Are we allowed to have small statues such as buddha in the house?

chris414 · Dec 3, 2005

personally i wouldnt want the image of another religeon/god in my house. it doesnt seem right even if you dont worship it

Simonline · Dec 3, 2005

carl unger said:
We have a small budha statue in our house, now, I am a aware that some people use them for worship but we do not, we actually use it for decoration purposes. So I would like to know if it is wrong to have it in our house.

What spurred on these questions was Deut 7:25

7:25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire; thou shalt not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.

7:26 And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thy house, and be accursed like unto it; thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing.

As a Christian I personally would not give house room to any religious icons of a false religion. However, if you choose to have one in your home then that is your choice. The Bible teaches us that idols are lifeless, the mere molding of Earthly materials with human hands (Ps.115:4-8). If lifeless then they are also powerless; if powerless then what possible effect can they have over us?

The 'power' which idols 'exert over us' is derrived from our attitudes towards them. If we worship them (or the gods they represent) then they have power over us. If we acknowledge them for what they are i.e. lifeless idols, then they cease to have any hold over us.

For a comprehensive understanding of how one should relate to idols see A Biblical Approach To Chinese Traditions And Beliefs by Daniel Tong published by Genesis Books - an imprint of ARMOUR Publishing Pte Ltd ISBN 9814045926 http://www.armourpublishing.com/armour/products/product2.jsp?pid=9814045926

Simonline.

Simonline · Dec 3, 2005

Dragons87 said:
I come from Hong Kong, where Buddhism is a very strong religion. It is known that the statue of Buddha and other deities can host anti-Christ evil spirits, mainly because, well, Buddha himself is sort of anti-Christ (you can't really be neutral, can you?). And then when the occupants of the house convert to Christianity, the evil spirits will come out and disturb you. Then it takes a lot of spiritual effort to call the spirits away. Usually, when the house converts to Christianity, the church will go into the house, pray, and get rid of all the previous religious icons.

Those are the stories I've heard, so I strongly suggest you to not even have it as a decoration. I mean, if you want to make your house look Oriental, there're a million other ways to do it.

Popular perception but it isn't true. Evil spirits derive their power from us (our attitudes toward the idols) not the idols themselves. The idols (or, more correctly, the spirits behind the idols) have 'power' over us because we have given them that power through our attitudes and actions toward them. The spirits attach themselves to us (through our worship of the idols etc.) not the idols.

Simonline

£amb · Dec 3, 2005

Maybe you can hang your hat on the Buddah....might as well get some use out of it

tomwhodson · Dec 3, 2005

if you have a coin in your house and choose to worship that then you are doing wrong. but if you have the coin in your house and choose not to worship it then you do nothing wrong. imho

HolyGuardianAngels · Dec 6, 2005

carl unger said:
We have a small budha statue in our house, now, I am a aware that some people use them for worship but we do not, we actually use it for decoration purposes. So I would like to know if it is wrong to have it in our house.

What spurred on these questions was Deut 7:25

7:25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire; thou shalt not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.

7:26 And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thy house, and be accursed like unto it; thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing.

:o :o

OUCH!

Only wanna say: Don't TEMPT God...

GOD is a JEALOUS God...

Why play with fire???

You don't NEED the idol!!

Buddha is an IDOL to many many people!!

Whose side are you on??

Just because, someone else does it, doesn't make it right!!

~AND we can think of ANCIENT Egypt...
If it Looks like an idol, Smells like an idol, it is an IDOL!!

Trash the idol, pray for forgivness.. hang-up a picture of Jesus on the wall instead...

Believe the SCRIPTURE you quoted!!

Good Christian Men, Rejoice!!
God Bless

Dragons87 · Dec 6, 2005

Simonline said:
Popular perception but it isn't true. Evil spirits derive their power from us (our attitudes toward the idols) not the idols themselves. The idols (or, more correctly, the spirits behind the idols) have 'power' over us because we have given them that power through our attitudes and actions toward them. The spirits attach themselves to us (through our worship of the idols etc.) not the idols.

Simonline

Alright. I grant you that. But, as an Asian Christian, I would be quite uneasy having a Buddhist statue in my own house.

Yusuf Evans · Dec 6, 2005

I'm not too sure Carl. To be honest, I have a couple of Shisa Dogs statues in my house. Their purpose in Okinawa is to ward off evil spirits. My wife is Okinawan, and that's why she wanted them. Now that she's a Christian, it's simply a decoration gathering dust in our house. I hope someone can clear this up though.

Brother-in-Christ,

Jerry

Augustine_Was_Calvinist · Dec 6, 2005

HolyGuardianAngels said:
Trash the idol, pray for forgivness.. hang-up a picture of Jesus on the wall instead...

Which picture of Jesus?

You mean the long haired, effiminate, blond haired, blue eyed white dude so many have hanging on their walls?

Did Jesus have a set of pictures made at Olan Mills?

Augustine_Was_Calvinist · Dec 6, 2005

christianmarine said:
I'm not too sure Carl. To be honest, I have a couple of Shisa Dogs statues in my house. Their purpose in Okinawa is to ward off evil spirits. My wife is Okinawan, and that's why she wanted them. Now that she's a Christian, it's simply a decoration gathering dust in our house. I hope someone can clear this up though.

Brother-in-Christ,

Jerry

It's not the object that matters, it's the value one places in the object.

If the value is equivalent to adoration and worship, the the object is an idol.

But then, many have bank accounts they place above God in adoration, eh?

Or, cars.

Or, TV.

Or, sports.

Or, clothes.

Or, sex...

tall73 · Dec 6, 2005

A few texts that came to mind:

DT 32:15 Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;
filled with food, he became heavy and sleek.
He abandoned the God who made him
and rejected the Rock his Savior.

DT 32:16 They made him jealous with their foreign gods
and angered him with their detestable idols.

DT 32:17 They sacrificed to demons, which are not God--
gods they had not known,
gods that recently appeared,
gods your fathers did not fear.

DT 32:18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you;
you forgot the God who gave you birth.

DT 32:19 The LORD saw this and rejected them
because he was angered by his sons and daughters.

While it is devotion to idols that was condemned, the gods being worshipped were demons. I think that is why the Deuteronomy text above speaks of it being devoted. Idols were obviously devoted to worship.

Again the theme of worshipping demons, associated with idolatry:

PS 106:36 They worshiped their idols,
which became a snare to them.

PS 106:37 They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to demons.

Consider this text. While Paul agrees that idols are nothing, he notes also that those who worship idols worship demons, and that we should not be associated with them. Now in the context he goes on to say that food sacrificed to idols might not be a problem, if bought in the market place. But he does seem to discourage any association with it idolatry.

1CO 10:14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
1CO 10:18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Frankly if I were in your spot, and I had any question about it, I would get rid of the thing. Why have anything to do with demons?

strikerchris0411 · Dec 6, 2005

carl unger said:
We have a small budha statue in our house, now, I am a aware that some people use them for worship but we do not, we actually use it for decoration purposes. So I would like to know if it is wrong to have it in our house.

What spurred on these questions was Deut 7:25

7:25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire; thou shalt not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.

7:26 And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thy house, and be accursed like unto it; thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing.

why do you have them besides decoration?

HappyMomof4 · Dec 6, 2005

Augustine_Was_Calvinist said:
Which picture of Jesus?

You mean the long haired, effiminate, blond haired, blue eyed white dude so many have hanging on their walls?

Did Jesus have a set of pictures made at Olan Mills?

Huh?
I know I've never seen that one. Olan Mills??

cg1970 · Dec 6, 2005

carl unger said:
We have a small budha statue in our house, now, I am a aware that some people use them for worship but we do not, we actually use it for decoration purposes. So I would like to know if it is wrong to have it in our house.

What spurred on these questions was Deut 7:25

7:25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire; thou shalt not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.

7:26 And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thy house, and be accursed like unto it; thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing.

As long as you don't worship this image, or statue, it is OK for decoration.

Omacron · Dec 8, 2005

HolyGuardianAngels said:
:o :o

OUCH!

Only wanna say: Don't TEMPT God...

GOD is a JEALOUS God...

Why play with fire???

You don't NEED the idol!!

Buddha is an IDOL to many many people!!

Whose side are you on??

Just because, someone else does it, doesn't make it right!!

~AND we can think of ANCIENT Egypt...
If it Looks like an idol, Smells like an idol, it is an IDOL!!

Trash the idol, pray for forgivness.. hang-up a picture of Jesus on the wall instead...

Believe the SCRIPTURE you quoted!!

Good Christian Men, Rejoice!!
God Bless

You ask them to replace one idol with another. It it written that you should haves no images of any thing that is in heaven or in the earth beneath or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them and worship them.

It is true the idol in and of its self isn't evil, but the thoughts we may have concerning them. The Lord our God has said that they are an abomination to him and they should be so to us as well. If it were to cause doubt in faith for you or others who may see it, that would be a bad thing indeed. If it were to cause strife as well, or become a stumbling block to others. You must look into your heart and ask yourself if you can live with that. God gave you a free will to believe or not believe. How strong is your faith and the faith of others who are around you? Is it strong enough to see it for what it is? A lifeless statue of a man. If there be any doubt you know what needs to be done.

U R my Sonshine · Dec 8, 2005

carl unger said:
We have a small budha statue in our house, now, I am a aware that some people use them for worship but we do not, we actually use it for decoration purposes. So I would like to know if it is wrong to have it in our house.

What spurred on these questions was Deut 7:25

7:25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire; thou shalt not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God.

7:26 And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thy house, and be accursed like unto it; thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing.

I like to decorate with things from other cultures too. They don't mean anything to me except they may go with my "well traveled" look at home. My husband goes on business trips all over and he always brings something back. I don't have a buddah....but I wouldn't be opposed to having one, it was clear I am not buddist and in no way revere him or worship him.

Caliban · Dec 8, 2005

Wow op if that's all you have to worry about then I would like to replace my life with yours. With all the millions starving all over the world, all those who yearn to hear the gospel and those subjected to horriffic crimes you look at a small statue (which you have stated that you do not worship) and have to grab the bible to find something to condemn it with. LOL

May lassie forgive you

FreezBee · Dec 8, 2005

U R my Sonshine said:
My husband goes on business trips all over and he always brings something back. I don't have a buddah....but I wouldn't be opposed to having one, it was clear I am not buddist and in no way revere him or worship him.

Just curious, do you have a picture of your husband? Not that I suspect you worship him, but I do suppose you revere him, at least to some extent

We are created in the image of God - by revering another human being you revere God.

It is said of Satan that when God told the angels to revere Adam, Satan refused - he being made out of pure light could not revere someting made out of mere clay. God sent Satan away from his presence.

- FreezBee

U R my Sonshine · Dec 8, 2005

FreezBee said:
Just curious, do you have a picture of your husband? Not that I suspect you worship him, but I do suppose you revere him, at least to some extent

We are created in the image of God - by revering another human being you revere God.

It is said of Satan that when God told the angels to revere Adam, Satan refused - he being made out of pure light could not revere someting made out of mere clay. God sent Satan away from his presence.

- FreezBee

Sure I revere my husband. I love him. Can't say I love or revere Buddah though. Only know what I learned about him in Philosophy 101 at the university. Though he does seem likeable enough....kind of like the Pillsbury dough boy

furry001 · Dec 8, 2005

I feel that I must add something to this thread, and these are my thoughts on the subject:

Personally speaking I would not have a buddha in my home. Not because I feel that it would be sinful. or because I feel that it is evil. But because I would always be thinking "I wonder what xxx would think of this".

Let me explain myself. I (like most Christians) have made mistakes in the past. Through my example I have led others astray. So, when reconciled to God, I made a conscious decision. That decision was that I would never again do something to lead another Christian astray.

My fear would be that if someone saw that I had one of these in my home as an ornament, that they might think that it would be ok for them to experiment with idols (and other religions). I know that I am probably stretching the boundaries of credibility with this, but that is what I fear. Knowing that a young girl is now in eternity after having been led astray by me (she died in a car crash a few years back) has coloured my life and how I view it.

We are examples to others. Are you prepared to be a good example or a bad example?

Furry.

PS. It's made of stone, it can't hurt you. These are just my thoughts and my feelings.

Are we allowed to have small statues such as buddha in the house?

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