Being a Catholic myself, I am very much accustomed to such sights. However, I cannot help but wonder whether this is some type of idol worship – which is strictly forbidden by the second commandment in the book of Exodus 20:4-5a as follows: “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. You shall not bow down to them or worship them;”.

The usual excuses given by Catholic priests when confronted with this clear violation of God’s law are not convincing enough for me. No matter what bible translation is used, these verses remain unambiguous - leaving no room for multiple interpretations.

I am not a theologian by any means but I believe that making any sort of likeness of the divine is a form of blasphemy, for no human being can claim to capture the essence of God or of the saviour Jesus Christ. In the case of other biblical saints, such as the virgin Mary, who died long before any carvings of them were created, whatever adorns our church buildings today are simply figments of the artist’s imagination – a false depiction of the saints they claim to represent. There is obviously an exception for more modern-day saints. Although the question still remains as to whether or not these statues should be in our places of worship. I don’t think they should.

Some might argue that apart from their decorative effect, these carvings are simply tools which help to bring the reality of God closer to us, while others may assert that it is like hanging on to a picture of a loved one as a reminder of how much they mean to us. This doesn’t hold true for God whose essence cannot be captured by a statue or a painting because it is present all around us, in nature, and in the people we come across. The picture of a loved one is more or less a true likeness of that person, whom we have an actual memory of because we have seen them face to face and dwelt in their presence. The same cannot be said of God or of the saviour Jesus Christ or any of the biblical saints.

In favour of the practice, one priest cited the bronze snake which God ordered Moses to make for the Israelites, so that anyone bitten by fiery serpents in the desert could look upon it and be healed. But the brazen serpent wasn’t meant to be replicated and placed in synagogues so that people could bow before it and pray to it. The Israelites weren’t meant to use it as means to bring God closer to them. In fact, God was already in their midst but they grumbled against God and Moses. Because of this they were punished with deadly bites from fiery snakes. The bronze snake carved by Moses was strictly a form of healing from snake bites.

As a matter of fact, the brazen serpent was destroyed 700 years later by the king Hezekiah as explained in the second book of the Kings 18:4b: “He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan).”.

In the same way that the brazen serpent - which was intended to heal – became a kind of god to the Jews, so have the decorative carvings and paintings become a kind of idol to certain Catholic Christians. Some Catholics have become so dependent on them that they believe their prayers are more effective when kneeling before one of these statues. Surely true worship can be done anywhere as long as it comes from a broken and contrite heart. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs to re-evaluate their spiritual life.

Following from the above, I think the Catholic church needs to get rid of this age-old tradition, so that the practices of its faithful may be brought more in line with God’s laws.

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