There are no new mushrooms here, just scripture believing Christians.

> Every sect that claims to be Christian claims that.
>>>>>So does the RCC sect

There is no game changer to God's character. If He hates idols, He is not going to change this character, Unless the god you are worshipping is a charcter chameleon. There are no scared images. You are commanded not create any!

Pure and simple, it says


“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You are creating what you says the 2nd commandment is trying to prevent! And you are trying very hard to justify your actions.
The Israelites use the golden calf to draw them to Gad as you are using your images of your imaginations.
Venerating or worshipping, it's splitting straws. Is kissing the images venerating or worshipping?

> Is kissing your mother's picture venerating or worshipping?
>>>>> i don't kiss my mum's picture set up in a procession, singing praises, in church. THAT is worship. Much like the golden calf worship. That's the same as Marian worship.



The images at God commanded Moses to make are not images of GOD. Otherwise God will be contradicting His command.
Your relationship to images seems that you kiss them as if they are god! That violates the 2nd commandment.
Any non believer in reading the 2nd commandmnet in it's simple language will see that your idols of Jesus and Mary is contravening the commandment.
An idol of Mary draws you near to god?

> Mary is not God, but the greatest creature that God created. Jesus on the other hand is God in the flesh, he that sees Jesus sees the Father also. Images of saints certainly inspires us to draw closer to God in imitating their example in loving God.
>>>>>Why do you need images to worship? Is God not enough? Pagan need images of gods to worship. The Almighty God does not want that.
Imitate Christ,not images of fallable human beings. The Christ that is described by scriptures, not man made images wwhich God forbids in His commandments.


Question again: Ddi Paul teach you to use idols for worship?

> Looks like you still don't know what are idols.
>>>>> Looks like you have a erroneous description of what an idol is.

pesel: an idol, image
Original Word: פֶּ֫סֶל
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: pesel
Phonetic Spelling: (peh'-sel)
Short Definition: image
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from pasal
Definition
an idol, image
NASB Translation
carved image (2), graven image (14), graven images (1), idol (10), idols (3), image (1).

Is this a graven image?

Bible just means a collectio of books. C'mon surely you are more matured than this?

> If using the Bible example doesn't convince you, then what about the Trinity?

>>>>> What about the trinity? Actually, while you are at it, what about English? The scriptures were not written in English? Trinity is a doctrine. We can discuss that. As for words and language?


In extrabiblical teachings, i refer to doctrines and commands especially those which are in conflict with scriptures.

> Conflict only for those who do not understand Scripture but wrestle to their own destruction, denying the authority of the Church founded by Jesus to teach, govern, and sanctify. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican.

>>>>> Idol worship is in conflict with scriptures. Maybe you don't understand that it's heathen and false traditions. Or worse still, refuse to obey God's simple and pure commands about idolatry?


i don't celebrate Easter or Christmas, which are deeply rooted in paganism of the Roman church. What gives?

> Why be a Christian then? Why not remain a Jew?

>>>>> Why celebrate Christmas and Easter with deep pagan roots? Is that Christian or disobedience? Why remain a Jew when there is a New Covenant? Why not celebrate God's festivals instead of man made pagan based festivals?


If Christ has not risen, our faith is in vain, that's the importance of the Resurrection, aka Pascha aka Easter.

Pascha is NOT Easter. Nor vice versa! The death, entombment and resurrection of the Messiah Jesus is found in the God ordained festivals of Pascha, Chag HaMazhot(Unleaven Bread) and Retzhit Kadzir(Firstfruits) Lev 23

As for Christmas, there was never a debate about the birth of Christ, but the celebration of it as Christmas took time to develop.

The person who maintains Christmas’s “pagan roots” has to ask himself the following questions:

1. After centuries of the Church’s persecution for not observing pagan holidays, where is the proof of influence?

2. Who influenced whom? Did Christianity influence pagans to begin to adopt a more public and concrete celebration, or did they “Christianize” a pagan event? We can observe historically that the two celebrations were present at the time, but neither scenario is a problem for the Christian, because the Church has the ability to Christianize people and celebrations alike. Light overcame darkness at the celebration of Sol Invictus, and, in Christ, darkness was defeated by the real luminousness of Christ. Paganism had a hint, but Christianity had the fulfillment.

>>>>> Really? WHY then did God instructed Israel to refrain from sdopting the practices of pagan nations? It's because He knows the sinful nature of man will end up in FALSE worship of Him. That's why He had clear instruction in approaching Him. It was no issue for the Romans because they were pagans to start with. But for God, it's a clear disobedience of His instructions. Obey God or pagan traditions?


Deuteronomy 12:29-32 ESV

“When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.

Jeremiah 10:1-5 ESV

Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord: “Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so that it cannot move. Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.”

Matthew 15:3 ESV

He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?


Paul said to the Greeks at the Areopagus:

“For as I passed along, and observed the object of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘to an unknown god.’ What therefore your worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you . . . that [every nation of men] should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him” (Acts 17:23, 27)

>>>>>Maybe you should read the whole passage instead of cherry picking the verses!

22Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. 23For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. 24God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; 27That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: 28For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. 29Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. 30And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent[B]: 31Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

Still it's good to use man made idols???? Ignorance??? Or simple disobedience???

You seem to want to ignore the actions of worship.......







Was that baby Jesus? Is Jesus God?? HMMMmmmmmmmm



Are statues idols????