foray
Rock n' Roll Doggie
Melon, I agree with you that the crucifixes et al HELP people in their religion. I think that in the Old Testament days, the reason why there were so many rituals and such was that people were still immature in their understanding of God. When I say 'immature', I don't mean that they were less godly, just that Man's ("Person's" for the politically correct?
) idea of God had not developed as much as they have now.
But I also agree with Debbie in that crucifixes, bleeding Mary statues, stigmatas (I added a few eg.s of my own) etc. can in fact lead people astray; as in, they would lend their focus to the images themselves rather than to Jesus.
Thus it is a fine line to walk when one needs the help of crufixes, rituals, miracles etc. in leading their spiritual lives.
foray
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"Please--tame me!" he said. "I want to, very much," the little prince replied. "But I have not much time. I have friends to discover, and a great many things to understand." "One only understands the things that one tames," said the fox.
[This message has been edited by foray (edited 03-12-2001).]
But I also agree with Debbie in that crucifixes, bleeding Mary statues, stigmatas (I added a few eg.s of my own) etc. can in fact lead people astray; as in, they would lend their focus to the images themselves rather than to Jesus.
Thus it is a fine line to walk when one needs the help of crufixes, rituals, miracles etc. in leading their spiritual lives.
foray
------------------
"Please--tame me!" he said. "I want to, very much," the little prince replied. "But I have not much time. I have friends to discover, and a great many things to understand." "One only understands the things that one tames," said the fox.
[This message has been edited by foray (edited 03-12-2001).]