More Scenes from Santa Monica
Along Ocean Blvd. in Santa Monica the various churches placed their depictions of the Nativity using mannequins, statuary, if you will, to represent the Holy Family. The Trinity Baptists, Lutherans, Calvary Baptists, and of course, Catholics participated in this happy event.After Mass tonite, I was chatting with a cradle Catholic (baptized Catholic, never left the Church) and asked him point blank if he ever worshipped
statues. At first he seemed taken aback at my questionsince I don't think he was ever asked this. Thinking I caught him by suprise, surely he would slip and let out the secret that we all suspected, that Catholics do indeed worship statues. He thought for a moment, then said, "No I never worshipped a statue." I said "Hmm..... so why have them around?" He said without hesitating; "It provides a visual."
Ok, I get it, so these statues, are 3-D images which provide "a visual" so they point to what they represent. I asked him if he prayed to statues and he said, of course not!
So the reason all these denominations and not just Catholics use statues are to provide a visual lesson for all to see. To proclaim the gospel through
3 D images (graven images) that represent the people and events of the Nativity is a godly and holy endeavor of all the ecclesial communities of the Santa Monica area. It is gratifying to see the ecumenical way in which the churches cooperate to tell the story of Christ's birth.
(Still though, the way that they use the locked chain-link fence in front of the statues makes me wonder if that is done to prevent people from prostrating themselves before these images)
posted by Russ Rentler, M.D. | 10:50 PM
3 Comments:
So what would the people who set up this display think if these displays inspired someone to pray and initiate a journey of faith? I suppose they would think that their display and achieved it's purpose.
Yet if the statuary in my Church inspires me to pray and provokes me to greater holiness...I am an idolator.
Hmmmm...
Yes Bekah, excellent point.
It is my hope that by posting this kind of silly exercise it would challenge some of my non- Catholic readers to honestly re-think the incorrect accusations made against Catholicism. Sometimes, humor and hyperbole can make a point better than sheer factual information.
I would think the fence is there to protect them from vandalism / theft. Especially this year, there has been a lot of that going on with nativity scenes.
Just remember that Protestants also use images for visuals just not in 3-D like you said. The notion that God is offended by 3 dimensional objects is heretical. (See the iconclastic movement for the dispelling of that and all heresies regarding images btw)
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