Would a nativity scene be idol worship?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

yes- it would be - especially if it is worshiped -

"we would never do that, it is just a symbol" I hear people screaming-

well, I grew up Catholic and we had a nativity scene and we were expected to kiss the feet of the baby Jesus ( umm... worship of an inanimate object - and for those that did not read the whole story- Jesus is not a baby and no longer resides in the manger!)

It was complete sacrilege to play with the nativity set, do anything that might cause o piece of it to break, handle "baby Jesus" in any way that was considered disrespectful--- all worship-

I was given a set when I moved into my own place- I knew there was a problem when I passed it and I had been convicted to get rid of it- I thought, I am just going to throw that out, then my first thought ( brought on by years of conditioning I am sure) was , "oh no, I can't put 'baby Jesus' in the trash- I was immediately convicted, remembering the commands about graven images and those in the Bible that were attached to their inanimate objects- I immediately tossed the whole set-

I later discovered that that whole set-up along with just about everything attached to Christmas was pagan oriented anyway

so, yep, you are right - graven image, false idol, pagan influenced!

Asker's Rating:

Asker's Comment:

Yes

Answer 2

Yes, it could be considered "idol worship"

Answer 3

No, but the nativity scene isn't accurate either. The wise men were not there when Jesus was born, they came from afar.

Answer 4

No, as long as you don't worship it but use it to remind you of the son who is of the trinity.

Answer 5

From you earlier similar question. the word is "graven." No it is not. It is not a carved or chiseled piece of wood or stone made for the sole purpose of worshiping it as if it had supernatural power. Isaiah talks of the foolishness of a man who cuts down a tree, burns part of it to cook his dinner and then uses another piece to carve, fall down before and cry "Save me Oh (piece of wood) god!"

Answer 6

It depends...what kinds of things are you thinking of doing with the figures? Been eyeing those shepherds huh? Get 'em away from the sheep? Hmmm?

Answer 7

No, I wouldn't consider it idol worship.

Source(s):

Raised Catholic

Answer 8

No. The nativity scene isn't God, it just represents something spiritual. You wouldn't say that people that read the Bible or pray in front of a cross religiously are worshiping an idol. Just professing their faith.

Answer 9

It depends on how you treat it.

I mean, I love Nativity scenes. I have a collection of them. I was always taught they were just a picture to make us remember the reason it's called Christmas. We played with baby Jesus, I would rearrange the animals every day, and we argued about how baby Jesus should be in swaddles and sought out the best nativity scenes where he's all swaddled up. We got toys that were nativity scenes, and I plan on getting my daughter the Fisher Price one for play.

The way we used it, it was mostly just a play-toy to help remember Christ. Nothing more, nothing less. We didn't worship it.