But the bible says thou shall not worship or bow down to any idol or other gods except the Almighty God.

Whats happening to obedience to the word of God??

Please christians kindly comment lets iron this out.

Op
Let us hear your own opinion first

FOWOSHERE01:
Op
Let us hear your own opinion first

God is a jealous God and
Worshipping any form of man made idol,image or creature is against the scripture.

You Shud nver bow down to any thing else in the name of worship or according God's glory to it.

Pls lets not tag it to any church or denomination but look at it from the scripture.

Groovenaija360:


God is a jealous God and
Worshipping any form of man made idol,image or creature is against the scripture.

You Shud nver bow down to any thing else in the name of worship or according God's glory to it.

Ohk.
But truth be told, i think the catholics bow down to the image of holy mary as a show of respect for birthing our Lord Savior, Jesus Christ

FOWOSHERE01:

Ohk.
But truth be told, i think the catholics bow down to the image of holy mary as a show of respect for birthing our Lord Savior, Jesus Christ

Show respect to Jesus earthly mother in worship and bowing down??

Are Christian's meant to disobey, add or remove portions of the Bible to please their personal desires?

I think it is not inline with the bible, am not to judge but sin is always obvious

My question is if these people actually know that this worship is sinful why do they still practice it?

Disgusting! Idolatry is the word for this .

Groovenaija360:


Show respect to Jesus earthly mother in worship and bowing down??

Are Christian's meant to disobey, add or remove portions of the Bible to please their personal desires?

I think it is not inline with the bible, am not to judge but sin is always obvious

You're right. Well, it's the catholic's way of life. Am sure they have their reasons

Myndd44, Lalasticlala make ona help this is worth discussing.
Its a deep issue.

FOWOSHERE01:

You're right. Well, it's the catholic's way of life. Am sure they have their reasons

Yes Humans always have reasons for doing things.

The bible always says for whosoever shall keep the whole laws and yet offend in one point he is guilty of all.

With the massive population in this denomination what could be their hope of making heaven?

It's the reason Africans worship white people. They look like our "gods"

Groovenaija360:


Yes Humans always have reasons for doing things.

The bible always says for whosoever shall keep the whole laws and yet offend in one point he is guilty of all.

With the massive population in this denomination what could be their hope of making heaven?

Come to think of it, everyone tribe/culture/religion has some peculiar practice. For example:- killing of twins in old Nigeria until later stopped by mary slessor was the practice. So for the aspect of bowing down,God will still forgive.

Also, i thinkcatholics believe in Jesus, that he is the son of God and that he died for their sins. I think that is the gateway to heaven.

Groovenaija360:


Yes Humans always have reasons for doing things.

The bible always says for whosoever shall keep the whole laws and yet offend in one point he is guilty of all.

With the massive population in this denomination what could be their hope of making heaven?

what is your own hope of making heaven,for your mind,because you think that you don't worship idols,then you now feel like God,then you started your own judgement now.
You have to meditate first and ask yourself wether you are free from what you accused others.

Groovenaija360:


Yes Humans always have reasons for doing things.

The bible always says for whosoever shall keep the whole laws and yet offend in one point he is guilty of all.

With the massive population in this denomination what could be their hope of making heaven?

What do you think about your question?

jnrbayano:


What do you think about your question?

Am not judging any church or person

I just wanted some points

Christians should know wen they are wrong.

Why worship Mary??

Groovenaija360:


Am not judging any church or person

I just wanted some points

Christians should know wen they are wrong.

Why worship Mary??

Sidestepping the question? Did I say you judged any church?

I will ask you yet another question after a brief story:

Mr A lit up two candles in his room, he stays alone in there. Mr B passes by and notice from the outside that Mr A has lit two candles, but can't tell why.

My question:

Assuming you are Mr B, what would you think is/are Mr A's reason(s) for lighting those two candles in his room?

jnrbayano:


Sidestepping the question? Did I say you judged any church?

I will ask you yet another question after a brief story:

Mr A lit up two candles in his room, he stays alone in there. Mr B passes by and notice from the outside that Mr A has lit two candles, but can't tell why.

My question:

Assuming you are Mr B, what would you think is/are Mr A's reason(s) for lighting those two candles in his room?

Lol Only Mr A can tell why he lits 3 candles

May be he wants a brighter light

Groovenaija360:


Lol Only Mr A can tell why he lits 3 candles

May be he wants a brighter light

You answered very intelligently.....

Its only Mr A can tell why he lit 2 candles otherwise, we can speculate the following:

1) Mr A lit those candles for illumination
2) He lit those candles to mourn a loved one
3) He lit those candles to celebrate his birthday
4) He lit those candles to pray

Etc

Do you know why I asked?

You quickly assumed that those children in the op are directing worship to that statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

You speculated didn't you?

Why not behave the same way with the short story I told you by not speculating? Why not get the information from Catholics what they actually do?

Think about it friend

jnrbayano:


You answered very intelligently.....

Its only Mr A can tell why he lit 2 candles otherwise, we can speculate the following:

1) Mr A lit those candles for illumination
2) He lit those candles to mourn a loved one
3) He lit those candles to celebrate his birthday
4) He lit those candles to pray

Etc

Do you know why I asked?

You quickly assumed that those children in the op are directing worship to that statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

You speculated didn't you?

Why not behave the same way with the short story I told you by not speculating? Why not get the information from Catholics what they actually do?

Think about it friend

Check the thread that's y I called for an open discussion

Groovenaija360:
But the bible says thou shall not worship or bow down to any idol or other gods except the Almighty God.

Whats happening to obedience to the word of God??

Please christians kindly comment lets iron this out.

Jeremiah 7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

Isaiah 41:29 Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.

Jeremiah 51:17 Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.

Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

God has revealed that we should not worship or bow down to any other God.



the wages of sin is death.

1 John 5:18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

The Roman Catholic Church is a relic of the Roman babylonia pagan practices.
the worship of Mary is the worship of the fetility goddess.

The Pagan Origin of Mary Worship
Is the Blessed Virgin Mary "Queen of Heaven" and "Mother of God"? ...
source www.abcog.org
Dr. J. D. Fulton: The Lady of the Jesuits is not even an invention of Jesuitism, but an adoption of a pagan conception which cursed Babylon, the prototype of the modern Babylon, centuries before Christ appeared as the son of Mary. Pictures of the mother and child were then worshiped. In almost all the devotional books of the Roman Catholic Church, the mother of God is crowned, sceptred and enthroned as the Queen of heaven. ["She has been appointed by God to be the Queen of heaven and earth", Pius IX, 1854, but not made "official" till 1954 by Pius XII.] "I can never," said the Rev. M. Hobart Seymour, in his Evenings with the Romanists, page 254, "forget the shock I received when I first saw in their churches in Italy, the Virgin Mary crowned as Queen of heaven, seated on the same throne with Jesus crowned King of heaven. These were the God-man and God-woman enthroned alike. There was nothing to distinguish the one above the other."
The origin of this idolatry had its root in ancient mythology. Astarte of the Assyrians, Ashtoreth of the Sidonians and Bowaney of the Hindoos held the place that Mary occupies in the church of Rome. Greece had her Venus and Rome her Juno. The Diana of the Ephesians was a female, from whose body in every part there seemed to be issuing all the various animals of creation, symbolizing the conception and creation of all things.
The Egyptians on the one hand and the Etrurians on the other had their Isis, the same symbol, a female divinity whom they regarded as "the mother of the gods." Jeremiah describes the Jews who had rebelled against God as making cakes to "the queen of heaven" (Jer 7:18; 44:17 ), the title given to Juno in the Scandinavian theology. Rome has adopted this element of heathenism, this product of the carnal heart. In all its essential elements the Roman Etrurian and the Romish Mary brought from Babylon and adopted by papal Rome are in accord - Romanists are idolaters. In their churches are pictures of the Virgin that are worshiped because of the wonderful things professedly done by them. In St. Peter's is a picture of the Virgin bearing the inscription that it had miraculously shed blood when struck by a stone. A picture of the mother and child is at Lucca, of which it was affirmed that when some one flung a stone at the face of the child she transferred the child to the other arm and thus saved it from injury. The Jesuits defend this.
It is claimed by Romanists that the mother and child sustain the same relation in heaven which they have assigned them on earth, and that Jesus is more the mediator with Mary than Mary is the intercessor with Christ. From Babylon, this worship of the mother and child spread to the ends of the earth. In Egypt, in Assyria, in China and in Greece and elsewhere, this form of worship suited to the carnal heart gained sway. Circe, the daughter of the sun, taken from Pompeii, has the nimbus or circle surrounding the head in the very same way as the head of the Roman Madonna is at this time adorned in the pictures given of this mistress of Rubens, this lady of the Jesuits. Can any one believe this coincidence accidental?
Mariolatry encourages sinners.
Christ's worship is built on the teachings of the Scriptures. To obtain forgiveness of sins through Christ there must be a change of heart, a new birth, a new life. Old things must pass away, all things must become new. Romanists believe that they can be saved more easily through Mary. Christ requires repentance, Mary devotion. Faith in Christ demands submission to the will of God, reformation of life, and devotion of heart as required by the gospel; while devotion to Mary consists in prayers to her or some external practices in her honour. Liguori teaches that damnation is impossible where there is devotion to the Virgin. Hence the worship of Mary encourages sinners and multiplies sins. Pio Nono (Pius IX), after decreeing the Immaculate Conception, made the cornerstone of the Romish faith to believe and to teach that salvation is received solely and alone through Mary. It is ours to refute this blasphemous assumption by proclaiming Christ as the way, the truth, and the life.
When Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ her [unique] mission ended. The dream that haunted the imagination of the Jewish maiden was fulfilled; Mary had given birth to Jesus. The world worshiped the being born, not the one who gave birth to the Son of man and the Son of God. They did it then. True believers do it now as they will do it in heaven. Mary will walk with the redeemed in white. "The assumption of Mary" [bodily into heaven, Pius XII, 1950] is a Popish assumption, and it is nothing more. Mary has not risen and will not rise until the trump shall sound, when she will come forth and cast her crown at the feet of Christ, with the countless throng that no man can number. Mariolatry, the perpetual virginity of the virgin, is a popish lie and calculated to deceive millions, while it is an insult to our Lord and Saviour. It declares that Christ lacks compassion, is wanting in knowledge and depends for information upon Mary, and is without willingness to help and save the lost.
As a virgin, Mary became the medium through which the ever blessed Christ came into the world. Because of this she was blessed among women. She was not worshiped by those who knew her in the flesh, and she is without any claim to worship at this time, or any time.
Jesus Christ is the Stone which is being set at naught by Romanists, but as Peter said "He is the head of the corner; neither is there any salvation in any other, for there is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved." [Acts 4:11-12 ] Hence in our hearts and with our lips we glorify Christ, and reject Mariolatry as dishonoring to God and destructive of faith in Christ, and we glorify the one Mediator between God and man [1Ti 2:5 ], Christ Jesus our Lord, who was crucified, dead and buried, and who rose from the dead and ascended up on high [Eph 4:8 ] and was welcomed into heaven by the multitudes that no man can number and is worshiped by the redeemed as the being by whom and for whom all things were made. [Col 1:16 ]
by Justin Dewey Fulton D.D., "Is it Mary or the Lady of the Jesuits?", Brooklyn, New York, January, 1890.

Is Mary the "Mother of God"?
The history of the doctrine:
The cult of the Mother Goddess entered the Christian Church in typically Christian categories, such as the Ecclesia [church], represented as the spiritual mother of Christians, or as "the Second Eve," whose divine motherhood is responsible for mankind's rebirth. It was through such Christian concepts that the idea of the divine feminine took root in Christianity, and it was a long and often confusing process until Mary was declared to be the Mother of God. But it is the primordial mystery of generation and childbirth, the appearance of life, and the age-old belief that motherhood is part of a cosmic order upon which both the pagan and the Christian versions of the cult of the theotokos ["God bearer", i.e., "Mother of God", Council of Ephesus, 431 A.D.] rest. This reverence for motherhood and childbirth is the basic principle of Mariology, a principle which Christianity inherited from its pagan forerunners.
Stephen Benko (1993) The Virgin Goddess: Studies in the pagan and Christian roots of Mariology. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 5
The Lateran Council of 469 under Pope Martin I declared: "if anyone does not confess in harmony with the holy Fathers that the holy and ever virgin and immaculate Mary is really and truly the mother of God, inasmuch as she in the last times and without semen by the Holy Spirit conceived God the Word himself specially and truthfully, who was born from God the Father before all ages, and she bore him uncorrupted, and after his birth her virginity remaining indissoluble, let him be condemned." The perpetual virginity of Mary thus became an official teaching of the church: Mary was a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Jesus. In 1555, the Council of Trent confirmed this dogma in the Constitution of Pope Paul IV known as "Cum Quorundam." Here the pope warns against teaching that "the same blessed Virgin Mary is not truly the Mother of God, and did not remain always in the integrity of virginity, i. e., before birth, in birth, and perpetually after birth."
Stephen Benko (1993) The Virgin Goddess: Studies in the pagan and Christian roots of Mariology. Leiden: E.J. Brill. p. 203
18 times in the Encyclical "Munificentissimus Deus" (1950), Pope Pius XII entitles Mary, "Mother of God".
But was she the "Mother of God"?
Jesus was a divine being before His human birth: "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with [the supreme] God, and the word was [divine, a] God [-level individual]." ( John 1:1 ).
Jesus was divine after the Resurrection: "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28 ).
Jesus was not divine during his human incarnation: "made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." ( Phi 2:7-8 ).
"Jesus was made a little lower [or, for a little while lower] than the angels for the suffering of death." ( Heb 2:9 ).
"Jesus Christ is come in the flesh." ( 1 John 4:2 )
Since Jesus was not divine during his incarnation, Mary was the mother of a human being, not the mother of "God".

Question: "What is the origin of the Roman Catholic Church?"
Answer: The Roman Catholic Church contends that its origin is the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ in approximately AD 30. The Catholic Church proclaims itself to be the church that Jesus Christ died for, the church that was established and built by the apostles. Is that the true origin of the Catholic Church? On the contrary. Even a cursory reading of the New Testament will reveal that the Catholic Church does not have its origin in the teachings of Jesus or His apostles. In the New Testament, there is no mention of the papacy, worship/adoration of Mary (or the immaculate conception of Mary, the perpetual virginity of Mary, the assumption of Mary, or Mary as co-redemptrix and mediatrix), petitioning saints in heaven for their prayers, apostolic succession, the ordinances of the church functioning as sacraments, infant baptism, confession of sin to a priest, purgatory, indulgences, or the equal authority of church tradition and Scripture. So, if the origin of the Catholic Church is not in the teachings of Jesus and His apostles, as recorded in the New Testament, what is the true origin of the Catholic Church?
For the first 280 years of Christian history, Christianity was banned by the Roman Empire, and Christians were terribly persecuted. This changed after the “conversion” of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Constantine provided religious toleration with the Edict of Milan in AD 313, effectively lifting the ban on Christianity. Later, in AD 325, Constantine called the Council of Nicea in an attempt to unify Christianity. Constantine envisioned Christianity as a religion that could unite the Roman Empire, which at that time was beginning to fragment and divide. While this may have seemed to be a positive development for the Christian church, the results were anything but positive. Just as Constantine refused to fully embrace the Christian faith, but continued many of his pagan beliefs and practices, so the Christian church that Constantine promoted was a mixture of true Christianity and Roman paganism.
Constantine found that, with the Roman Empire being so vast, expansive, and diverse, not everyone would agree to forsake his or her religious beliefs to embrace Christianity. So, Constantine allowed, and even promoted, the “Christianization” of pagan beliefs. Completely pagan and utterly unbiblical beliefs were given new “Christian” identities. Some clear examples of this are as follows:
(1) The Cult of Isis, an Egyptian mother-goddess religion, was absorbed into Christianity by replacing Isis with Mary. Many of the titles that were used for Isis, such as “Queen of Heaven,” “Mother of God,” and theotokos (“God-bearer”) were attached to Mary. Mary was given an exalted role in the Christian faith, far beyond what the Bible ascribes to her, in order to attract Isis worshippers to a faith they would not otherwise embrace. Many temples to Isis were, in fact, converted into temples dedicated to Mary. The first clear hints of Catholic Mariology occur in the writings of Origen, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, which happened to be the focal point of Isis worship.
(2) Mithraism was a religion in the Roman Empire in the 1st through 5th centuries AD. It was very popular among the Romans, especially among Roman soldiers, and was possibly the religion of several Roman emperors. While Mithraism was never given “official” status in the Roman Empire, it was the de facto official religion until Constantine and succeeding Roman emperors replaced Mithraism with Christianity. One of the key features of Mithraism was a sacrificial meal, which involved eating the flesh and drinking the blood of a bull. Mithras, the god of Mithraism, was “present” in the flesh and blood of the bull, and when consumed, granted salvation to those who partook of the sacrificial meal (this is known as theophagy, the eating of one’s god). Mithraism also had seven “sacraments,” making the similarities between Mithraism and Roman Catholicism too many to ignore. Church leaders after Constantine found an easy substitute for the sacrificial meal of Mithraism in the concept of the Lord’s Supper/Christian communion. Even before Constantine, some early Christians had begun to attach mysticism to the Lord’s Supper, rejecting the biblical concept of a simple and worshipful remembrance of Christ’s death and shed blood. The Romanization of the Lord’s Supper made the transition to a sacrificial consumption of Jesus Christ, now known as the Catholic Mass/Eucharist, complete.
(3) Most Roman emperors (and citizens) were henotheists. A henotheist is one who believes in the existence of many gods, but focuses primarily on one particular god or considers one particular god supreme over the other gods. For example, the Roman god Jupiter was supreme over the Roman pantheon of gods. Roman sailors were often worshippers of Neptune, the god of the oceans. When the Catholic Church absorbed Roman paganism, it simply replaced the pantheon of gods with the saints. Just as the Roman pantheon of gods had a god of love, a god of peace, a god of war, a god of strength, a god of wisdom, etc., so the Catholic Church has a saint who is “in charge” over each of these, and many other categories. Just as many Roman cities had a god specific to the city, so the Catholic Church provided “patron saints” for the cities.
(4) The supremacy of the Roman bishop (the papacy) was created with the support of the Roman emperors. With the city of Rome being the center of government for the Roman Empire, and with the Roman emperors living in Rome, the city of Rome rose to prominence in all facets of life. Constantine (AD 272–337) and his successors gave their support to the bishop of Rome as the supreme ruler of the church. Of course, it is best for the unity of the Roman Empire that the government and state religion be centralized. While most other bishops (and Christians) resisted the idea of the Roman bishop being supreme, the Roman bishop eventually rose to supremacy, due to the power and influence of the Roman emperors. When the Western half of the Roman Empire collapsed in 476, the popes took on the title that had previously belonged to the Roman emperors—
Pontifex Maximus . Pope Gregory I, ruling from 590–604, is usually considered the first bishop to truly wield papal authority.
Many more examples could be given. These four should suffice in demonstrating the origin of the Catholic Church. Of course, the Roman Catholic Church denies the pagan origin of its beliefs and practices. The Catholic Church disguises its pagan beliefs under layers of complicated theology and “church tradition.” Recognizing that many of its beliefs and practices are utterly foreign to Scripture, the Catholic Church is forced to deny the authority and sufficiency of Scripture.
The origin of the Catholic Church is the tragic compromise of Christianity with the pagan religions that surrounded it. Instead of proclaiming the gospel and converting the pagans, the Catholic Church “Christianized” the pagan religions, and “paganized” Christianity. By blurring the differences and erasing the distinctions, yes, the Catholic Church made itself attractive to the people of the Roman Empire. One result was the Catholic Church becoming the supreme religion in the Roman world for centuries. However, another result was the most dominant form of Christianity apostatizing from the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the true proclamation of God’s Word.
Second Timothy 4:3–4 declares, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”

Groovenaija360:


Am not judging any church or person

I just wanted some points

Christians should know wen they are wrong.

Why worship Mary??

She is God's wife...

sonmvayina:


She is God's wife...

wtf....

Jesse01:
wtf....

She did have a son for God, didn't she?