Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Influential people and religion

Well, this is quite interesting. Although they warn against making sociological judgment based on this list, one can't help but notice how disproportionate the Catholics are among the list. And specifically how influential practicing Catholics have been in the world of science! Also I noticed that so many of the influential Anglicans were lapsed in some way or another. Also, the first runner up was none other that St. Thomas Aquinas.

3 comments:

gquiroz said...

Is it true that catholics worship saints and their statues rather than GOD himself?

Robert Gotcher said...

CAtholics honor the saints as a way of acknowledging the effect of the grace of God in their lives and ask for their intercession in the same way we ask each other for prayers. The distinction between creator adn creature is always maintained. In Latin the word "latria" or worship is reserved for God alone and the word "dulia" or honoring is used for saints.

That doesn't means that some misinformed Catholics don't in fact wind up treating the saints as gods.

Grace O. said...

Ditto to Robert. We don't worship saints, and certainly not their statues. Thanks for asking. :)

P.S. The statues remind us of the saints whom we honor. Like statues of great historical figures.