Question on Idolatry.

[candyfloss28]

I was at church last night and their was a large wooden cross. The pastor's son who was leading told those who wanted to go and sit, kneel or lay at the foot of the cross to feel Gods glory. Is this Idolatry?

Originally Posted by candyfloss28

I was at church last night and their was a large wooden cross. The pastor's son who was leading told those who wanted to go and sit, kneel or lay at the foot of the cross to feel Gods glory. Is this Idolatry?

It may be some cheap stunt.
If your curious, go see if you feel the Glory.
If it feels foolish than it is probably foolishness.

A wood cross is a wood cross.
If the church leadership truly manifests the Glory and that is were it is, go find out.
Then you will know what the church leaders are.

[davidmartin]

hello candyfloss. what imthatim said seems like good advice
i do not think this is idolatry but something maybe does not sit right with you about it?
it could be that it seems like you have to do something special to feel God's glory as a one off when really you don't. so if this experience was presented beyond a nice thing to do it starts to look a bit like that + it might make those who did'nt go feel bad? if the pastors son was all chilled and relaxed about it, it would have helped but ... i'm so used to the smoke machines and laser lights my instinct is to assume he was the opposite but i want to give the lad the benefit of the doubt :)

I would like to add.

My belief is a church should be establishing the Glory inside the individuals.
Or teaching individuals to manifest the Glory themselves.To have the
kind of relationship with God that goes with them and not dependent on
a church alter and a wooden cross.
But if they are using it correctly and temporarily to build relationship
and their teachings solid then, no problem.

Glory being defined as (Splendor and weighty)

[ThatMan]

This is how I see things: We are all on a path of spiritual evolution, some people need physical things to make a connection with the Creator, some people go inwards to make a connection with the Creator and some don't even believe in a Creator.Some people are now christians but they used to have a different belief, some people have now a different belief but they used to be christians.When you look at the people around you, it's not hard to notice that there are people that are experiencing at this very moment situations that you used to experience in past, it's like seeing yourself, this is what I call the "river of life", we are all part of it.

We should not judge.. but even judgeing is another step of our spiritual evolution, some people just feel like judging other people, some people judge other people but know that it's not healty and some people are at another level where they don't judge, they understand.There are also the people that they not only that can understand but they can also guide, they can take a man from his/her own low spiritual state to a higher state, in other words these guides can open people's eyes to higher things, things that were hidden for them, remember that Jesus talked a lot about people not being able to hear or to see His true message, some people have no desire to open their eyes... Jesus also called the jewish priests using the expression "blind guides", these are the people that say "We see" and yet they don't, they are also found in our days, ruling christianity.

[Phaelyn]

Originally Posted by candyfloss28

I was at church last night and their was a large wooden cross. The pastor's son who was leading told those who wanted to go and sit, kneel or lay at the foot of the cross to feel Gods glory. Is this Idolatry?

He said to feel God's glory, not the crosses glory, so does not seem like idolatry to me.

[BigJohn]

Originally Posted by candyfloss28

I was at church last night and their was a large wooden cross. The pastor's son who was leading told those who wanted to go and sit, kneel or lay at the foot of the cross to feel Gods glory. Is this Idolatry?

Just before the Lord's prayer (which starts at Mathew 6:10), the following admonition is found at Mathew 6:7 "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking." which mocks repetitive prayer. It appears the scripture places emphasis ion prayers coming from the heart as opposed to memorized words that in many cases people have in no idea what they had recited.

Idolatry is a touchy subject.

To an outsider, a few Churches are stripped of idols and whereas some seem to be completely filled with idols.

[BigJohn]

The expression:

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth: 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."

as written in the 10 commandments at  Exodus 20:4-6 (KJV)



It should be noted, what is idolatry to one person is not idolatry to another person.

[sky]

Originally Posted by candyfloss28

I was at church last night and their was a large wooden cross. The pastor's son who was leading told those who wanted to go and sit, kneel or lay at the foot of the cross to feel Gods glory. Is this Idolatry?

I personally would see God's glory in the tree the cross was taken from.

[BigJohn]

A play on words?