DO CATHOLICS WORSHIP IDOLS/ PRACTICE IDOLATRY? By Jonathan Loquez

DO CATHOLICS WORSHIP IDOLS/ PRACTICE IDOLATRY?
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Prior to the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, making of any representation of God is totally PROHIBITED. It’s NOT because God hates religious statues, i.e. God commands images made(cf. Exo. 25:18-22,26:1,31; Num. 21:8-9) He is AGAINST false representation of Him. He is INVINCIBLE and NO ONE has ever seen Him.(cf. John 5:37)
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God is OMNISCIENT. He has a PERFECT plan on how He will reveal Himself to mankind. And that is through the INCARNATION of our Lord Jesus Christ.(cf. John 1:14) The INVINCIBLE God became VISIBLE to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. The Son of God DWELT among us just like an ordinary man almost 2000 years ago.(cf. Phil. 2:5-9)
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Therefore, after the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, we already have a PERFECT representation of God, that is Jesus Himself. If we will make IMAGES of Christ, God will NOT rebuke us because Christ is not a false representation. Christ is the PERFECT representation of God, i.e. Christ is the visible image of the invisible God(cf. Col. 1:15).
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We, Catholics make IMAGES of Christ because we know that Christ is NOT a false representation of God. We make IMAGES because we know that God doesn’t hate images for religious purposes. We ONLY venerate these religious IMAGES because we know that God ALONE must be worship.(cf. CCC 2132)
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Accusing us Catholics as idolaters is FALSE. We never WORSHIP other gods. We worship God alone, the Most Holy Trinity.(cf. Athanasian Creed). The images of Christ in our Churches are NOT idols. Idols are false representation of God. The images of Christ are perfect representation of God(cf. Col. 1:15).
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What about the images of Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints? Their images are NOT idols. According to St. Paul, idols have NO existence(cf. 1Cor. 8:4). Mary and the saints have existence. So, to regard them as idols is ILLOGICAL.
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Why we venerate ALSO the images of Mary and the saints? For Virgin Mary, we value her very important role in the mystery of Redemption(cf. Luke 1:43, Gal. 4:4). The saints must be remembered for their immense contributions in proclaiming the kingdom of God(cf. Rev. 7:13-15).
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Conclusion: Catholics are not guilty of idolatry. There are no idols inside the Catholic church.
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BY: Bro Jonathan Mercadero Loquez(Catholic Lay Apologist)