"But since some find fault with us for worshipping and honoring the image of our Saviour and that of our Lady, and those, too, of the rest of the saints and servants of Christ, let them remember that in the beginning God created man after His own image. On what grounds, then, do we show reverence to each other unless because we are made after God’s image? For as Basil, that much-versed expounder of divine things, says, the honor given to the image passes over to the prototype."
Exodus 20:4-6, 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: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Beautiful reasoning. But when golden calf was crafted at Mount Sinai Israel did not abandon their allegiance to Yehowah, they thought golden calf represented Him. They used their reasoning to arrive to the sin they have committed.
I would say that this is one point of contention that most of us on this site would not be too yielding on. I could maybe understand the creation of an image of Jesus and looking at it to remember who He is and what He did. I liken it to the display of a cross. It’s a symbol. But worshiping that image is another thing.
Totally agree with this!
Images of saints, created in God's image and restored to his likeness through their faith in Christ and voluntary cooperation with his grace, are not at all like statues of dragons or serpents or cows or the things that pagans worship.
Yeah, I've browsed the forums enough to see how y'all argue amongst yourselves.
It hasn't been done in 2,000 years and probably won't be in this world.
Yeah, in the quote I posted above from St. John of Damascus I didn't like the use of the word "worshipping." Modern Orthodox apologists make a careful distinction between the "worship" (or "adoration") that is rightly directed only to God versus a lesser "veneration" (or "honor") that is directed to Mary, saints, icons, the gospel book, the cross, relics, etc. So I'm not sure if that's a translation issue or if some earlier writers were not as careful in their choice of words.
There's also no scriptural evidence that New Testament Christians had polygynous wives, so that's an argument from lack of evidence. Many things developed later in church history. The word "Trinity" isn't in the Bible, but most people here wouldn't hesitate to use it. The question is not whether a specific belief or practice is found in Scripture but whether it is consistent with Scripture or contradictory.
Thank you. I think it is beneficial to be able to acknowledge points of agreement, and to respect those with whom we differ on other points. If we insisted on fellowship only with those we agreed with about every topic, each of us would wind up in a church of one person.
@The Revolting Man,
Touché. Yes, I agree. Silence arguments aren’t strong.
An interesting response since I only posted scripture, and made no additional comment. The Word of God is living and powerful and accomplishes His purposes as it goes forth.
No one thought the golden calf represented Yahweh. The Israelites grew impatient with Moses and wanted other gods to lead them, so they returned to the calf gods they had left behind in Egypt.
Moses was missing....
Huh, I wonder what happened there. I’m glad you found it though because I was hoping you had some insight in to it. I just have something tickling thr back of my mind about Orthodoxy being more permissive of polygyny to a later date than other traditions.