I still stay we worship one God.
Yes, of course you say that. So what about the Hindus then? They're effectively doing the same thing you are.
When we pray to Jesus we are also praying to God.
Obviously, but to a different manifestation, or different aspect, of the one. Again, this is what Hindus do too. So are they monotheists, or are you a polytheist? Why should it be regarded as one thing for you but another for them, when you are doing the same thing?
Catholics don't worship the Saints as deities. They pray to them as a form of intercessory prayer. They believe the Saints will act on behalf of them to God and that is why they send their prayers to them so they give them to God.
I know this. However, it's a distinction without any real difference. If you are praying to a saint to give you a supernatural result, then that's that. How the saint does it is not the issue. You are still directing your veneration and hopes to an immortal and supernatural being for the purpose of getting a result you could not get by natural means.
Sure, technically Catholics say that saints are not deities, but they are indistingushable from deities, both in what they do and in how they are approached. The only difference is that when Christians do it they claim it's monotheism, and when anyone else does it Christians say it's polytheism.
Tell me this: if saints can't do anything on their own, and have to refer all requests higher up the food chain, then why bother praying to them at all? Why not go straight to #1? He's supposed to be omnipotent and omniscient, so presumably he doesn't need a lower level bureaucracy to prioritise requests for him.
Also, the very concept of "intercessory prayer" relies on an assumption that the Big Fella doesn't know what he's doing. He has to have a saint to point out what he should be doing, or else he'll get it wrong. Bit forgetful, is he? You have choose between an ominpotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent God, in which case any saint who tried to interfere would be fucking up big time, or you have a God that needs saints to interfere, in which case he's not omniscient, or not omnibenevolent, or both. Which is it? Take your pick. You can't have it both ways.
They don't worship idols. The statues are used as a focus point during their prayer or to help them focus on their prayer. They don't pray to the statues. They don't believe the statues are divine or anything.
No shit, Sherlock? And what, exactly, do you think polytheistic idolators use statues for? They don't build them as dildoes for elephants, y'know.
Yes, that's right, they use the statues as a focus point during prayer/worship. Well, fancy that. Whoever woulda thunk it?
So, if it's idolatry when they do it, why isn't it idolatry when Christians do it?
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