Truestory:
I don't think the focus of worship has ever been the issue here; eighteen years in a Lutheran family, four years in Catholic school, and eight years of just meeting people and discussing ideas have given me the notion that it's the image, not the name behind it.
Thus I find the Catholic idea of praying the rosary slightly out of place; also engraved icons or statues of angels.
I get the difference you're getting after here. I accept it wholeheartedly, as symbols can only be owned by convention. But my own experience tells me that the separation of the image itself and the act of worship has made little difference in the past, especially within the "official" presentation of various church ideas (and yes, we still recall that you are not necessarily a subscriber to that presentation).
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Corp.Hudson:
I tend to agree with the bit about wearing crosses. But the church has changed since then. After all, according to that same section of the Bible, tattoos are sinful and the handicapped shouldn't be in the clergy.
And while I try quite hard to be understanding, or at least indifferent when a cultural idea seems foreign and odd to me, I still wonder what Jesus himself would think of those little reflective icons so popular among Latin American Catholics. You know, Jesus looking contemplative on a background of chrome sunburst?
thx,
Tiassa
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"Let us not launch the boat until the ground is wet." (Khaavren of Castlerock)
