This led me to a discussion - what's the difference between a statue and an idol?
It's what you do with it, man.
Look - all of these mean something to somebody. They're representative of somebody's ideals, religious beliefs, or principals.
At the end of the day, none of these is going to get you into heaven.
Why? Because they're statues. They're not real. They're all made (by man) out of something, and none of 'em can do anything for you. Conversely, none of 'em can do anything to you, either. Iv'e worshipped a lot of idols and false gods in my time, and not one of 'em was a statue.
Our old pastor used to say "how good can a god be if you had to make it yourself it?"
I though that was pretty good.
4 comments:
Not sure who said it was an idol. That's a little much. Anyway.
This is one of those issues where what seems harmless might become problematic. For sure, it's just a statue. But it does indeed represent something.
While it will have no ill effect for you to have a Buddha statue in your home, what happens if an unbeliever comes to visit? Or a young, spiritually weak believer? Paul talks about not doing anything, even if that thing is good and right, if it will be a stumbling block to someone else.
Having a statue which represents a religion whose beliefs conflict quite clearly with that which you hold to be true might cause some confusion to the above folks. Confusion that could lead them into trouble, to mix that which is true, faith in Christ, with that which is false, Buddhism or Hindu or fill in the blank.
They sell these really cool wooden Mayan animal masks here. Were we just visiting Guatemala, we would buy them and display them in the US because they have no significance there. But here, there is a chance that someone one would see them and think that we approve of the mixing of Mayan religions and the true faith of Christ. That would cause that person trouble and could damage our witness as believers.
The same goes for drinking alcohol in public here. Alcoholism is a terrible blight here in Guatemala and the only freedom people find is in Christ. So I refrain from consuming a beer in public because it could cause a person who knows I am a Christian to question the validity of my faith. That's wrong, of course, but I refrain not because I think drinking is wrong, but because I care more for the other person than for my freedom. I limit my freedom in order NOT to limit the freedom of others.
All that to say - you are free to have your statue if ya want it. I hope that wasn't preachy. I just wanted to put in my .02.
Maybe you could compromise and get a statue of Chris Farley.
In a trance, down by the River!
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