From Newsgroup: uk.religion.christian

Catholics usually defend the use of images - statues, pictures, etc - by claiming that they are not objects of worship but "aids to devotion".

A woman recently asked me about a picture of the sacred heart which she
had on her bedroom wall and whether it contravened the Ten Commandments.
I pointed out the terminology: "thou shalt not make unto thee ... any
image ... thou shalt not bow down to them nor serve them".

I said that a picture, in itself, was harmless, but did she show it any reverence? Did she cross herself in front of it or kiss it or show
reverence in any other way that might come under the "bow down"
prohibition? She admitted that she did cross herself in front of the
picture, something she never did before the landscape or the picture of
her family. She drew her own conclusion and removed the picture.

Just recently she sent me this message: "I mentioned that to Mavis
yesterday at Chapel for some reason. By taking the Sacred Heart picture
off my bedroom wall I had to look up and not at the picture. It is a discipline that seems to work and I can feel more reassured that God or
the Holy Spirit have heard me."

In other words, the picture was an obstacle to her looking to God, not
an aid. I suggest that this was the reason why God was so stringent
against such things. Perhaps there are a few individuals who can look
beyond the picture or statue, but the majority of people act
unthinkingly and instinctively - and over time will come to regard the
image as an object of devotion in its own right - and as soon as they do
that, the image comes between them and God.

God bless,
Kendall K. Down
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