Often times other Religions who doesn’t have statues of God or man-made image of God criticize Catholics for creating them. They say that praising this statues is a form of idolatry to fake Gods, for God is a spirit and doesn’t have a form. And it is stated in the bible that Moses threw the stone of the Ten Commandments when he saw those people praising the Golden Calf. God was not happy with their actions because God said in the Ten Commandments that “You shall have no other gods before me” but those people made a deity the Golden Calf where they think is there true God. But what is the difference of that Golden Calf to the statues that Catholics built this days?? it is the belief that the God their making is the same God that moses worships. What other Religions fails to understand is that in the Bible, those people that time already knew about God but they rejected him because they were tired of waiting for moses to comedown from the mountain. Instead of believing in him they created that Golden Calf which represents as their new God as a replacement to God.
The God that they created is very different from the God that Moses worships and believed because those people who created the Golden Calf believed that it is another God and not the same God that Moses worships. While in Catholics, along with creating those statues is a belief that the spirit of God which is the same God that Moses worships resides in those statues they created. For God is a spirit and can be in any form.
Like in the story of Moses, there is that burning bush where in the bible, God called Moses by appearing as a fire in that burning bush. Meaning, God is the burning bush in the story of Moses and the burning bush was the form he chose to have when he called Moses.
God can be in any form, just like the statues that Catholics are making for he is a spirit. As long as you believe that the God you worship is the same God that Moses worships its okey because God can be in any form because he is the supreme absolute. For what matters most is your belief in God, how you will render your love and service to him and not the statue that your seeing as a God.
(That part there goes to all who uses the Bible as there source of knowledge about God). Do not take everything written in the Bible LITERALLY. Absorb its message but NOT LITERALLY.
This part here is taken from the Hindu’s book called “The Science of Self-Realization by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada” ……. “At the present moment, because you have not been trained to see God, He kindly appears before you so you can see Him. You can see wood and stone, but you cannot see what is spiritual. Suppose your father is in the hospital, and he dies. You are crying by his bedside, “Now my father is gone!.” But why do you say he is gone? What is that thing which is gone?”… His body is lying there. Whats gone is his spirit. And have you seen that spirit? No. So you cannot see spirit, and God is the Supreme Spirit. Actually, He is everything - spirit and matter - but you cannot see Him in His spiritual identity. Therefore, to show kindness toward you, He appears out of His unbounded mercy in the form of a wooden or stone Deity or Statue so that you can see Him.
Most of the times other Religions criticize Catholic individuals for their thoughts that their Religion is better than Catholics because they don’t have man-made image of God like statues and they don’t pray redundant prayers such as “Our Father , Hail Mary, Glory Be, etc.” which are only guide prayers for Catholics and not prayers that were being forced to any Catholic individuals.
Sometimes other Religions fails to remember that God was never judgmental and when they criticize Catholic Individuals because they belong to that religion they are already becoming judgmental and yet they claim themselves as more pious and better individuals than those who belong to a Catholic Religion.
But i do not say that Catholic Individuals are better than other Religions because all Religions are the same, they all worship God but just with different names. Primarily, religion means to know God and to love him. The title “Hindu”, “Muslim”, or “Christian” is simply a rubber stamp and not the basis of being a better individual than others. Religion is within yourself on how you love God and serve him where any individual could do this without having a judgmental mind towards other religions if they’ll try to see themselves as the spirit within the body meant to serve God using the body and not the body with its title “Christian”, “Muslim”, “American”, “Filipino”, etc. ” that will later becomes useless when the body starts to decay and rot when its Dead.
Whats important is the soul inside the body or the Spirit inside that individual and not the religion he/she belongs to.
Taken from "The Science of Self-Realization" by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada........
THE PERFECTION OF LIFE IS TO REALIZE ONE'S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
We understand that not only human beings but all living entities are parts and parcels of God. The parts are meant for serving the whole, just as the legs, hands, fingers, and ears are meant for serving the total body. We living entities, being parts and parcels of God, are duty-bound to serve Him.
Actually our position is that we are always rendering service to someone, either to our family, country, or society. If we have no one to serve, sometimes we keep a pet cat or dog and render service to it. All these factors prove that we are constitutionally meant to render service, yet in spite of serving to the best of our ability, we are not satisfied. Nor is the person to whom we are rendering that service satisfied. On the material platform, everyone is frustrated. The reason for this is that the service being rendered is not properly directed.
For example, if we want to render service to a tree, we must water the root. If we pour water on the leaves, branches, and twigs, there is little benefit. If the Supreme Personality of Godhead is served, all other parts and parcels will be automatically satisfied. Consequently all welfare activities as well as service to society, family, and nation are realized by serving the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
