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This is one of the most common misconceptions about the Catholic faith.
Many well-intentioned, God-loving Christians of various denominations have
heard this mistruth from trusted but ignorant teachers over the years, or
have read it in books that claim to expose what they believe to be the
Catholic faith. Unfortunately, as with most misconceptions, these conclusions
are drawn with little or no true understanding of the faith or of the practice,
or the purpose in question.
Before I answer this question, Id like to quote a wonderful man of God, the
late Archbishop Fulton Sheen, who said, There are not one hundred people
in this world who hate Catholicism, but there are millions who hate what they
mistakenly believe Catholicism to be.
So, is worshipping a statue wrong? Yes. The Roman Catholic Church teaches
that it is wrong, in line with the Sacred Scriptures as it states in Exodus 20:45, You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky
above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not
bow down before them or worship them.
That being said
There are several places in the Bible where God commissions statues and
images for religious usage:
Exodus 25:10-22
1 Kings 6:23; 7:13-51
Numbers 21:6-9
Judges 17:1-6
Is God sending Two Different Messages?
Not necessarilykeep reading.
God ordered His children to construct these statues and images, but He did
not intend for His children to worship them. God was using the images to
help them to recall situations, to see places as holy and set apart, and to
help them to open their minds and hearts and turn them back to God.
You see, an image is not an idol. There is a difference.