Burning candles

[Guest man]

Having a visual reminder is not the same thing as idol worship.

It is if that visual reminder is not an actual depiction of God.

Hmmm,...It easy to know the answer to this...Its WHY you burn the candle...or incense....If youre doing it to please God, theres nothing wrong with it......When you sing in church..or in the shower...or wherever....Doesnt it sound better with musical instruments?...God likes it with or without the musical instruments, but the added instruments just make it more interesting, right?...Nothing sinful here...I dont think burning a candle in honor of a deceased parent, or with a prayer session is gonna send you to hell, thats for sure....Honoring someone is not the same as worshipping God...Honoring means showing respect...worshipping means,...well,...you know what it means..It means putting God Higher than anything else!

Oh yeh,...Candles for churches used to be made from beeswax( for whatever thats worth!)

your friend,

john

The topic is burning candles next to a picture of Christ.

I don't have a problem with the candles, it's the pictures.

[johnnybigfish]

Having a visual reminder is not the same thing as idol worship.

It is if that visual reminder is not an actual depiction of God.

Hmmm,...It easy to know the answer to this...Its WHY you burn the candle...or incense....If youre doing it to please God, theres nothing wrong with it......When you sing in church..or in the shower...or wherever....Doesnt it sound better with musical instruments?...God likes it with or without the musical instruments, but the added instruments just make it more interesting, right?...Nothing sinful here...I dont think burning a candle in honor of a deceased parent, or with a prayer session is gonna send you to hell, thats for sure....Honoring someone is not the same as worshipping God...Honoring means showing respect...worshipping means,...well,...you know what it means..It means putting God Higher than anything else!

Oh yeh,...Candles for churches used to be made from beeswax( for whatever thats worth!)

your friend,

john

The topic is burning candles next to a picture of Christ.

I don't have a problem with the candles, it's the pictures.

Sure, the image might not be the REAL image of God, but, in this kind of interpretation, How about a cross?

Was Jesus on a cross?//...Or a tree?...Or maybe, just some kind of pole?...So, is the cross wrong to put on your wall if you dont really know if thats even what Jesus cross looked like?

For me, just while we're speaking here on the subject,. I bet Jesus looked more like An Iraqi than whats He's been portrayed to look like.

I think, in reality, this kind of question is a potential doorway to church division...As for me, I'm definitely not gonna judge a person if they burn candles or not...or if they've been immersed, sprinkled, or just dipped in a bucket...Gods in our hearts....He knows WHY we do what we do when we honor , praise, and worship Him.

ok,...I better go...The dogs are starting to fight again!!

Peace, Bruh!

your friend,

john

[Iryssa]

Having a visual reminder is not the same thing as idol worship.

It is if that visual reminder is not an actual depiction of God.

Hmmm,...It easy to know the answer to this...Its WHY you burn the candle...or incense....If youre doing it to please God, theres nothing wrong with it......When you sing in church..or in the shower...or wherever....Doesnt it sound better with musical instruments?...God likes it with or without the musical instruments, but the added instruments just make it more interesting, right?...Nothing sinful here...I dont think burning a candle in honor of a deceased parent, or with a prayer session is gonna send you to hell, thats for sure....Honoring someone is not the same as worshipping God...Honoring means showing respect...worshipping means,...well,...you know what it means..It means putting God Higher than anything else!

Oh yeh,...Candles for churches used to be made from beeswax( for whatever thats worth!)

your friend,

john

The topic is burning candles next to a picture of Christ.

I don't have a problem with the candles, it's the pictures.

So, regardless of what's in the person's heart, you have a problem with there simply being a picture there AT ALL?

[Ovedya]

I have to say that I also have a problem with the idea of burning a candle before an image.

To begin with an image as a "reminder" of Jesus just doesn't sit right with me. Usually we have pictures - photos or otherwise - to remind us of special people or events in our lives. Aside from those who directly followed Jesus or those to whom He appeared, most of us have never seen the face of Jesus. Therefore a picture is merely a representation of someone we've never seen. Now Scripture says, "Whom having not seen, you love..." If a believer loves Jesus anyway I ask, "Why the picture"? Why the need for a picture? Doesn't every believer have a unique and genuine experience of the indwelling Christ? Doesn't that experience far exceed an image? I think that many people use images as a kind of "religious crutch," because if their experiences of Christ wane or their heart grows cold toward Him, then they can lean upon the image. Furthermore, didn't Jesus tell Thomas, "Because you have seen Me you believe. Blessed are those who have not seen Me and believe." I think what He meant was that the faith of those of us who have not seen the Lord Jesus is stronger, at least more resilient, than those who have seen Him. It is easier to believe in someone that you can see than someone whom you have never seen. Yet our experience of Christ goes far beyond our basic sensory perceptions.

Second, burning candles before an image is a kind of idolatry. I can differentiate between burning a candle in memory of someone and burning a candle before an image as a tool of worship. Burning a candle in memory of someone is a means of remembrance. Burning a candle before and image or statue of an apostle, Mary or Jesus is a form of worship, largely based upon the superstition that as long as candles remain lit for specific prayers, they gain more recognition from God.

That's my opinion.

[Guest man]

So, regardless of what's in the person's heart, you have a problem with there simply being a picture there AT ALL?

Yes, because as Ovedya pointed out, none of us knows what He looks like.

We walk by faith, not by sight.

That is not God that you see when you look at that picture. And when someone uses that image as a way to remember Christ, they're not remembering Christ, because that's not Him. What they are doing is giving praise and honor to a false god. A god that is made up of paper, stone, plastic, whatever was used to construct that image. They may not be actually bowing down to that image, but when they use that image in their worship time, they are technically worshipping that image and not God.

Now many will accuse me of legalism here, but let me ask you, how legalistic is it to say I committed adultry just because I had impure thoughts of someone of the opposite sex? Or that I'm guilty of murder because I hated someone?

Those are clues as to what the Father expects of us.

John 4

23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

[Iryssa]

So, regardless of what's in the person's heart, you have a problem with there simply being a picture there AT ALL?

Yes, because as Ovedya pointed out, none of us knows what He looks like.

We walk by faith, not by sight.

That is not God that you see when you look at that picture. And when someone uses that image as a way to remember Christ, they're not remembering Christ, because that's not Him. What they are doing is giving praise and honor to a false god. A god that is made up of paper, stone, plastic, whatever was used to construct that image. They may not be actually bowing down to that image, but when they use that image in their worship time, they are technically worshipping that image and not God.

Now many will accuse me of legalism here, but let me ask you, how legalistic is it to say I committed adultry just because I had impure thoughts of someone of the opposite sex? Or that I'm guilty of murder because I hated someone?

Those are clues as to what the Father expects of us.

John 4

23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.