When many enter Catholic Churches for the first time they’re often struck by beautifully carved statues and painted icons depicting Our Lord and countless heroes of the faith. While some are inspired by this sacred art, others fear we have slipped into good old fashioned idolatry. Doesn’t the 2nd commandment forbid making “graven images or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth…?” Yet, if this commandment was meant as a total prohibition of images, then why did God command a bronze serpent to be made for the people to look upon and be healed? (Numbers 21:8-9) Why did he command that the Temple have golden cherubim, oxen, and lions? (I Kings 6:23; 7:27:8:6; Ex 25:18-22) Were these idols? Of course not. It was only when the people worshipped the images themselves, that they brought God’s wrath (II Kings 18:4). If this commandment were taken absolutely today, then no image of any created thing could ever be made. This would mean every home with paintings, photos, crosses, even kids’ refrigerator art, would violate the commandment.
       To understand the commandment, we have to look at the rationale Moses gives for it: “Since you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you ...beware lest you act corruptly by making a graven image for yourselves, in the form of any figure…”(Deut.4:15-6) When the commandment was given, they “saw no form” of God. A natural temptation would have been to make visible images of the unseen God, in the form of things you can see, like animals. For this reason, the 2nd commandment was given, to prohibit the making of idolatrous images.
With the coming of Jesus Christ, something changed. In the early centuries as Christians gathered in catacombs, they began painting images of Christ, the cross, the apostles, etc. It wasn’t until the 8th century that some Christians, living in the eastern Mediterranean, first attacked the long-standing practicing of images in Christian devotion. These Christians lived with the growing presence of Islam, which to this day absolutely forbids religious images. As Islam spread, some were pressured to remove the church’s art. One theologian, John of Damascus, rose up to defend images, basing his argument on Jesus himself. Since God had become visible in Jesus, the commandment’s prohibition reached its fulfillment. The Son of God took on our nature, so now to depict him in art is to affirm our faith that the “Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory…” (John 1:14)
       Today, Catholics use statues and images as tools to express devotion. It’s similar to the way a widow might kiss the picture of her departed husband or the family of a fallen soldier might put his burial flag in a place of honor. By showing devotion to a picture or flag, they honor the person. Just as we fill our earthly homes with mementos of our human family, the Church decorates the house of God with images of our brothers and sisters in the “family of God.” These are the family album of this heavenly family. Sacred art reminds us of the great saints of the faith and encourages us to follow their example. In the end, this gives glory to God himself, the source of all holiness. This is why St. John of Damascus called images “opened books to remind us of God.”
       If you want to learn more about the sacred art that has inspired Christian devotion for centuries, simply contact your local Catholic Church. Remember: before there were divisions and denominations, before conservatives and liberals, there was simply Catholicism.