In Christianity, the Use of the Crucifux is Idolatry

Introduction Part of this debate will be using common sense to confer what an idol is and what idolatry is. I will dispute now dispute my opponent’s definition of Idol. “Idol- 1.an object of extreme devotion. 2. a representation or symbol of an object of worship” I assume that definition 1 can essentially be changed to “the worship of a graven image.” This better fits Scriptural teaching. My opponent uses Scripture to back up definition number two, however I will refute this by arguing that a representation or symbol of an object of worship is not an Idol, as long as that object of worship is not a blasphemous god. In other words, a representation or symbol of God himself as long as it is not given worship to, but used as a representation of God is not an Idol. Under this argument we can therefore conclude that the use of the Crucifix is not idolatry. Misrepresentation of Scripture Pro has cherry picked two verses out of the Bible to support his argument. This will simply not do. Pro has taken a piece out of an entire picture to try to represent the picture as a whole in order to support his argument. Thus by doing so he has misrepresented what the Bible teaches regarding idols and idolatry. Exodus 20:4 and Acts 17:29 Pro has misrepresented this verse in order to argue that the making of anything supernatural is idolatry; however this is simply not the case otherwise Scripture contradicts itself. In fact, multiple times in the Bible God commands his people to make statues which would otherwise be regarded as “idols.” For example, in Exodus 25:18-20[1] God commands his people to make two golden Cherubims (angels). In 1 Chr. 28:18-19[2] David gave Solomon the plans to make a golden chariot with a Cherubim of spreaded wings to reside on the Ark of the Convenant which was to be done according to the Lord’s plan. Similarly, Ezekiel 41:17-18 describes an ideal temple that was shown to him in a vision which had graven images carved into the walls [3]. Verses like these beg the question of whether or not there is a religious use for symbols. After all, God commanded these people to create graven images, especially in Holy places (such as the Temple and the Ark of the Covenant). The verses shown were presented in order that we may see that not all graven images are idols. Now I will present scripture to support that graven images also have legitimate religious use. During one of the plagues in which God sent serpents, God instructed Moses to create a statue of a serpent and place it on a pole. Everyone who was bitten by a serpent, but looked at the serpent statue on the pole would be healed (Num. 21: 8-9 [4]). What is important here is that the individual who was bitten had to look at the statue in order to be healed, therefore proving that statues could be used ritually, and not just as religious décor. Now with all of the information gathered, we can conclude that strictly speaking, graven images are not a form of idolatry, particularly when used to worship God or in religious rituals. However, it is when graven images are directly worshipped to, or that graven images are used to worship blasphemous gods that the sin of idolatry is committed. This is supported by numerous Scripture: Leviticus 19:4 –“ Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God.” [5] This verse obviously applies to all blasphemous gods, yet makes no mention of the creation of graven images regarding God himself. Isaiah 45:20 – “Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations! They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.” [6] This verse is the same as the above verse itself in that idolatry is directed against blasphemous gods. Micah 5:13 – “And I will cut off your carved images and your pillars from among you, and you shall bow down no more to the work of your hands” [7] And the same case as the above two once again. The Religious Use of the Crucifux Christians, particularly Catholics, use statues, paintings, and other devices to recall what is being depicted. Pro accuses Christians of deeply revering the Crucifux, but in a sense, this could not be further from the truth. The Crucifux in of itself is not what is being revered. Rather what the Crucifux does is it serves as a reminder that Jesus Christ died for our sins, something extremely important to the Christian faith. To disrespect the Crucifux is not to offend Christians in regards to what has been done to the Crucifux itself, rather to disrespect what the Crucifux represents. Imagine a girl’s father had died. All she has left of her father was a picture of him. Every night she looks at the picture and emotions of love and the desire to see him again swell inside of her. It is not the picture in of itself that is the target of these emotions, rather it is what the picture represents, her father. If some were to steal that picture from her and burn it then it would be deeply offensive to her, not on the grounds that the photo in of itself was special to her, but that she held dear what that photo represented. All of this appropriately follows what Scripture teaches. However, it is when these religious images are given worship to, and are not used to help worship what they represent, that idolatry is committed. This situation happened precisely when the snake God told Moses to construct for religious use was given worship to and turned into an Idol (2 Kings 18:4). Originally, when the snake statue was used religiously as God commanded, all was fine, but it was when the Israelites turned against God’s command and began to worship it was idolatry committed. Is the Image of God Idolatry? Since Pro implied this, I will respond. Pro essentially argued any image of God is idolatry, and used the golden calf as an example. A better example for what he argues is: Deuteronomy 4:15-18 – “You saw no form of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below.” However, this only applied when God had not yet revealed himself to the Israelites. This may have been due to Pagan culture which tempted them to depict God as an aspect of nature such as a Sun or a Cow. However, later God did reveal himself visibly, most famously as Jesus Christ. However, there exist other visible depictions of God such as the burning bush, a dove, or a tongue of flame. In Matthew 2:11[9] the Magi approached where Jesus was born, and upon giving Jesus their gifts they bowed down to him and worshipped him. When God made the New Covenant he revealed himself as Jesus Christ. For this reason, it is appropriate in accordance with the Scriptural teaching on Idolatry that we can make representation of God in Jesus Christ which accordingly conforms with the use of the Crucifux. Conclusion I have successfully shown that Pro nitpicked scripture to support his argument. I used Scriptural evidence to show its true teaching on idols and idolatry and how the use of the Crucifux conforms to the proper use of graven images as commanded by God. Over to you Pro. Sources [1] https://www.biblegateway.com... [2] https://www.biblegateway.com... [3] https://www.biblegateway.com... [4]https://www.biblegateway.com... [5] http://biblehub.com... [6] http://biblehub.com... [7] http://biblehub.com... [8] http://biblehub.com... [9] https://www.biblegateway.com...