“Relic Rubbish”

Wednesday, August 07, 2013

My question is probably going to be a difficult one, and being that I'm rejoining the Lord and seeking Him at this crucial time in my life, I need some direction in scripture that will clarify this question.  I keep coming back to it, but I have yet to find the answer myself.  Is the Catholic church’s practice of Veneration, "respectfully bowing or making the sign of the cross before a saint's icon, relics, or statue," a violation of the commandment, "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them"?

Sincerely,
Statue Struggle

Dear Statue Struggle,

Yes.  Worship and veneration of “saints” and other Catholic relics is wrong.  God very specifically says that we should not serve anyone other than Him (Lk 4:8).  Paul even told the Athenians that their statues of worship were a sign of their ignorance of the one true God (Acts 17:23).  Catholicism doesn’t get its teachings from the Bible; they get them from a manmade organization in Vatican City, specifically the Pope.  Catholicism is wrong, and many of their practices are in direct violation of Scripture (such as forbidding marriage and abstaining from certain foods – 1 Tim 4:3).  Feel free to peruse other questions on the Catholic church in our archives under the Catholic category… you’ll find that time and time again Catholic practices disregard Bible truths.  Religion without adherence to the Bible isn’t faithful (Rom 10:17), and it isn’t pleasing to God (2 Tim 3:16-17).  It is our job to look intently into the Scriptures and test all religions against them (Acts 17:11, 1 Jn 4:1).  Catholicism fails the test.  If you would like help finding a congregation that passes the test, or you would like to study further, please e-mail us at askyourpreacher@mvchurchofchrist.org.

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