is wrong with those people who encourage people to worship idols? Don't they know that it can't help them, guide them or talk to them?

 

[4consideration]

What's wrong with people that worry about how other people pray?

 

[Vinayaka]

What's wrong with those people who ________________________ (fill in the blank in any old way you wish)?

From my POV, there is nothing wrong with anything, just differing paradigms, different ways of life, different ways to think, etc. It's a beautiful vast and wonderfully colorful mosaic we live in.

 

[Jainarayan]

Don't they know that it can't help them, guide them or talk to them?

And you know this how?

 

[sovietchild]

What's wrong with people that worry about how other people pray?

They just curious I guess.

 

[Vinayaka]

They just curious I guess.

The people I know who pray (I'm a Hindu, and statues are essential to our paradigm, method) pray for one reason only, and that is that they feel that their prayers get answered. Certainly that is why I pray. Yes, the doubter will say that the same outcome may have occurred without prayer, and the doubter is correct. It MAY have. Personally though, I feel prayer does change the outcome, so I keep doing it. And with over a billion Hindus on this planet with some temples averaging nearly a million visitors PER DAY, I am not alone in this feeling. For example I know one friend who climbed a mountain asking for help finding a job here in Canada, and got 4 job offers on the way back down the mountain. With that kind of 'luck', why wouldn't he be praying?

 

[sovietchild]

The people I know who pray (I'm a Hindu, and statues are essential to our paradigm, method) pray for one reason only, and that is that they feel that their prayers get answered. Certainly that is why I pray. Yes, the doubter will say that the same outcome may have occurred without prayer, and the doubter is correct. It MAY have. Personally though, I feel prayer does change the outcome, so I keep doing it. And with over a billion Hindus on this planet with some temples averaging nearly a million visitors PER DAY, I am not alone in this feeling. For example I know one friend who climbed a mountain asking for help finding a job here in Canada, and got 4 job offers on the way back down the mountain. With that kind of 'luck', why wouldn't he be praying?

Don't you think you sink deeper in darkness every time you worship created things?