Catholics Worship Idols?

That is what some say that Catholics do. Why do they say that? What is their reference?
Where is their documented proof? Show me the genuine Catholic documents which "prove" this false charge?
I have yet to see any Catholic document that says Catholics are to worship idols.

Idol:
An image used as an object of worship. A false GOD.
This is how the dictionary defines an idol.

Image:
A reproduction of the form of a person or an object.
An optically formed duplicate, counterpart, or other representative
reproduction of an object, especially an optical reproduction of an object
formed by a lens or a mirror.
This is what the dictionary says an image is. It could be a statue, icon, or
even a photograph.

Worship:
The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object.
This the definition given by the dictionary.

Do you have a photograph of a loved one? Do you worship it? I doubt it.
Maybe you only use the picture to remind yourself of that person. Isn't
that right?
What about the statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial?
Do you or anyone else worship it or any other statue? Of course not.
Then why is the statue there? It is to remind us of what a great man he was
and in an image to which we can relate.

It is the same situation in the Catholic Church. The statues in the Catholic Church are there to remind us of our founder, Jesus Christ, His mother,
and the great saints of the Church.

"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."
Exodus 20:4
GOD clearly said make no images.

"And the Lord said to Moses, "Make a seraph (snake) and mount it on a
pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it he will recover."
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze
serpent, he recovered."
Numbers 21:8-9
GOD clearly said make an image.

Now is this a Bible conflict, or a misunderstanding, or misinterpretation
by someone? It has to be one or the other.

"So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron, who accepted their offering, and fashioned this gold with a graving tool, made a golden calf. Then they cried out, 'this is your GOD, O Israel, who brought
you out of the land of Egypt'."
Exodus 32:3-4
This is a clear violation of the first commandment. They had accepted and
made for themselves a false god. So how did GOD respond?

"Thus the Lord smote the people for having had Aaron make the calf for
them."
Exodus 32:35
It is clear that GOD again said make no idols.

"Make two cherubim of beaten gold for the two ends of the propitiatory,
fasten them so that one cherub springs direct from each end."
Exodus 25:17-18
Another clear message directly from GOD to make idols. Did you notice that these gold cherubim were to be mounted atop the most sacred object on earth, the Ark of the Covenant?

Chapters 5 and 6 of 1Kings tell of the building of Solomon's Temple as
commanded by GOD, and decorating it inside with...
"And he made in the oracle two cherubim of olive tree, of ten cubits in
height."
1Kings 6:23
Yet another command from GOD to make idols.
These idols were huge, as one cubit is about eighteen inches. That makes
each one fifteen feet tall.

So what do we have here? Are there more Bible conflicts than we realized,
or are we missing something?

Do you see the pattern here? It is very clear.
GOD had said to make images that come from GOD but make no images
that are against Him...

1. Angels are Saints, St. Michael, St. Raphael, St. Gabriel.
2. There are many Saints who never were Angels, St. Mary, St. Peter, etc.
3. Saints are of GOD so what is the problem of having a statue of them?
4. Jesus Christ is certainly of GOD, so what is the problem of having a
  crucifix to remind us of the passion He suffered for each of us?
5. Catholics, when praying before a statue are not petitioning to the statue,
  but to the person of whom it represents.
6. Now if you think petitioning Saints is wrong, I suggest you refer to
  Rev 5:8, and Rev 8:1-4

Now I have to ask once more, for those who accuse Catholics of
idol worship, show me your documentation which 'proves' what you say.

Written by Bob Stanley, October 28, 1998
Updated March 14, 2003

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