Honor, Veneration, Reverence, Worship, Adoration

Honor = venerate = respect

We are commanded to "honor" our mother and father (Exodus 20:12). The Church, which is the Body of Christ, exists on earth and in heaven. We on earth are still struggling but those believers in heaven are triumphant and holy. We honor our parents on earth and even if they're in heaven, we should still honor them. We can still talk to them. By extension, we can also honor the other souls in heaven, since they are our elder siblings in God's big family. (What's forbidden, by the phrase "contacting the dead", is attempting to gleen preternatural information from spirits, as an end-run around God. This is sorcery or necromancy. King Saul was guilty of this.) Note Genesis 12:3, God says to Abram "And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee..."  By this we see that God is pleased, and blesses us, when we bless & honor those whom He has blessed. Just because Abraham is no longer on earth doesn't mean we can't still honor him for his willing cooperation in God's salvation plan. Scripture nowhere says don't honor the souls in heaven. It just says do not talk to spirits of the dead. In the Old Covenant all the departed were "dead". The righteous and the unrighteous dead were in Sheol, awaiting the coming of the Messiah. The righteous dead were not part of the Body of Christ yet. Then Jesus came, died, descended to Sheol, and brought the righteous dead to life in Heaven, leaving behind the unrighteous dead (they are those "dead" whom we are forbidden to contact). The souls in Heaven, however, are now more alive than we are, and are of the same Body of Christ as we, so we can and should honor them as God's perfected creatures.

These terms (honor, venerate, respect) don't imply divinity in the target. "Praying" to a soul in heaven is not necessarily worship. Petitional prayer, requesting someone in heaven to pray for me, is the same as my asking my friend to pray for me. It is no different. The Kingdom of God (aka the Church) is a family affair, some on earth and some in heaven. Paul directs Christians to pray for others in 1Timothy 2:1 "I EXHORT therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;". ALL Christians, collectively, form the one Body of Christ (1Corinthians). This means we on Earth are of the same Body as the saints in Heaven. Hebrews 12 describes the souls in Heaven observing us on earth ("cloud of witnesses"). Revelation 5 and 8 depict the prayers of the saints (Christians) being offered up to God by angels in Heaven. So, asking someone in Heaven to pray for me is plainly Scriptural.

Reverence = Honor/respect or worship, or adore, depending on context

Reverence is used in KJV in reference to our biological fathers (Hebrews 12:9), to spouses (Ephesians 5:33) and in reference to God (Hebrews 12:28). Logically, then, these are two degrees of reverence. Just like honor, or even worship, we give supreme reverence (supreme honor, supreme worship, adoration) to God alone, and lesser reverence (lesser honor, lesser worship) to our parents and, by extension, our elders in the faith (be they fathers or bretheren). 1Chron29:20 demonstrates this concept of degrees of worship, they "bowed down their heads, and worshipped the LORD, and the king".


Worship

Modern popular usage of the term "worship" is in the context of worship as due to God alone (=adoration), but historically, it didn't always imply divinity in the target. It used to mean giving honor ("worth-ship", worthy of honoring) to someone (Greek: dulia) or, when given to God, was considered "supreme" worship such that was due to Him alone (adoration, Greek: latria). Context determines any application's meaning. Refer to Le Morte d'Arthur. You'll find men being "worshiped" yet not treated like God. Even in Scripture it is sometimes used regarding a mortal (1Chron29:20) "And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the Lord your God. And all the congregation blessed the Lord God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the Lord, and the king.". It was a common usage in the 1400's and even later. Church documents, which are all originally in Latin, in English translation might use the word "worship" regarding some person. In relation to anyone besides God, it means the lesser meaning. Such a document in Greek would use "dulia" in relation to a person and would use "latria" in relation to God.


Adoration

From Latin "adoro". Generally means giving worship and thanks and praise and glory and honor and offering sacrifices to someone as the SOURCE of love,life, blessings,grace,salvation, etc. This degree of worship is rightly due to God alone, since He alone is those things.

English "idolatry" comes from Greek εἰδωλολατρία (idololatria). This means giving adoration, as due to God alone, to an object or person. Hence, giving lesser honor/worship to a Saint is not idolatry. It is "idoloduly". (Did I just invent a new word in English? I'm sure someone else put that together before I did.)

Venerating or honoring a soul in Heaven (usually it's a canonized Saint) is not de facto worship/adoration and so is not in violation of the Commandment against idolatry (1st or 2nd, depending on the numbering scheme). But if someone is doing so, treating the Saint as God, as a source of Life/Salvation or asking supernatural information or offering sacrifices to them, then that is adoration and idolatry, giving to a non-God entity the worship & honor due to God alone, and is forbidden by Scripture & Catholic dogma.

Some Christians object to the Catholic practice of bowing near a painting or statue while praying to Mary (or another Saint). This, they claim, is in violation of the Commandment in Ex20:5 which prohibits making idols to worship. Scripture does forbid bowing down to worship idols/people/things/angels/dem­ons as God. But bowing down in other contexts, giving honor as due to someone else, is not proscribed. Scripture depicts people bowing to others in order to show respect, not to worship them as God (ie Gen23,Gen33:3,1Chron29:20).  Context determines the purpose & intent of the one who is bowing down. In Genesis 27 we read Isaac blessing Jacob: " Let people serve thee, and nations bow down to thee: be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee." So, we bless those whom God has blessed, so we in turn are blessed by God.
Catholics bowing down near a picture or statue are not worshiping a lifeless image but are honoring that which it represents. The Saint represented, most notably Mary, is worthy to be thus honored (that is her "worth-ship") because God has honored her first, with His abundant grace, and she allowed His grace to do great things to and through her (God wouldn't have forced her to mother His child). We honor (worship, in the lesser sense) Mary and the souls in heaven, but ONLY to God do we give supreme worship, ONLY God do we adore as the source of Life and Love and our Savior.
Another way to look at the action of kneeling while in prayer to a Saint (petitioning a Saint to pray for us) is that we are not really kneeling in respect to the Saint, but instead we are kneeling WITH the Saint in respect to God, giving shared worship and adoration to God.

The Communion of Saints is the term used to describe the interaction of all believers, earth-bound (the Church Militant) and Heaven-dwelling (the Church Triumphant). Not to mention the saints undergoing their final purification, the last application of Jesus' cleansing Blood (the Church Suffering), before joining the Church Triumphant. The Church Suffering cannot help themselves or others, but the Churches Militant and Triumphant can pray and sacrifice for them. 1John5 describes how saints should pray for those guilty of venial ("sin not unto death"), but not mortal ("sin unto death"), sins. This verse obviously applies to earthly believers but it also describes the Church Suffering, since they are being cleansed of lingering attachments to sin which they did not shed while alive on earth.


References:

King James Bible used for Scripture references:
http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/thebible.htm

Saints: Holy Siblings
http://zuserver2.star.ucl.ac.uk/~vgg/rc/aplgtc/hahn/m4/sts.html

Mary in the Word of God
http://www.salvationhistory.com/studies/lesson/queen_a_biblical_introduction_to_mary

Do Catholics Worship Statues?
http://www.catholic.com/tracts/do-catholics-worship-statues

Le Morte d'Arthur:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/mart/

Catholic Encyclopedia: Dulia
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05188b.htm

Catholic Encyclopedia: Latria
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09036a.htm

Catholic Encyclopedia: Honour
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07462a.htm

Catholic Encyclopedia: Adoration
 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01151a.htm

Catholic Encyclopedia: Worship
 http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15710a.htm

Catholic Encyclopedia: Veneration of Images
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07664a.htm

Catholic Encyclopedia: Idolatry
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07636a.htm

Faith is Like a Violin.

A parable: The Three Violins.

A wealthy, world-renowned musician is taking a sabbatical and leaves each of his three sons one of his priceless vintage violins. "I'm going away for a while but while I'm gone you may have these fine instruments to use and care for." he tells the young men. They each earnestly and gratefully accept the gift.

After the father leaves the first son carefully handles the masterwork violin and immerses himself in the beautiful music he produces with it. He goes on in the following months to wow the world with its performances. The second son, appreciative of the value of the instrument stores it away in a climate-controlled safe, to protect it from the dangers of the world. The third son carefully places his violin in his room. Later, he decides to show it to his friends, grabs it and tosses it into the back seat of his car, but then forgets about it over the following months. The sun & heat ruin the instrument.

Many months go by then the father returns. "How have my prized instruments served you while I was away?" he inquires of his sons. The first son recounts how he gifted the world with the violin's music. "Well done, my son. You will surely receive your share of the inheritance when I'm gone." The second son tells how he lovingly stored away his violin and preserved it from wear. "Son son son, how could you? That violin is a gift to be shared, it is so wonderful. You will get your inheritance but not the full measure!" The third son unrepentantly presents his violin to his father, the instrument being faded and cracked. Fuming, the father berates him "You wicked son, you have wasted a beautiful gift, and you don't even care. You have lost your inheritance!"

Faith is like these fine violins... it is a gift and it's meant to be practiced and shown and shared, not jealously guarded and hidden away, nor carelessly handled and atrophied. If we let our faith stagnate or whither away our inheritance (eternity in heaven) can be lost.

Church Authority, Inquisition, Excommunication... it's all Scriptural

Men Were Endowed with Authority to Lead/Teach/Guard/Discipline (with the authority of the King) God's Family (Kingdom,Church) on earth:

God didn't leave His earthly family to only be guided by the invisible Holy Spirit and the written Word of God. The Spirit has his role as Sanctifier and the written Word is invaluable as a personal letter from God the Father to each of us, His child, individually, as well as all of us, His family, collectively. But He built His Church to be the embodiment of the Gospel, to spread & protect it, to be the primary means to spread the Gospel message in order to save people from eternal separation from God.

Jesus, the one true King, the one true High Priest, the one true Shepherd, ascended to Heaven but didn't leave us without an authoritative visible leader/teacher/protector. God is the One True Father, but men have been empowered to lead/teach/guard/discipline the flock on earth, even being considered a "father" to the inhabitants of the Kingdom (the Church) (Isaiah22:20ff). (According to Peter (1Peter2), we are all priests in the New Covenant. This does not usurp the role of Christ as the one true Priest, is not instead of Christ, but is only sharing in that one true Priesthood. Similarly, a pastor being called "father" doesn't usurp the role of God as the one true Father. It is only partaking of a small share in that one true Fatherhood.)

Scripture depicts Jesus assigning earthly rulership of His Church to the Apostles (ie Luke22:29-30). (So that Christ rules THROUGH them, not that they rule INSTEAD of Christ.) He feeds His family spiritually through the Apostles and their successors, just as He fed the 5000 and the 4000 THROUGH the apostles (Matthew17?).  He emplaced Peter in a unique role, a sole office, as signified by the "keys to the Kingdom" (Matt16:19). All Christians saw Peter as a shepherd (John21:15-17, Acts) and a father figure (Isaiah22:20ff). Imparting the "keys" to Peter also means that office is successive. When vacated it is filled by another. By this means, Jesus built into His Church the provision of an authoritative visible shepherd/father-figure, a vicar, for all subsequent generations of mankind, until the Return of the King at the end of time. Since He ascended to His throne in Heaven, King Jesus has ruled His Kingdom, the Church, vicariously through Peter's successors. That's why the office is called the Vicar of Christ. And that's why the office is called Holy Father.

Genesis 1; Jer3:15;Matt16:19;Matt18:15-20; Luke10:16; Luke22:29-30;John21:15-17; Acts16:4; Gal 1:6-10; Eph4:11-16;


Luke10:16 The Apostles bear Jesus' Authority and are empowered to preach without error: "Whoever hears you hears me; whoever rejects you rejects me."

Luke11:20 "The kingdom of God has already come to you". The Kingdom is here & now. It's just that the visible King is in the Heavenly side, so His vicar & ministers guide His flock on the earthly side.

Luke12:42ff parable of the faithful servant; applies to Church leaders on one level, individuals on another level.

Jesus gave judgeship, ruling power to the Apostles: Luke22:29-30 "And I covenant to you, as my Father has covenanted to me, a kingdom; that you may eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom: and may sit upon thrones, judging the the twelve tribes of Israel."

John14:25-26 addressed to the Apostles: "These things have I spoken to you, abiding with you. But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you." The rest of us receive the full Gospel through those Apostles, via their successors.

Acts16:4; "As they went from town to town, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem."

Eph4:11-16; "The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, ¹²to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ."

Matthew 13:52 "Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old."   This verse describes the teaching aspect of the Church. Down through the ages the Apostolic successors are the "householder". They have expounded on ("bringeth forth out") the Gospel message (the Deposit of the Faith, the "treasure" in this verse).

Moses installed men to help him lead & judge the people of God's family (Exodus 18: 20ff). Jesus, the "New Moses", fed thousands of people by having His Apostles do the actual work of distributing the bread and fishes. Notice that Moses divided up the people by thousands, hundreds, fifties, tens. Notice also how Jesus had the Apostles divide up the people "in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties" (Mark 6; Matthew 14; Luke 9; John 6). This leads us to see that in the New Israel (the Church) Jesus spreads His grace through men of His choosing. (This would be the normative means of spreading grace, it doesn't preclude God dispensing grace directly.)

Hebrews 13

7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

Who are "them which have rule over you"? Those whom the Apostles ordained to that role: bishops (with the help of presbyters & deacons, who are mentioned variously). In the NT, Timothy is an example of such an apostolic bishop. Acts 1:20 refers to the office as "bishoprick", that's why their successors are called bishop. Acts 1:22 states that one must be "ordained" to that office. We see from 2Timothy1:6 that ordainment is accomplished through the "laying on of hands" of another bishop. (Interestingly, in KJV original, footnotes of Paul's epistles to Timothy and Titus state "...ordained the first bishop...").

For Christians today, "them which have rule over you" would be they who can trace their ordainment ancestry back to the Apostles. That means "Pastor Jimbo" of that "Bible Church" in town is not a valid pastor of the New Covenant. Catholic (and Eastern Orthodox) bishops & priests can demonstrate their priestly genealogy back to the Apostles and are hence authorized by Christ Himself to shepherd His flock on earth. Why would someone trust their spiritual welfare to an "unauthorized" pastor? Dangerous indeed.

Hebrews 13
17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.





See also:
 
Authority in the Early Church:
 http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/stewards-of-the-kingdom
 
The Kingdom of God in Scripture:
 http://www.salvationhistory.com/studies/courses/online/he_must_reign_the_kingdom_of_god_in_scripture


Kingdom and Church in Luke-Acts:
http://www.salvationhistory.com/documents/scripture/KingdomChurchInLukeActs.pdf


Catholic Encyclopedia: The Church
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03744a.htm








Inquisition:

Scripture tells us about inquisitions:

Numbers 25?; Deut 17; Deut 19:15-20; Matt18:15-20; 1Cor5:1-13; 1Cor11:19;Gal 1:6-9;Eph4:11-16; 1Tim1:19-20; Sirach23:22ff;

Wisdom 1:9 (KJV) "For inquisition shall be made into the counsels of the ungodly: and the sound of his words shall come unto the Lord for the manifestation of his wicked deeds."

An inquisition is nothing more than an investigative inquiry into allegations of misbehavior or someone preaching errors as Truth. Some doctrines taught by some people were dangerous to the souls of those who were yet immature in the faith (ie Arianism). Such a teacher is considered ungodly for that reason. The Church Jesus built (having a visible, organized leadership structure) is tasked with not only preaching and protecting the Gospel, but also protecting the children of God (ie John 21). An inquisition is for the purpose of rooting out false teachers or otherwise bad people to protect the flock. (Consider your own congregation: if someone there started teaching that Jesus wasn't REALLY God, wouldn't you confront him, in order to protect the rest of the congregation from being taught errors in matters of faith? If he doesn't abate, shouldn't he be booted from the congregation for the sake of the others' immortal souls?  Likewise, for overt & unrepentant sinful behavior. )

While formal inquisitions don't take place today, in centuries past they were useful. Back then, the faith was tightly integrated with civil society and preaching things counter to Truth caused civil unrest, not just religious disagreement. The Spanish Inquisition was to reveal people, who worked in positions of power or influence in the Spanish government, who claimed to convert, but actually still practiced their old faith (Judaism or Islam). Spain was a Christian country. They didn't want potential secret agents embedded in their government. They didn't separate religion and government as modern America does. (The bad thing was some of the brutal tactics used by the Spanish government & rogue inquisitors who departed from the Papal guidelines).

Inquisitions apply only to those within the Body of Christ, not unbelievers. 1Cor5:1-13 "For what have I to do with judging those outside? Is it not those who are inside that you are to judge? ¹³God will judge those outside. ‘Drive out the wicked person from among you.' "

See also
http://americanberean.blogspot.com/2010/12/catholic-murder-machine.html

An Inquisition Primer
http://www.catholic.com/magazine/articles/an-inquisition-primer

The Inquisition as described by a former Evangelical:
http://catholicbridge.com/catholic/inquisition.php

Catholic encyclopedia on the subject:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08026a.htm


Excommunication:

Matt18:15-20; 1Cor5:1-13; Gal1:6-10; 1Tim1:19-20

When someone is declared "anathema" or "accursed", they are excommunicated (separated from the body of Christ) and "turned over to Satan". This doesn't mean "irrevocably damned" (ie no hope of salvation or reconciliation). It's a redemptive punishment, along the lines of the curses the Israelites went through after their violations of the Covenant. The purpose, the hope, of excommunication is that after some time the person will come to see the error of their ways and repent and come back into the body of Christ.
In Matthew 18 Jesus talks about severing body parts that offend. This can be hyperbole but it is also metaphorical of the Body of Christ, the Church: A had or a foot is an individual Christian. If that Christian is behaving badly and unrepentingly he should be severed from the Body, for the sake of the other members of the Body. If a gangrenous toe is not cut off, it's infection can spread and kill other body parts. This is what excommunication is for.

Matthew 18:15-20: confronting/disciplining sinners or, by extension, promulgators of false doctrine. The church leaders have the authority to excommunicate (anathematize).

1 Corinthians 11:19: "Indeed, there have to be factions among you, for only so will it become clear who among you are genuine."  God allows great heresies so that Truth, or the ones who are in the right (and those in the wrong), may be clearly seen. In the early centuries various heresies which threatened the true doctrines of the nature of Christ arose. It is thanks to the organized, hierarchical Catholic Church leadership (particularly the pope, regarding Arianism), buttressed by the Holy Spirit, that true doctrine is known to us today.

Galatians1:6-10;  preachers of heresy, "another gospel" than the one received, "let him be anathema".

1Timothy 1:19-20 "...having faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have suffered shipwreck in the faith; ²⁰among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have turned over to Satan, so that they may learn not to blaspheme"

Titus 3:

10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;

11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.

Anathemas:
http://catholicbridge.com/catholic/anathemas.php

Catholic encyclopedia on the subject:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05678a.htm




Related info:

Summary of the "great heresies" of the last 2000 years...
http://www.catholic.com/tracts/the-great-heresies]

Detailed piece on several "great heresies"...
http://www.ewtn.com/library/doctrine/heresy.htm

Bad People within the Family of God.

[Draft]

Scripture depicts God's kingdom on earth (His Church, which has a visible, hierarchical leadership) having some bad folks within it, those who behave quite badly and some who are just plain evil. So, the fact that the Catholic Church has some bad folks doing bad things is not proof that the Catholic Church is not the Church founded by Jesus. Contrary to that conclusion, it actually adds support to the Catholic claim to be His Church. Since His foundational Church featured some bad guys within it, even in the highest level (ie Judas Iscariot), His Church in today's age would likely also have some bad and evil folks within it. And this is the case, as the facts bear out. But there is no more corruption within the Catholic Church than in any other Christian group and there's vastly less corruption compared to secular groups (ie the public school system. There's possibly a hundred times more sex abuse there than in Catholic institutions). It's just that the Catholic-perpetrated crimes are more publicized.

Scripture references to the presence of bad folks within the Kingdom:


In Matt. 13 Jesus tells us that the earthly side of God's kingdom will always have some evil folks within but ultimately they will be dealt with. He gives parables, then explains them to the apostles.

Matt 22 features a parable about a man hosting a wedding party. All of the original invited guests reject the offer (which represents the then-present status if the Jewish leaders) so the host gathers up everyone he finds (representing the gentiles). Among them are some who are not attired appropriately and are then kicked out of the wedding feast. The meaning is this: the wedding party is the Kingdom (aka the Church). Many are members but some are not true believers, as represented by the inappropriately attired folks, who are rejected before the wedding feast. (The Wedding Feast of the Lamb is featured in Revelation and is the consummation of the relationship of believers and Jesus).


Luke 13

24  Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

25 When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:

26 Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

27 But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.

28 There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

References: