My Response to a Non-Catholic with Regards Images and Praying to Saints
Ex 20: 3-5 “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven 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. 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.” (cf. Deut 5: 8-9)
>>>Tulad nga nung sinabi ko, ang pinagbawal diyan ay pag gawa ng diyos-diyosan. Hindi ng image per se. Kasi kung absolutely bawal gumawa, eh di sana wala tayong mga monument ngayun ni Rizal oh kahit yung monument ng Kalabaw dun sa Luneta. Or ng mga imahe ng tao sa barya at pera.
>>>Si God mismo nagpagawa ng MGA images:
Ex. 25:18-19 “And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.”
1Kings 6:29 “On the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer rooms, he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers.”
1Kings 7:29 “On the panels between the uprights were lions, bulls and cherubim—and on the uprights as well. Above and below the lions and bulls were wreaths of hammered work.”
Num 21:8-9 “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.’ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived. “
>>>So pwededeng gumawa ng images, wag lang gagawing diyus diyosan. Gaya ng mga sumusunod:
Ex 32:8 “They have been quick to turn away from what I commanded them and have made themselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. They have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and have said, ‘These are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.’”
Naming of the Bronze Serpent
2 Kings 18:4 “He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.”
>>>Yung golden calf, diyus-diyosan yun umpisa pa lang. Yung Bronze serpent, Diyos ang nagpagawa pero ginawang idol ng mga israelita kasi binigyan nila ng pangalan, Nehushtan, na isang diyus-diyusan ng mga Canaanites. Anu ba ang idol?
1 Cor 8:4 “...an idol has no real existence...”
>>> An idol has no real existence. Walang real existence yung golden calf. Walang real existence si Nehushtan. Yun yung idol, pero yung mga nirerepresent nung mga imahe sa simbahan, mga nag exist sila sa mundo. Hindi rin namin ginagawang diyus-diyusan yung mga imahe. We venerate the person represented by the image. Not the image per se. Pag nagdadasal kami sa harap ng larawan hindi namin sinasabing “Ama naming rebulto...” hindi ganun. “Ama namin, sumasalangit ka...” aware kami na nasa langit ang mga kinakausap namin na sinisimbulo ng mga imahe at larawan.
Eh bakit niyuyukuan? hinahalikan? pinupunasan ng panyo? prinuprosisyon?
Hindi lahat ng pagyukod ay pagsamba. Minsan ito ay pag galang.
Gen 33: 5-7 “Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. ‘Who are these with you?’ he asked. Jacob answered, ‘They are the children God has graciously given your servant.’ Then the female servants and their children approached and bowed down. Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.”
2 Kings 2:15 “The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.”
1 Chron 21:21 “Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.”
>>>Kahit si haring Solomon at Joshua, lumuhod sa harap ng isang imahe.
1 Kings 8:54 “When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the Lord, he rose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven.”
Joshua 7:6 “Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads.”
>>>Anu ba ang nasa harapan ng altar? ‘Di ma may mga kahoy na kerubin? Tapos sa Ark of the Covenant may gintong kerubin din. Pero hindi porket lumuhod sa harapan nung mga iyon sina Haring Solomon at Joshua ay ibig sabihin sinamba na niya yung mga iyon.
>>>Kung yumuyukod man kami sa harap ng isang imahe, iniaalay naming yung pag yukod oh pag luhod man sa nirerepresent nung larawan, hindi yung mismong kahoy o bato. At saka iyon ay dahil sa kinikilala namin ang kabanalan ng espiritut santo na kumilos sa buhay at pag katao nung nirerepresent ng imaheng yon.
Bakit hinahalikan?
Eh di ba ginagawa naman natin yan sa picture ng mga mahal natin sa buhay? Picture ng artista, magulang, ng kasintahan, lalo na pag picture ng namatay na mahal sa buhay? ‘Di ba ginagawa natin iyon as an expression of love sa taong nasa larawan? Walang kahit anu mang sitas sa bibliya na nag sasabing pag hinalikan mo ang isang bagay ay sinasamba mo na ito or “huwag kang hahalik sa mga rebulto”, walang ganoon.
Bakit pinupunasan ng panyo?
2 Kings 13:21 “Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.”
Mark 5:25-34 “And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, ‘If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.’ Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’
‘You see the people crowding against you,’ his disciples answered, ‘and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.’”
Acts 5:15 “As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.”
Acts 19:11-12 “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.”
>>>Hindi inutusan ng simbahan kailanman ang mga mananampalataya na hawakan at mag pahid ng mga panyo sa mga banal na imahe. Pero hindi din sila pinipigilan dahil sa kanilang pananampalataya. Yung act na ginagawa nila ay nagiging means ng faith nila. Katulad nung mga verses na nasa taas, pinapakita lang nila ang kanilang pananampalataya. Kahit anong bagay oh tao naman kasi ay pwedeng gamitin ng Diyos para daluyan ng kanyang kabanalan at kapangyarihan (cf Acts 19:11).
Noon pa man kasi ay may prusisyon na.
2 Samuel 6: 3-5 “They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.”
Psalms 118: 26-27 “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.”
Psalm 68: 24-25 “Your procession, God, has come into view, the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary. In front are the singers, after them the musicians; with them are the young women playing the timbrels.
>>> Ang pag pruprusisyon kasi ay isang uri ng pag eebanghelyo. Ginagawa ito bilang pag aala ala ng mga tagpo oh ng buhay ng mga banal, lalo na ng mga tagpo sa buhay ni Kristo.
Hebrews 13:7 “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”
Hebrews 6:10 “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”
1 Thessalonians 1:3 “We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
>>>Iyan ang mga dahilan kung bakit may imahe ang mga katoliko, kung bakit niluluhuran, hinahalikan, pinupunasan ng panyo, at prinuprosisyon.
>>>Ngayon sabi mo rin nung nag usap tayo, ok si Jesus yun pero panu yung mga santo, si Mary, sabi mo parang magkaka level sila sa ginagawa namin. Hindi po. Iba ang worship sa veneration. We worship God and God alone. But we venerate the saints and Mary.
John 14:6 “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.”
>>>Si Kristo ay tagapamagitan (mediator) ng kaligtasan. Iba ang tagapamagitan (intercessor) sa panalangin.
Eto yung talatang hinahanap mo sakin nung nag usap tayo. Sabi mo hanapan kita ng verse na nag sasabing manalangin tayo para iba.
1 Timothy 2:1 “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people.”
>>>Muli, Iba ang mediator sa intercessor. Ito ang ilang halimbawa ng mga nanalangin para sa kapwa:
Job 42: 7-10 “After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, ‘I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.’ So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite did what the Lord told them; and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer. After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.”
Genesis 18:18-33 “...(mahaba, latter part na to)... [32] Then he said, ‘May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?’ He answered, ‘For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.’ When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.”
Genesis 20:7-17 “Now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live... (mahaba ulit)... Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelek, his wife and his female slaves so they could have children again.”
Numbers 11:2 “When the people cried out to Moses, he prayed to the Lord and the fire died down.”
>>>Kung gusto mong basahin yung mahahabang part just use your bible. Now observe, kanino nanalangin yung mga tao? Dumirekta ba sila sa Diyos? Hindi ‘di ba? Nanalangin sila kina Job, Abraham, at Moses. At dininig ng Diyos ang panalangin. Bakit?
James 5:16-18 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.”
>>> Inutusan tayo na manalangin para sa isa’t isa. Parang sa kaibigan. Kunwari may exam, or may sakit, sasabihin mo “uy friend pag pray mo naman ako, or si ganire, or si ganun” ganoon din kapag nananalangin tayo sa mga santo at kay Maria. Sila ang nananalangin para sa atin. Hindi sila ang gumagawang makapangyarihan, ang Diyos pa din. Ipinapanalangin lang nila tayo. Remember “...Elijah was a human being, even as we are...” Kasi nga nananalangin lang sila para sa atin. They intercede. At hindi porket patay na sila dito sa lupa ay di na nila tayo maipapanalangin.
Mark 12:26-27 “Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
Luke 20: 37-38 “But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
2 Timothy 1:10 “but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
Eto pa isang example ng intercession, at hindi mediation
John 2: 1-11 “On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, ‘They have no more wine.’ ‘Woman, why do you involve me?’ Jesus replied. ‘My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water’; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.’ They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.’ What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
>>>Iyan ay isang halimbawa ng pag i-intercede ng Mahal na Birheng Maria. Kahit hindi pa panahon ni Hesus ay dininig niya ang pakiusap ng kanyang Ina.
Sana ay nabigyang linaw ng Banal na kasulatan sa pamamagitan ng paliwanag ko ang iyong mga katanungan tungkol sa mga imahe at pananalangin sa mga banal. Ano pa ang tanung mo tungkol dito? Baka mabigyang linaw pa ulit ng Bibliya. :D ,
