This makes us the highest and the most supreme living creature on the face of the earth. Ramified by our worship practices, we accept that the Spirit of God is the refuge we choose to take. And the only point or level we have in communion with the Spirit, is also our spirit which we call, the soul. Typified by prayers in church worship or simply when we’re alone praying. Our souls/spirit reaching to that juncture as we connect with God through prayers. Sad to say, Catholicism perverts this natural leverage, caustic though I may sound. But as incisive a parent in disciplining a child, so does these words of wisdom, encouragement, and enlightenment. In any standard and to any law set, dissidents are disavowed, more so, if the law is about God. Flagrant disobedience through unacceptable and unlawful practice with images and statues.
The 1st commandment hopes to avert an immense social, psychological, and personal setback detrimental to the overall sanctity of the human soul in relationship with the Spirit of God.
The intangibility nature of the kind of worship we ought to practice is inviolably sacred. Not only matching the spirit of God with our souls but for other practical and beneficial reasons that accompany it: to positively attain the leverage of our souls and the Spirit of God that is vital to the harmony among all men. When ignored, like any law, it would be disadvantageous and even fatal. Catholicism makes people to look, talk, and even kiss statues. When in fact, relating feelings by communing with God in prayer and worship, is suppose to be purely spiritual-meaning-no form of any tangible materials.
However, the current practice in the Catholic church is with images and statues. Thus, leaving faithful followers dislodged of absolute spirituality once outside the confines of the church building. A classic example of this is when people say, “that inside the Catholic Church, one would find God, particularly in the Holy Eucharist inside a prayer room.” Is that where god resides-in the Holy Eucharist? If this is not confinement, limiting, and outright oppression to the sovereignty of God’s omniscience and spirituality, then, tell me what! They’d say God is not them (statues) but faithful followers profusely express all their hearts, and minds into the statue as they pray. The images are borne of two facts:
1.) A longstanding educational aid to visualize and typify Christianity:
The statues now found inside Catholic churches are consequences of teachings by virtue of illustration or visual aids to evangelize and teach others how Christ has gone through life in the earlier years. Such a time where classrooms and educational systems are not as prolific and organized as what we have now. Early times when primary structures are castles, fortresses and churches. Though, the veracity of the matter may well be attributed to this fact, however, Catholicism should know better about the law than to let the image even permeate during the time of worship. This insubstantial premise, though a blessed deed (Dark Age education) still unacceptable being it unlawful, leads me to the next fact.
2.) The Roman Empire transported Christ after He appeared to His disciples on the third day from His crucifixion from the tomb:
History shows how great the Roman Empire was, at the time of Christ. A time when manslaughter was prevalent. With Christ’s messianic background known by spiritual pundits as evidenced by the account of the wise men and the magnitude of its reach in the kingship of Herod, the Romans too were certainly aware of Christ’s profile. The Romans were the very ones who culled him after the crucifixion. A crucifixion borne from the demands of the Sanhedrins and local people who deemed Him as a public menace and a heretic. A verdict that has basis at certain angles when Christ ransacked the synagogue http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+2%3A13-16&version=KJV (John 2:13-16), and other commentaries He made against the church that time, which in this book you would see how Christ’s advocacies are divine, though, it caused Him to suffer.
Even today, there are certain range of policies in government where peace and order could not be compromised. This is a very basic argument. The Jews were only a few of the Roman Empire subjects at that time. And the land of Jerusalem where Jesus was, were composed of highly influential church people in their local region, who consult with the Roman government. Christ being the subject of ire by the influential Sanhedrins, His rage in the synagogue and dissatisfaction with the law, did not favor Him so much also, that when the voice of the influential church leaders spoke with Pontius Pilate complaining that Christ was the enemy of the church, and a person who cause local trouble was the completion of the crisis in His life.
What was left for the Roman Empire to do, despite of its subjects’ clamor to crucify Him was to save Christ by taking Him out of the tomb. Remember, “angels” who are mentioned every once in a while in the Holy Scriptures? To my theory and personal experience, angels are people just like you and me, who, for some reason they are highly classified in character due to the fact, that they hold high positions in either government or church whose acts and decisions may not necessarily condone with that of the public majority. But to save grace and maintain peace and order they have to do what was necessary. Besides, aren’t the Romans, the people say who killed Christ, how come today, the Vatican is in Rome itself, where all Catholics say Christianity emanated from.
The Romans just had to give way for the will of the people as they have certain grounds of accusing Christ at a certain extent, objectively speaking. Since, even today, we would likewise feel oppressed if anyone is against our faith or even create havoc in our church. But what people did not know in Christ time, was the fact that He was trying to extend the message of God. He was just like any other man in physical appearance, and violated the law on peace and order. With which, the Sanhedrins had reasons to accuse him and made people (but not all) to be against Him. Also, at such a time when acceptance of some contrasting radical spiritual points of view of what the church practices, made some people antagonistic of Him.
For several occasions I contacted the Vatican via email at vis@press-va.va, asking them why are they so casual to highlight Christ and His family through statues and images in the churches, in the midst of their claims that He is God. As if He is just an ordinary person whom people should be reminded of all the time, just like the Catholics would say in having images and statues of loved ones-as reminders! This is the reason why I conclude that Christ remains are in the Vatican. It is a bold theory and theology, I know.
I may understand why the Catholic Church had to promote the idea of the Resurrection or the virgin birth and among other things-but only to some extent. I know and feel you had to magnify and dissociate the Messiah and everything about him from any hint of human lowliness or any argument penchant to malice or primitive insight and parallelism. But the truth shall always set us free and things must be revealed one way or another. It is suppose to coincide with the natural truth, whereby all faiths, especially the Jews could understand that their "fellow Man"- the Christ, our Messiah is not a concocted character possessing magical powers-one reason why the Jews can not believe in Christianity's claims. And to think that these are major religious groups. Then come the Muslims, seeing "red" among everybody and is this a recipe of what we call Godly people? I guess not.
Nonetheless, Catholicism defeats, contradicts, and distorts their very claim of the Trion God or the blessed Trinity. As Christ is one with God, so should we and must regard Him in Spirit.
It is already disappointing as it is to see statues being prayed upon by some people who are suppose to have the loyalty and faithfulness as advocates to the law, as Christ has http://bible.cc/matthew/5-17.htm (Mathew 5:17). You teach about the Blessed Trinity to men, and yet polluting and mustering disobedience as you and your people pray to engraved images and statues made by hands. The Alpha and Omega title and term of preference to Christ has a definitive factor for Him being Man and the Son of God-and should be drawn genuine and exclusive of Him alone. People should only be one with Him in spirit and not glean virtuosity and serendipity to the point of making images at the expense of sinning that we commit every time we look and pray at carved images. Otherwise, reluctance in understanding, and unity arise within religious faiths, since God is being turned into something tangible which the first commandment warns all men about. A Law-duh!!!
The overlooked disobedience takes a destructive toll both personally and socially. The danger of placing the mind-set and the heart of an individual to accept an unlawful practice (such as that with the image) creeps in like a phantom in one’s being. The exertion an individual has to put up with, away from the inside of a Catholic Church building,would ever be so terrible. This is due to the fact, that their faith manifested by their acts of worship is veered toward a physical being--they are drawn toward the carved image as a source of release for their prayers and praises. This form of worship when God is embezzled or substituted by something--individuals are in a constant divide in search for spirituality and godliness once outside the church.
Even in the early ages men have constantly tried to attain union with God at places they held sacred-the church in modern term. What we perform with all our emotion therein, immensely contributes to our way of life. It propels righteousness to life because we know we group ourselves home before the Almighty, the all-knowing and sovereign God. The church is always held sacred and its practices ever solemn. Coupled with the infusion of men’s profuse praises and worship, the realm of spirituality is simply astounding and superb or heavenly. But once the sovereignty of God is misused on any thing, by representation, and confinement to any image, we shall be what the scripture has to say about those who commit idolatry http://niv.scripturetext.com/psalms/115-4.htm (Psalm 115-4-8; Exodus 20:5) http://bible.cc/exodus/20-5.htm.
Skeptic as Catholics could be vehement, in acknowledging adverse spiritual repercussion, their very denial itself represents the effect and aftermath of idolatry. Very scary. Subjects are clouded by reprehensible worship with images which do not see, could not comprehend to think, could not speak. Hence, distortion of lawful, and acceptable precept about the Holy Scriptures. The God of before is the God today and forevermore. The hardened hearts and twisted reasoning is in itself the effects of lawlessness.
The elaborate prelude I reiterated pertaining the collective adherence to the laws established by government, is as kin with the instructions of the holy scriptures, especially when it is a matter about our worship-where we personally unite ourselves with God in prayers. The Holy Scriptures is shared by every major religion where they base their faith and practices on. Any discord shall always result to resentment, apathy, hate which results to even fatal confrontations, especially at levels of dignitary ideologies in government. It may take its toll either in daily social indifference with interaction to others. In whatever demographic class, government, or even personal levels of indifference it adversely affect spiritual homeostasis and harmony of parties involved.
Word to the Wise: History shows how Christianity has evolved into numerous factions. It is not arbitrary to say that something is wrong with your worship. Your claims of the Messiah’s founding church, through His disciple Peter, does not warrant unlawful practices in worship. Your decision to remove your idols with regard to this compelling truth and effects of idolatry, is as principal as the Jews to accept the Christ as the Messiah. The other holds the key for another. A paradigm we characterize being Christians in the face of the earth in claiming to have the ways of the Messiah. Then again, how can you be so obtuse in overlooking a major requirement of communion with God in your churches? Why thou hast let images be part of every worship? How can we expect others to obey the least of any law if even the vital ones we flout. Remember that Christ Himself promotes the law of the prophets, as much as the Catholicism encourages men to obey the Ten Commandments. Unless the Catholics remove unnecessary images and idols in its churches where people contemplate, supplicate, and bow their heads in prayers-spiritual indifference which results to fatal confrontation shall always befall and exist among all men. Remember, the parable of the vine (John 15:1; John 15:5), where Christ likens Himself to-as Christianity is ever prolific- like a vine bearing much fruit.
As the humble beginnings of Christ resulted to a magnanimous turn about in faith and mind-set in the hearts of men, same parallelism can be derived by how Catholicism impacts the vigor and spirit of Christianity. In this case on the other hand, same vigor applies to mankind in an inverse proportion. Instead of making spirituality productive-harmonious to a collective participation in worshiping God, lawlessness takes its toll not only in the realm of shared humanity, but also unmindfully sodomizing the purity of both souls and the holy spirit each time with the images and idols. Again, unless the Catholics remove unnecessary images and idols in its churches where people contemplate, supplicate, and bow their heads in prayers, spiritual indifference which results to fatal confrontation, shall always befall and exist among all men.
I have been in other Christian churches (besides Catholic churches) and I appreciate how they regard this particular law pertaining to idols, which is a major requirement and has a tremendous spiritual impact to the parish and societal unity in the realm of religious beliefs. Catholicism’s assumptions have grown and produced too much, that the church ended up containing every bit of a statue known to men!
If you want a reminder I personally, strongly recommend with all graciousness that just a CROSS-be in the place of worship. This would take us back of Christ’s ordeals to save us-when He challenged and charged the government and the church, so as to show and give us the way, the truth, and the life. This is where the proprietary term Alpha and Omega applies.
This is not contradictory to the first commandment. It is immunity, so to speak, to spiritual liberation from bondage of sin, since Christ is the Messiah. It’s like having a new introduction in all fronts from the Old World to the new and everlasting life, but by being sharp enough, in putting into consideration the law and repercussions of disobedience. What deduction or association is there in a cross are the sins of men, which the Son of God took, and bear-the sin, but not God Himself being portrayed by the cross. By which, no one would ever be guilty of idolatry or any graven representation about God.
Leave the illustrations and visual aid in books and educational institutions. Besides, church is for worship and school is for knowledge. Putting up an image of a crucified Christ on the cross inside the churches shall thereby make Catholicism extremely guilty of idolatry-no less than the pagans of long ago. This constantly disturbs the array of spiritual homeostasis with the Jews and Muslims-not that you have to please anybody. But, since Christ already embodies God in spirit, having an image of Christ shall automatically bring about a graven image personifying God which is, again, a prohibition and a long standing controversy of idolatry at a devastating level. This revision or change (removal of images and statues) in catholic churches shall set you free-like other Christian denominations, at least in this respect, as we still have discussions in succeeding chapters exposing other Christian practices detrimental to both personal and universal concerns.
The question is, how long until we achieve and claim Christ’s saving grace? And to the more skeptic and doubtful audience, the question may be, how could Christ be the Savior or has their been any yet--when now we still experience indifference and hate? Well, eat your hearts out boys and girls as we move along with our discussion. Remember this, there is so much that is expected of you (Catholicism) for being a kind of people who are front-runners of the Messiah. You should be the most people, who must show the rest of the world how God wants us to worship and live the life Christ lived and died for.
Your Strength: Reverence for Christ
You Weakness: Not knowing how to worship God in truth.
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