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<\/a>The Anglo-Irish clergyman and scholar Richard Frederick Littledale<\/a> (1833-1890) wrote a book called Plain Reasons Against Joining the Church of Rome<\/em><\/a> (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1881), which I will critique. His words will be in blue<\/span>. I use RSV for biblical citations.<\/p>\n *****<\/p>\n We have only four examples in the New Testament of acts of reverence being done to Saints, and in all these cases they were promptly rejected and forbidden<\/em>, showing that they were offensive to the Saints, as savouring of disloyalty to that God Whom they love and serve.<\/span><\/p>\n Having mentioned only \u201cSaints\u201d<\/span> being the subjects of possible \u201cacts of reverence\u201d<\/span> he proceeds to give two examples of attempted (and rejected) worship<\/em> of men, and two acts of attempted (and rejected) worship<\/em> of angels. But he doesn\u2019t cover every<\/em> example in the Bible (nor even in the New Testament) as I will show below. Those \u201cthorough\u201d Protestant Bible students, huh? . . .<\/p>\n \u201cAnd as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up, I myself also am a man\u201d (Acts x. 25, 26). <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThen the priest of Jupiter \u2026. would have done sacrifice with the people; which when the Apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things ? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities to serve the living God\u201d (Acts xiv. 13-15). <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd I [John] fell at his feet [the angel\u2019s] to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not. I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God\u201d (Rev. xix. 10). <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not, for I am thy fellow-servant . . . worship God\u201d (Rev. xxii. 8, 9).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Note that none of these are examples Catholics would bring up in order to defend the veneration of saints or angels. And we don\u2019t because they all involve worship<\/em> or adoration<\/em>, and not<\/em><\/strong> veneration (which is essentially honor). Three of the four have the word \u201cworship\u201d. The Acts 14 passage doesn\u2019t, but it was essentially the same scenario. The people at Lystra thought Paul and Barnabas were \u201cgods\u201d (14:11) and Luke reports that \u201cBarnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, because he was the chief speaker, they called Hermes\u201d (14:12) and that \u201cthe priest of Zeus . . .\u00a0 wanted to offer sacrifice with the people\u201d (14:13). This was polytheism and idolatry, so of course Paul and Barnabas couldn\u2019t accept that. But again, this is not the Catholic argument for veneration anyway. Littledale in his infinite wisdom doesn\u2019t even seem to know what those might be.<\/p>\n Paul and his second companion, Silas, were in fact, venerated in the New Testament, and they did not<\/em> rebuke the Philippian jailer who did it:<\/p>\n Acts 16:25-31\u00a0<\/b>But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, [26] and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and every one\u2019s fetters were unfastened. [27] When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. [28] But Paul cried with a loud voice, \u201cDo not harm yourself, for we are all here.\u201d [29] And he called for lights and rushed in, and\u00a0trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas<\/span>, [30] and brought them out and said, \u201cMen, what must I do to be saved?\u201d\u00a0 [31] And they said, \u201cBelieve in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Greek for \u201cfell down before\u201d in Acts 16:29 is\u00a0prospipto<\/i> (Strong\u2019s word # 4363). It is also used of worship towards Jesus in five passages (Mk 3:11; 5:33; 7:25; Lk 8:28, 47). So why didn\u2019t Paul and Silas rebuke the jailer? I submit that it was because they perceived his act as one of\u00a0veneration<\/i>\u00a0(which is permitted) as opposed to\u00a0adoration<\/i>\u00a0or\u00a0worship<\/i>, which is not permitted to be directed towards creatures. Prospipto<\/em> can be used for either thing. The word \u201cworship\u201d doesn\u2019t appear here. When it does<\/i> appear (in English) in connection with a man or angel, it isn\u2019t permitted<\/i>.<\/p>\n Angels (called \u201cmen\u201d in this passage, as angels sometimes are) are also bowed to in the New Testament, with no rebuke at all:<\/p>\n Luke 24:4-5<\/b>\u00a0While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel; [5] and as they were frightened and\u00a0bowed <\/span>[klino<\/em>] their faces to the ground<\/span>, the men said to them, \u201cWhy do you seek the living among the dead?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The women were not told to get up, as if they had done anything improper. This is (arguably, plausibly) because they were venerating<\/i> the angel and not adoring or worshiping, which would be impermissible.\u00a0Daniel also venerated an angel (seemingly Gabriel) without rebuke:<\/p>\n Daniel 8:15-17<\/b>\u00a0When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it; and behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. [16] And I heard a man\u2019s voice between the banks of the U\u2019lai, and it called, \u201cGabriel, make this man understand the vision.\u201d [17] So he came near where I stood; and when he came,\u00a0I was frightened and fell upon my face<\/span>. But he said to me, \u201cUnderstand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So did Lot:<\/p>\n Genesis 19:1<\/b>\u00a0The\u00a0two angels\u00a0came to Sodom in the evening; and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom.\u00a0When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and bowed himself with his face to the earth<\/span>,<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n They distinguish themselves from the LORD in Genesis 19:13 (\u201cthe LORD has sent us to destroy it\u201d [Sodom]). In other words, neither was the \u201cangel of the Lord\u201d: often equated with God.\u00a0King David was venerated in the Old Testament, too:<\/p>\n 1 Chronicles 29:20<\/b>\u00a0Then David said to all the assembly, \u201cBless the LORD your God.\u201d And all the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads<\/span>, and worshiped [shachah<\/i>] the LORD, and\u00a0did obeisance<\/span>\u00a0[shachah<\/i>]\u00a0to the king. [KJV: \u201cworshipped the LORD, and the king\u201d]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Once again, one word in Hebrew (as in Greek) can mean either worship or veneration \/ obeisance. Context determines which, and in this instance the English translation made the distinction clear. Daniel was also venerated (without rebuke from him):<\/p>\n Daniel 2:46-48<\/b>\u00a0 Then King Nebuchadnez\u2019zar\u00a0fell upon his face, and<\/span> did homage to [<\/span>cegid<\/em><\/a>]<\/span> Daniel<\/span>, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him.[47] The king said to Daniel, \u201cTruly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.\u201d [48] Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n David venerated King Saul:<\/p>\n 1 Samuel 24:8<\/strong>\u00a0Afterward David also arose, and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, \u201cMy lord the king!\u201d And when Saul looked behind him, David\u00a0bowed with his face to the earth, and did obeisance<\/span>\u00a0[shachah<\/em><\/a>].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Bathsheba venerated King David:<\/p>\n 1 Kings 1:16, 31<\/strong>\u00a0Bathshe\u2019ba\u00a0bowed and did obeisance\u00a0<\/span>[shachah<\/em>]\u00a0to the king, . . . [31]\u00a0Then Bathshe\u2019ba\u00a0bowed with her face to the ground, and did obeisance\u00a0<\/span>[KJV: \u201cdid reverence]\u00a0[shachah<\/em>]\u00a0to the king,<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Joseph\u2019s brothers venerated him:<\/p>\n Genesis 42:6<\/strong>\u00a0Now Joseph was governor over the land; he it was who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph\u2019s brothers came, and\u00a0bowed themselves <\/span>[shachah<\/em>] before him\u00a0with their faces to the ground<\/span>.<\/p>\n Genesis 43:26-28<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present which they had with them, and\u00a0bowed down<\/span>\u00a0[shachah<\/em>]\u00a0to him to the ground<\/span>.\u00a0[27] And he inquired about their welfare, and said, \u201cIs your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?\u201d\u00a0[28] They said, \u201cYour servant our father is well, he is still alive.\u201d And\u00a0they bowed their heads and made obeisance<\/span>\u00a0[shachah<\/em>].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Did Joseph tell them not to do that? Nope. King Saul venerated the prophet Samuel after his death (and Samuel didn\u2019t object):<\/p>\n 1 Samuel 28:14<\/b>\u00a0. . . And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed<\/span> [qadad<\/i>] with his face to the ground, and did obeisance<\/span> [shachah<\/i>].<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This is almost the most explicit conceivable biblical evidence (from Hebrew words and what is described in the passage) for veneration of creatures that can be imagined. He is venerating a dead prophet and the two Hebrew words used to describe what he did are both applied many times to adoration of God (because they can be used in different ways).<\/p>\n So, in summary, Rev. Littledale provided four passages that are all non sequiturs<\/em> (i.e., irrelevant) in this particular discussion. I provide eleven that are perfectly relevant, and that show the truthfulness of Catholic claims regarding veneration of men and angels. And that\u2019s how it so often sadly goes in Catholic-Protestant discussions on the Bible and Catholic doctrines. We can easily explain the passages they bring up, and they ignore and\/or cannot explain the ones we produce. We\u2019re much more thoroughly biblical.<\/p>\n We conclude (as Catholics always have) that worship \/ adoration is reserved for God alone, while veneration \/ honor is encouraged to be offered to worthy, saintly men and the holy angels. All this is plainly seen in the Bible, in my eleven examples above.<\/p>\n We also can rightly conclude, in light of all these fascinating passages, that God (unlike far too many Protestants) doesn\u2019t seem to think that human beings are so breathtakingly stupid and ignorant that they can\u2019t (or very often cannot) tell the difference between creatures and God, or between veneration and adoration \/ worship.<\/p>\n Therefore, He didn\u2019t see fit (in inspiring those who wrote his revelation to man) to even bother to use a\u00a0different word<\/i> for the two in Hebrew or Greek; and even in the New Testament, the gesture (falling down) was no different for veneration than it was for adoration. According to the Protestant retort, this causes confusion and idolatry, but according to Catholicism and the Bible, people generally have enough discernment to know the difference between the two.<\/p>\n *\n
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