Sunday, February 28, 2010

Do You Believe That Praying Before A Statue Is Sinful?






Do you believe that praying before a statue is sinful? Yes or no, could you explain your answer?



Tags: Icon, Statue, Worship, Prayer, Veneration , Idolatry, Sin, Curse, Spirit, Truth


Posted by: Mel Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Viewpoint /Opinion

16 comments:

j said...

If I believed the statue or object had any power, then it would be sinful according to my Faith. I can pray anywhere though, in front of anything. I just don't need to pray TO that object.

I hope that you are doing well Mel!

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Jennifer,
Thank you so much for your frank and honest answer. This question was related to my post in Random Thoughts where I asked the question: Is The Philippines Cursed? I am just stating in my posts the prohibition by God against worshiping man made objects and the prevailing practices of many religion against this same prohibition. My only desire and reason for writing these posts is to make people aware of the truth contained in the word of God as against accepted norms of society which may be contrary to God's will. And that many may be inclined to read the word of God in the Bible because we are nearing the end times. Thanks for your visit and honest comments. God bless you all always.

Unknown said...

Well, every religious beliefs has their own way of saying their prayer. No comment hehehehe thanks for the post Sir mel.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Shy,
You are so diplomatic. I am not stating my own opinion here but elucidating the prohibition by God contained in the second commandment. I would appreciate it very much if you could read Exodus 20:4-6 so that you will understand my point. It is not a matter of religion or lifetime held beliefs but understanding the word of God as contained in the Bible. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you all always.

bingkee said...

I don't think it's sinful...if they were ignorant about it. Ignorance can be blind and blindness is not sin. But if one knows about praying and worshipping images of saints and other religious idols, and he still prays and worships it, then that is probably sin.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Bingkee,
I just posted this question and my latest article at Random Thoughts to provoke people especially Filipinos to seek the word of God to enlighten them to the realities of God's will in our lives. As the Bible says, "people perish for lack of knowledge." Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you always.

Dhemz said...

"people perish for lack of knowledge".........waaaaaaaaaa...no comment about this topic....ehehehhe!

pero sige na nga....
there are quite a few religions out there who is preaching statues (gods/goddesses)...not only the statue of jesus, mary or other saints....I guess we all are sinners....so this means we are going to hell...wag naman sana....eehhehe!

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Dhemz,
Ganito yun kasi. If we believe in God and if we truly love Him, we will know everything about Him through His words. I don't know about other religions, but if you will read the Old Testament, it is replete with incidents when God severely punished the Jews for the sin of idolatry culminating in their exiles in Assyria for Israel and Babylon for Judah. The Temple of Jerusalem was also destroyed and sacked and the Jews were dispersed in all corners of the earth until 1947 when as a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy the state of Israel was founded again. I don't know if idolaters will go to hell, only God knows that. I am just stating the prohibition by God against idolatry in Exodus 20:4-6. Lahat nang contentions ko ay base sa word of God. Lahat nang sumasamba sa estatuwa at icons ay nagkakasala nang idolatry lalo pa yung sinasamba ay foreign gods base pa rin sa Exodus 20:4-6. Ganun lang kasimple yun. I do not rely on logic or human knowledge, I just stand on the word of God and if others say that I am wrong then they are saying that the word of God is wrong. Kapag nakita mo yung Buddhist at Hindu temples ay makikita mong sumasamba sila sa napakaraming gods including demons with grotesque images or animal bodies. What will happen to their worshipers? I do not know, only God knows. Basta sa akin, I stand and die by the word of God no matter what the world says. I hope hindi naman kita nainis sa mga paliwanag ko. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you all always.

Dorothy said...

I'll pray anywhere, I was brought up Roman Catholic and taught the statues would pray for you and with you similar to angels, the idea of praying and going to church was in celebration together showing God we care as a group.

Thus if there's a statue it's symbolic and doesn't change my commitment to praying.

Dorothy from grammology
grammology.com

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Dorothy,
I know that Catholics will resent this question but I believe that among Christians, Catholics are also the least informed about Biblical doctrines because the Catholic church lean more on tradition rather than Biblical precepts. Not only Catholics but Buddhists and Hindus are also guilty of violation of the 2nd commandment of God. Now it boils down to whether we believe the word of God contained in the Bible or not as this prohibition is contained in Exodus 20:4-6. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless.

Dhemz said...

nako kuya....d naman ako naiinis...lol! there is nothing to get upset for....thanks sa paliwanag...sana lahat ng tao gaya mo....:) I respect your explainations...may point naman kau eh....:)


honga pala...I followed your payo...ehehhee...may subscriber widget na ako...lol!

salamat po!

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Dhemz,
Salamat naman at hindi ka nagalit sa post ko at naintindihan mo ang mga paliwanang ko. Alam ko naman na iba iba ang paniniwala natin pero habang ang Diyos ang sinasamba natin at si Hesus ang ating tagapagligtas ay nais ko lamang na maging aware ang tao sa salita nang Diyos tungkol sa huling panahon. Buti naman at may email subscription ka na para automatic na maeemail sa akin ang lahat nang post mo. Kulang na kulang kasi ang time ko sa computer at madalas ay hindi na ako nakakapag blog hop. Pero hindi ko kinakaligtaan ang mga emails ko. Salamat ulit sa dalaw. God bless you all always.

Azumi's Mom ★ said...

reading your comments enlighten me.. as for my belief, i was born a catholic and I agree with what you said, na we're more leaning on traditions =) I used to pray before statues but when I pray, i close my eyes and trying to extend my prayers to our God by thinking about Him, as if I am talking to Him face to face.. what do you think Sir Mel? i can't think kasi.. coz you know, I admit, i don't read much about Bible but I remember reading it when I was younger.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Bambie dear,
I don't think na you are sinning when you pray before a statue and you close your eyes. Kaya lang the Lord will still hold you accountable for not knowing the truth by continuously ignoring His words. Hindi naman sa inaatake ko ang Catholic church kaya lang marami silang dagdag bawas. Dapat itinuro nila yung prohibition against worshiping and praying to statues, hindi nila dapat ipinagbawal ang pagpapakasal nang pari dahil wala naman sa Bibliya nuon at hindi nila dapat pinapatawag na father ang mga pari dahil ipinagbawal ni Jesus ang mga ito. Ang tawag sa pagan goddess sa Egypt ayon sa libro ni Jeremiah ay queen of heaven pero tinawag nila si Mary na queen of heaven and earth. Napakarami pa nang tinuturo at ipanapatupad nang simbahan na taliwas sa turo nang Bibliya. Kaya yung mga tao na marubdob na nagbabasa nang Bibliya ay tumatalikod sa simbahang katolico dahil sa mga bagay na natutuklasan nila. Ngayon, nasa atin na iyon kung gusto nating matuto nang salita nang Diyos o magpatuloy tayo sa ating kamangmangan sa salita nang Diyos. Kaya lang, lahat nang bagay ay ipagsusulit natin sa Panginoon sa pagharap natin sa Kanya. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you all always.

Azumi's Mom ★ said...

Sir I so much agree.. nakapag-attend na rin ako ng iba't ibang bible study before I stayed here for good, kagaya ng sinabi mo, medyo napapaisip din ako pero yun nga lang, hindi ko masyado binigyan ng panahon ang pag-iisip dun kasi nakaka-confuse. Marami din sinasabi si hubby about catholism which sad to say, make sense talaga.. Anyway sir, baka maging controversial ito kaya ill end uo here hehe.. Thanks always for inspirational posts and replying comments =)

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Hi Bambie dear,
Nataniman ka na nang good seeds nang Gospel truths kaya medyo pamilyar ka na sa mga Biblical pronouncements. Ayoko talagang mag post nang mga ganitong controversial na topics kasi marami akong mao offend na mga readers. Kaya lang, nanaig pa rin sa akin ang aking kagustuhan na mabuksan ang mata nang mga readers ko sa katotohanan na nakapaloob sa salita nang Diyos sa Bibliya. Mataniman man lang sila nang initial seeds nang Gospel truths and later on, baka mahipo ni Lord ang mga puso nila at mag respond sila sa Gospel of salvation. Salamat ulit sa dalaw at honest comments. You can ask anything under the sun at kapag alam ko ang sagot ay sasagutin kita to the best of my ability. God bless you all always.

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