I already addressed your false analogy, twice actually. But please feel free to continue spinning in circles if you must.
Ha..Ha.... that's a good one JayW! Not buying it, and pretty sure anyone that can read English is either! Although you declined to answer my questions, I'll go ahead and address your so-called "scenario" post.
Scenario 1: "Hey, Bob, could you please pray for me this week?"
I have a friend in my Parish named "Bob", and have asked him to pray for me many times. Not only him, I also ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the Saints in Heaven to pray for me daily, not just weekly.
Scenario 2: Build a statue to Bob and install stained glass windows with pictures of Bob in a house of worship.
Nope, no statues or stained glass windows of Bob in our church. We do however, honor our patron Saint Vincent de Paul with a statue. We also have stained glass windows in honor of our Blessed Mother, and windows of a dove and tounges of fire depicting the Holy Spirit, along with windows of Jesus, and God the Father. They are quite beautiful!
Light candles before that statue,
Of Bob? Sorry, not happening. Now, as far as candles go in Catholic Churches, there are different types of candles and meanings behind them. For space restraints I'll stick with votive candles. Light stands for Christ, so the burning of candles or lamps, has naturally come to symbolize Christ in a special way (Jn 8:12).
Something that is "votive" has to do with a vow. God is pleased with our vows, provided we keep them (Mt 5:33, Acts 18:18). A Catholic who lights a votive candle, makes an offering and places an intention before the Lord. The candle symbolizes their intention, it can also stand for their presence in prayer before God, and their union, as a Christian, with Christ the light of the world. The votive element is the exchange of the offering for God's answer to their prayer.
The practice of lighting candles before the Lord goes back to the Old Testament. God required the Israelites to maintain lamps burning before the Holy of Holies (Ex 40). As you can see JayW, the practice of votive candles has very biblical roots and is very symbolic of who were are as Christians united to Christ, and of our complete dependence upon God in our need. So,if you are mocking Catholics for the lighting of candles.... You are also mocking God! Tisk....tisk!
To a statue of Bob? Again, not happening. As for the burning of incense. Well, Incense has been used in Christian liturgy from its earliest centuries. In fact, it was a part of the Jewish tradition that came before it, a use that was commanded by God himself and recorded in Sacred Scripture. As in
Exodus 30:1-10, and Exodus 30:34-38 in the Old Testament, an in Revelation 5:6-8, and Revelation 8:3-4 in the New Testament. So you see JayW, when you see incense being used in our churches, it is meant to remind us Catholics of heaven, and that our worship of God in the Christian liturgy is divine in origin. It also reminds us to pray, and that our prayer rises to God like the smoke from the censer, purifying our worship of God, and allowing his Holy Spirit to work in us to make us holy. So again, if you are mocking Catholics for burning incense in our worship of God, you are mocking Him as well!
and work my way through 53 rosary beads of "Hail Bob."
Sarcasm in it's truest form, not worthy of a responce.
I invite you to cite even one incident in scripture where God tells us to pray to anyone but Him alone.
I know what you're getting at, that "gotcha" moment, and it aint going to happen. Lol! FYI, Catholic doctrine absolutely rejects the worship of anyone but God. What the Church does allow is praying to the saints in order to ask for their intercession with the one true God. Not only that....God expects us to pray for one another! We see this in both the Old and New Testaments.---- Gen. 20:7, Job 42:8, Rom.15:30-32, James 5:16-17, to name a few.
Thank You