Catholics, Images, and Idolatry
Catholics make and use images. Some persons say it is idolatry. They cite two texts of scriptures: Exo 20:3-5, which prohibits the making of idols in the likeness of anything, and bowing to them or worshipping them, and Lev 26:1, which prohibits the making of idols, images, and sacred or carved stones to worship them.
The accusers of the Catholic Church say these scriptures clearly prohibited THE MAKING of images and sacred stones. They are right to this extent. However, they forget that the complete sense of these texts isn't an absolute prohibition of the MAKING and USING of images, but WORSHIPPING THEM.
For these accusers of my brethren, anyone who makes images, whether the person worships them or not, is guilty of idolatry. We Catholics say no to this erroneous interpretation of those scriptures. We say that making and using of images is not idolatry; what is idolatry is making and worshipping of images as if they are God.
In the Catholic Church, we make and use images as part of our pieties, but do not worship them. If those who say making and using of images for whatever reason is idolatry, then they have also made God, Moses, and other revered biblical personalities idolaters for making and using images.
The same God who commanded that images should not be made also commanded and supervised the making of images in the same Bible. Does that make God an encourager of idolatry? Or is he confused? Either God is an idolater or confused based on their interpretation, or they are the confused ones here. Obviously, they're confused; God cannot be confused.
If the same God who prohibited the making of images also commanded their making, those who argue that making of images is idolatry are foolishly indicting God of the sin they accuse us of committing.
Here are the biblical texts where God commanded the making of images: Exo 25:18-22 (Ark of the Covenant with winged creatures). Num 21:4-9 (the bronze serpent).
Other biblical texts on the use of images: Josh 4:20-23 (Joshua set up 12 stones). Josh 24:25-28 (Josh set up a stone in Shechem). Exo 24:4 (Moses set up 12 stone pillars).
Remember that Lev 26:1 prohibits the setting up of stones.
Furthermore, in 1Kgs 6:23-35, Solomon carved images of cherubim, flowers, and palm trees to decorate the temple. So, if making and using of images and stones were all it takes to commit idolatry, these texts where they were made then show that God and the Bible encouraged, permitted, tolerated, and accommodated idolatry. That, however, is not the case.
What Exo 20:3-5 and Lev 26:1 consider as idolatry isn't the making and using of images and stones, but the making and worshipping of images and the stones as gods, just as idolaters do. When the people of Israel made the golden calf, they said, "Here is the God that brought you out of Egypt". They clearly replaced God with the calf, they attributed God's works to the calf and gave God's worship to it. That's pure idolatry.
Beyond ignorance of biblical interpretation, there's also the issue of concepts and comprehension. Idolatry and image are not synonymous. Idolatry can take place in the absence of images; idolatry can also be absent in the presence of images.
By Rev. Fr. John Chinenye Oluoma, aka Fada Oluoma