Does admiration of saints justify veneration or prayer to them?

When speaking about the pro's and con's of veneration it is usual to get the same argument or sparing. The one against it on the biblical side pulls many scriptures that speak of Christ's supremacy, while the one for veneration counters with that infamous book of Hebrews reference (I'll not get into contextual issues for this post) of the "great cloud of witnesses". The first then responds with a thrust of how Christ modeled for us to pray, to which the other in regards to veneration of saints parries with how we are reminded to worship and pray as a "community of believers".

As my masters class is currently studying many who brought Greek thought and reasoning to the use of apologetic or dialetic, let me in the spirit of such bring some clarifying questions to this consideration of veneration and its viability:

1. How do we decide what saint to pray for and for what?

This question has a deep background that espouses either sacerdotalism issues or papal decisions that are extra-biblical and may not be so easily encamped within "community-of-believer" concepts alone. A considerate followup question:

2. Why do we pray to that particular saint and not someone else?

We would hope the answer is not because of the saint's popularity, or because they are well-known, or because of what they have done...for such puts them on works-based pedestals that easily crumbles under the falling anvil of sin that they share with us outside of Christ.

So, they questions also may hint that outside of praying directly to Christ, what logical and communitive benefit make sense for praying to saints or even through them? Especially if we balance in context the scriptures we espouse to uphold as authoritative in our belief and orthopraxy.

The possible secret is in the balance and plumb line of righteous practice of prayer; in our understanding of prayer and how we overshadow Who we pray to in aims to get what we pray for in power. In other words, the power of prayer is not in community, nor in how we pray...but in WHOM we pray to.

In today's culture where we even get Garthy Brooks releasing a new hit single titled "Unanswered prayers' we realize that our finite limitations are always no match for the omnipotent benevolent Master who has "chose us in him before the foundations of the world..." (Eph 1:4 ESV) We come from a rich biblical heritage where the prayers and intervention of Moses may have saved God's people, along with other examples. Yet, we know that the power of such prayer not only was made directly to God...but that God was jealous that we keep only to Him. Even the Jews knew when they did not go directly to God that they've committed idolatry. Early Christians after Pentecost by not only scripture but with recorded actions demonstrated knowledge that the risen Saviour and Messiah Jesus was now their only High priest who knew them and interceded for them (Heb 4:14-16 ESV)

This does not lower the need to have qualitative prayer and in community towards God. Scripture shows that He desires our prayers; that even houses of prayer are designated. We know that prayer is held so special, it not only holds influence in biblical history but is also said to be contained in golden bowls as incense before the altar of God (Rev. 5:8, 8:3-4 NIV)

Therefore, with all this consideration why is it that after only a certain period of martyrdom that we now chose a small sect of saints to pray through? Does admiration of a well-lived christian life justify we pray to them instead directly to Christ? To me these questions and underlying guidance of scriptures are key into purifying our corporate and private worship so we truly pray as a community of believers--not in regards to each other over Christ...but in prostrate revererance to the risen Saviour alone who has become sin so that the righteous requirements of the Law might be fulfilled. (Romans 8:1-4 NIV)

Did God not know Abraham's level of faith?

What do you think of the Abraham story? Would a good all-powerful God really command something like this? Why would God need to test Abraham’s faith?
Wouldn’t God already know if Abraham had enough faith or not?

It is not the first time my attention has been turned to the historical account of Abraham and my thoughts on him turn to deeper waters. To have all that Abram had and yet be obedient to God calling him out to the desert wasteland; to even hear Him calling from all the other influences in his life – family, wealth, etc.

To many people we consider ourselves the offspring of him who is our father in the sight of God in whom he believed —the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. (Rom. 4). He is the great example of faith. Yet, as great of an example of faith that Abraham is, he is only justified through faith in the one in whom he and we believe…not because we are so powerful in our faith. In other words, the credit is not as powerful as the creditor who gives it. “This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness." The words "it was credited to him" were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” (Rom 4:22-25).

This is why I don’t follow some of Kiekegaard’s thinking that it was good that Abraham had such great timing (not “seeing the ram” before laying a hand on his son to sacrifice) and other considerations. As for asking if an all-powerful God would command such, it begs a prior question of what relevance does omnipotence have with asking for obedience? Does God’s omnipotence negate his desire for a relationship with His creation? Is being all-powerful mean creation can freely impugn His sovereignity? These related questions get to the heart of the matter: the nature of God in how the Creator is revealed to us. We assume that God needs to test Abraham’s faith; why would not God be revealing himself to humanity by how he tests one of his children in a prophetic way to proclaim how he will redeem his creation? And if God was doing such to prophesy the way of his redemption to come, would that negate whether God considers if Abraham had enough faith or not?

Where in the whole Bible is someone outside of Jesus of Nazareth been perfect in faith and action? To think that God may have needed to test Abraham to see the “level” of His faith reveals a presupposition by the one asking the question that either God is not all-knowing or that there is a works-based faith that can save even Abraham. If in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. (Rom. 4:2) Therefore, it was most likely a demonstration of love by God to show that He intended not for us to pay for our sins, but that He would send the Word of Life to be the perfect sacrifice for our scarlet transgressions.

The Power of the Cross

Chris Tomlin "Power of the Cross" from Brian Hammrich on Vimeo.