{"id":88739,"date":"2025-07-17T17:14:44","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T22:14:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=88739"},"modified":"2025-07-17T17:14:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T22:14:44","slug":"are-nativity-images-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-nativity-images-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"Are nativity images wrong?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

Hello,<\/p>\n

Does Exodus 20:4 teach that various kinds of man-made images of a nativity scene that are often displayed at Christmas time are a violation of God’s commandment in Exodus 20:4?<\/p>\n

Also, does Exodus 20:4 forbid having any manmade images or anything displayed as decor in your home that depicts creatures that are in heaven above or that are in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth, such as birds or whales?<\/p>\n

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:4).<\/p>\n

Thank you in advance for your help.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments<\/em>” (Exodus 20:2-6).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Using a translation that is about 400 years old can lead you to mistaken conclusions because the meanings of words shift over time. I quoted from the New American Standard Bible, which uses “idol” instead of “graven image” because that is clearer to the speakers of modern English.<\/p>\n

Quoting a single verse, especially when it is a portion of a larger sentence, can lead to misunderstanding. The context here makes it clear that it is the making of images to worship or serve them that is wrong. Having depictions of animals in your decor at home is not what this passage is about.<\/p>\n

Thus, the question is: What is a person doing with their nativity scene? Do they think that the baby in the scene actually represents Jesus? Do they treat the images as holy? Do they pray before it? These sorts of things would be wrong.<\/p>\n

Most nativity scenes are inaccurate anyway. For example, they show the shepherds and the wise men visiting the infant at the same time, but the Bible tells us that the wise men did not arrive in Bethlehem until a year or two after Jesus’ birth. See “Some Thoughts on Christmas<\/a>” for more information.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Hello, Does Exodus 20:4 teach that various kinds of man-made images of a nativity scene that are often displayed at Christmas time are a violation of God’s commandment in Exodus 20:4? Also, does Exodus 20:4 forbid having any manmade images or anything displayed as decor in your home that depicts creatures that are in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[288,1832,1097],"class_list":["post-88739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-christmas","tag-idols","tag-images"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17711,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-movies-that-depict-jesus-violating-the-rule-to-make-no-image-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":88739,"position":0},"title":"Are movies that depict Jesus violating the rule to make no image of God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have a couple of questions. Does the movie \"The Passion of Christ\" violate Exodus 20:4-5? I understand that there is no idol worship here, but making images from that which is in heaven would apply, it seems. I read your article about the review of the movie\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29731,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-have-images-of-animals-or-men-for-toys\/","url_meta":{"origin":88739,"position":1},"title":"Is it wrong to have images of animals or men for toys?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Are stuffed toys, teddy bears, barbie dolls, and so on related to witchcraft? In Deuteronomy 4:4-18 it mentions graven images. Is this really referring to teddy bears, stuffed toys, and so forth? As I believe, these verses are related to idols that people worshipped. Teddy bears, stuffed toys are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15932,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-not-pictures-of-jesus-and-angels-or-even-wedding-announcements-sinful-because-they-are-graven-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":88739,"position":2},"title":"Are not pictures of Jesus and angels, or even wedding announcements, sinful because they are graven images?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 28, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about some Scriptures. In Exodus 20:4-5 it tells us not to make any graven image or likeness to anything that is in heaven above. I Corinthians 10:14 tells us to flee idolatry and in John 5:18 and Philippians 2:6 that Jesus is a form of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56510,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/gods-image\/","url_meta":{"origin":88739,"position":3},"title":"God’s Image","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 1, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Shane Williams via The Lilbourn Light, Vol. 8, No. 4, Aug. 2007. Marcus Terentius Varro (116-27 B.C.) is described in the\u00a0Encyclopedia Britannica\u00a0as \"Rome's greatest scholar.\" He wrote more than 400 books on many subjects. Among his writings is this statement: \"They who first introduced images of the gods removed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27166,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-art-only-condemned-in-connection-with-idolatry\/","url_meta":{"origin":88739,"position":4},"title":"Is art only condemned in connection with idolatry?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 10, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello I want to know if art is ok for sure. I like art but want to be more sure it is ok. I have read this answer before: \"Are not pictures of Jesus and angels, or even wedding announcements, sinful because they are graven images?\" But what about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86253,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-bow-to-a-crucifix\/","url_meta":{"origin":88739,"position":5},"title":"Is it wrong to bow to a crucifix?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I attend a Catholic school, and because of that, I was posted to a Catholic hospital. It's mandatory to attend mass on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The priest asked me to take their reading on Friday. 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