The Early Church and Religious Images

All denominations claim that their worship is like that of the early Christians. Protestants say the Catholic use of religious images is idolatry. Catholics disagree. Who is right? What did the early Christians believe about religious images?

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• Protestant
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• idolatry
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[jdw99]

First of all, you seem to ignore that this is not a controversy the Protestants created, but one that started as soon as images started appearing in the early church. Also, some early Christians made a distinction between standing idols and paintings vs. mosaics, since mosaics were simply arrangements of stones, they seemed to believe it wouldn't violate the command to make graven images. This is why you have found so many examples of mosaics early on but not statues.

[elcamaras]

@jdw99 "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... KJ

[samthed]

"stagnant in theology".

That what you consider"stagnation" is in reality us NOT altering the Holy Tradition,which is why we are the original Church. You RC have a theory that your pope can alter the Holy Tradition all you want,which is you have clown masses,halloween masses,novos ordo protestant liturgy,new false doctrines and all sorts of other atrocities. BTW the roman icons are prior to the schism and creation of the Papist Church so in reality they are Orthodox icons.

[elcamaras]

1st Among Equals. Ever hear that term before. Since your eastern bishops recognized the bishop of Rome as such, before the schism, that means the eastern churches split from that headed by the 1st among equals, not the other way around. And those changes you refer to, why is it that the undivided church made changes and additions, like the creed, etc. and the orthodox stopped as of the schism? It's called stagnation. Like I said, I have bigger fish to fry.

[bakagaijin30]

@elcamaras If clown messes and a Protestant/Masonic Bogus Ordo is your idea of stagnation, then please, give me stagnation!

[elcamaras]

@bakagaijin30 So, you're saying you want "protestant/masonic/novus ordo" masses? You did say if that is stagnation, then give me stagnation. If you're gonna try to school me, you should carefully proofread your comments before posting them. Unless you just don't understand....

[deliveringit]

I always tell Protestants that if they want to forbid all images, then they can fork over the change in their pockets all of which has graven images on it. I'd be happy to take this "paganized" money off their hands and donate it to the Catholic Missions or something. Also, no Nativity scenes!

[ChrisDaron]

Can you imagine God without Satan?

Or the Catholic Church without Luther?

God does everything for a reason.....

To my opinion, Protestantism exists just to prove that the Catholic Church is the only way. Protestantism, in its many, many forms and shapes and "truths", contradicts itself and many Protestants daily come back to the catholic Faith. It's only those whose minds live in ignorance who remain following what man said, not what JESUS say said.

[adamantis4657]

@bella50008: EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT HONOR THE 7th ECUMENICAL SYNOD is yet under the WRATH OF GOD.

ANATHEMA to the BLASPHEMERS!

And Icon is not IDOL

Get some education! Why people in USA are so dumb? Such primitives - have u not been educated?

[bella50008]

@adamantis4657 .."Everyone who does not honor and accept the Holy Icons is under ANATHEMA by the 7th Ecumenical Synod"

Everyone who honors the 7th Eveumenical Synod is practicing idolatry by worshiping idols and is under the wrath of Almighty God.

[adamantis4657]

Icons are as old as christianity. Christ was the first who mad an icon of His Holy Face. The Apostle Luke also painted Icons of Christ and the Theotokos. ALL APOSTOLIC CHURCHES have ICONS.

God himself ordered to make Images for the Temple. Icons are not IDOLS. Silly protestants often confuse ICONS WITH IDOLS because they do not know the true meaning of the Bible.

Everyone who does not honor and accept the Holy Icons is under ANATHEMA by the 7th Ecumenical Synod.

[adamantis4657]

Icons are as old as christianity. Christ was the first who mad an icon of His Holy Face. The Apostle Luke also painted Icons of Christ and the Theotokos. ALL APOSTOLIC CHURCHES have ICONS.

God himself ordered to make Images for the Temple. Icons are not IDOLS. Silly protestants often confuse ICONS WITH IDOLS because they do not know the true meaning of the Bible.

Everyone who does not honor and accept the Holy Icons is under ANATHEMA by the 7th Ecumenical Synod.

[RUNZLIG811]

Look the protestant Church keeps fighting with even each other.. They have split so many times they are in the thousands last I checked for Protestant Denominations. As they keep splitting with each other and make up new Denominations they will keep watering everything down.. They are already at the point where they have lost where they came from. They will have Church that will resemble a plain office/ rock concert/donation drop box..They have lost spiritual skills and know how because they

[redbaron998]

Ooops i put a comment to youi thinking it was to someone else, sorry elcamaras :)

[redbaron998]

@elcamaras

So when God ordered the creation of golden statues of Angels to be made for the temple what happaned then?

[umaara100]

Theres nothing wrong with images as long as you know they are just that.Images.Without them we would not be able to tell stories and there would be no art.By the way the christians hiding in the catacombs were catholic.

[loagun]

Ophf right. So as a way to try and explain Pagan imagery/practices/ideologies Christians that have obviously not done their research are trying to blame this linkage with the Christian faith on Catholics corrupting their church.

WRONG. Head over to Google Books and do a search for Christian/Catholic antiquities published between the years 1-1700 A.D. and actually read the books that come up which all quite clearly map out how Christianity was derived straight from Paganism.

God... wake up!