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This is a question for Protestants. God said that we shouldn't pray to anything other than Him. Otherwise it would be idol worship. That means Christians who pray to Jesus should not have an iota of doubt that Jesus wasn't someone else, given authority by God, but nevertheless not to be prayed TO. I am afraid I don't see this being crystal clear.

There are no places I know of that Jesus explicitly claims to be God. He doesn't say it at the trial, but claims he is the Messiah only. In fact the Messiah was supposed to be a man, not God himself.

In John 10:33 when they picked up stones to stone him, and he asked "for which of my good works do you stone me" and they said "'We are not stoning you for any good work,' they replied, 'but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.'" Jesus did not clearly confirm that he claims to be God. On the contrary he invoked an example where mere people were called "gods" and then said he was greater than those people. Since he could have easily affirmed his claim right there, but didn't, I don't think that is proof of his being God either. If anything it can equally be proof that he did not wish to be considered God and was explaining his position.

Having read the Gospels I see many verses of Jesus saying things that imply that he is not God, but the Son sent into the world and given authority.

In your answers about why it isn't dangerous to pray to Jesus, please address the following verses:

1) In the garden of Gethsemene, Jesus prayed "nevertheless, not my will, but Yours be done." Shouldn't God have the same will as Himself?

2) In fact in John 14:31 Jesus obeys the commands of the Father: "I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me".

3) In John 14:28, Jesus explicitly says that the Father is greater than he is "You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I."

4) In Matthew 24:36, Jesus mentions himself as not knowing something the Father knows: "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."

5) In Mark 10:18, he rebukes people for calling him good and then says only God is good: "'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone."

6) John 5:30 NIV By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

7) 1 Timothy 2:5 says "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time."

8) Jesus himself says to pray to the Father:

This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Finally, what's the advantage of praying TO Jesus instead of Father God directly? You can pray "in Jesus' name" but TO GOD. Jesus taught us The Lord's Prayer which is to Father God, not to Jesus. If the church is wrong about Jesus being God and Jesus is someone called God's Son sent into this world, but not God himself, then isn't praying to Jesus idol worship?

Caleb
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Gregory Magarshak
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  • I'm not sure this is a useful question. If would be blasphemy to pray to God the Father if it turned out that Islam or Hinduism were correct. – DJClayworth May 13 '14 at 15:46
  • What you might like to do is ask for the perspective of someone who believes Jesus is God on the verses you cite. But check the site first to see if they have been answered. This kind of question is extremely common. – DJClayworth May 13 '14 at 15:48
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    First of all, you have way to many questions buried in here, some of which are duplicates. Second, ruling out the duplicate part, what is left is too broad as it is not directed at any particular theological framework. This isn't a discussion or debate forum and this sounds like a multi-part doctrinal framework of your own that you are asking people to refute or agree with. That's not really a viable pattern. Instead you should figure out exactly who you want to hear from and what views you want to learn more about and spend the question space focusing on that. – Caleb May 13 '14 at 16:01
  • @GregoryMagarshak I just merged your new question into this one and adjusted the close reason. You still have not taken the other issues I mentioned into account. Please slow down and try to work with us and understand the site guidelines. For starters see What makes a good focused question? for tips on directing your question at something specific enough to be handled here. – Caleb May 13 '14 at 16:20
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    @GregoryMagarshak You're still not hearing me here. There is no need to keep arguing about it not being a duplicate: it is not currently closed as a duplicate, it is closed for other reasons (see my previous comments). The issue is not whether this is a valid question to ask in general, the question is have you sufficiently noted who you are asking this question of so that it can be answered within this site's guidelines for matching doctrinal perspectives of answers to question. – Caleb May 13 '14 at 16:28
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    They way you were heading towards asking it seems kind of pointless to me - if you accept the premise, then the answer is an obvious yes. I'm pretty sure people like JWs who don't believe Jesus is God don't pray to him. Do you have anybody in mind that would make this anything other than a straw man? – bruised reed May 13 '14 at 16:29
  • If your intention is really to seek out God, as opposed to trying to come up with reasons why Christianity is false, this article might be helpful in answering your question. –  May 13 '14 at 16:37
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    That sounds like you are trying to assuage your own doubts about Jesus' claims. That's a very valid thing to be doing, but not something that's appropriate to a forum like this. And of course, if Jesus IS God, then it's as much of a risk NOT to pray to him. – DJClayworth May 13 '14 at 18:21
  • @DJClayworth that's simply wrong. As I have stressed it is not Jesus' claims but the claims of others. I have in fact quoted Jesus' claims above, and want people to address them, not doubt them. On the other hand it seems to me you're saying unless you personally see the "point" in a question for yourself, you aren't in favor of letting anyone else answer it. I thought a Christian Q&A site should allow someone to ask whether praying to Jesus is RISKING idol worship. – Gregory Magarshak May 13 '14 at 18:42
  • I'm not going to argue with you more, especially since you clearly haven't read the answer on the other question. – DJClayworth May 13 '14 at 18:49
  • This isnt about arguing. @Caleb already said there is no need to keep arguing about it being a duplicate of the other question. You blocked people from answering my question. I am asking what I can do to fix the question. Isn't that what we are supposed to do on StackOverflow? You keep insisting that it's duplicate of the other question. Do you see a difference between "Couldn't it be dangerous to pray to Jesus" and "Did Jesus claim to be God or the Son of God?" If yes, why are you blocking the question now? I did read the answers to the other question btw. Obviously they dont answer this. – Gregory Magarshak May 13 '14 at 19:05
  • @GregoryMagarshak You have not identified WHO you are asking. As worded you have a very broad question looking for the "truth" of a matter. Also it's pretty clear what point you are trying to get across but not at all clear what you are trying to learn about Christianity out of this. I already linked you to one meta post with information on asking questions here, but you could also read this, this and this for more. – Caleb May 13 '14 at 19:12
  • @Caleb what can I do to improve the question while keeping its focus and the verses that I would like the answers to address? To be clear - I am worried that praying to Jesus is risking idol worship. And if Jesus himself taught to pray to God our Father in heaven, what is the advantage for Christians to pray to Jesus? Why don't they just always pray to God directly, and ask for things in Jesus' name? I hope that clarifies the q. – Gregory Magarshak May 13 '14 at 19:13
  • Why can't I ask Christians of all denominations to answer this? Many times Catholics are asked why they pray to saints and they answer that they pray WITH them not to them. Also they are asked why they have pictures of God and Jesus painted and they answer that they don't pray to those pictures. But here the question is about a practice of both Catholics and Orthodox and Protestants. Why do I need to limit who can answer it? – Gregory Magarshak May 13 '14 at 19:15
  • @GregoryMagarshak Asking any question to all denominations at once trying to figure out what the ultimate right answer to any question of belief or practice is simply outside the scope of this site. – Caleb May 13 '14 at 19:17
  • I want to ask Protestants. – Gregory Magarshak May 13 '14 at 19:23
  • Is it acceptable now? Edited as you asked. – Gregory Magarshak May 13 '14 at 19:46
  • @Caleb can you remove the hold now? – Gregory Magarshak May 14 '14 at 12:32
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    @GregoryMagarshak, I for one would like to see an answer to this question. However, I think it is (in Stack Exchange terms) two questions in one: 1) Do Protestants have any doubts that Jesus is God? 2) If so, is it idolatry to pray to him? I think these need to be separated if the question is to be answered. – Joe May 14 '14 at 21:19
  • I could do that, but what if those questions are just merged into this blocked question? I actually think this question is 2) that you listed. The title says as much. – Gregory Magarshak May 15 '14 at 01:34
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    Sorry, but this is still one question hiding inside another. Either you've got to ask about Jesus not being God, or you've got to ask "presupposing Jesus is not God, would it be idolatry to pray to him?" Of course that would make no sense asked of Catholics or Protestants because the presupposition has excluded them. I would suggest that this explains why your question is not gaining much support. – Benjol May 15 '14 at 08:20
  • Guys, this is silly. I have asked questions before without having to name denominations, and many questions on the site are about the subject matter not an arbitrary audience. Most Christian denominations I know of pray TO Jesus. My question is what advantage does it possibly have and isnt thwre a risk of idol worship? I support the statement that there is a risk by showing Jesus did not CLEARLY say he is God, but that later humans claimed this. What if they are wrong? How do Christians deal with such possibilities and why do they risk it when Jesus himself taught to pray to God our Father? – Gregory Magarshak May 15 '14 at 14:35
  • @GregoryMagarshak Since you are insisting on pushing this, let me explain why I believe this still a bad question. The question you are ostensibly trying to ask is "If Jesus wasn't God, would it be wrong to pray to him.". That's such a trivial question (the answer is "yes") that only someone with very little knowledge of Christianity would ask it. You don't appear to be such a person, so presumably you are trying to do something else. Also, asking that question doesn't require quoting a whole lot of Bible verses, which leads us further to believe you are trying to do something else here. – DJClayworth May 16 '14 at 15:46
  • That's correct DJ. The q "If Jesus wasn't God, would it be wrong to pray to him" is a trivial yes. Likewise, the q "Did Jesus ever claim to be God or the Son of God" has been answered, as you pointed out. But the question "Are we absolutely sure Jesus is God, or are we risking idol worship by praying to Jesus, and if so why, and what's the advantage of doing that in the first place?" has never been asked or answered. And the sad part is that, even if it's unlocked now, it's going to be buried far in the list. Others could have answered it. It concerns sinning, why's that unimportant to you? – Gregory Magarshak May 16 '14 at 18:06
  • I think the only way to make it right is to re-ask the question, and clarify that it is asking what I said above. Why are you so oppose to having people answer this question? Sorry to post a bit of a rant, but I see this in a more general sense ... many Christians I find who say they're open to discussing rationally are very protective of traditions and refuse to engage with pointed questions, and this has been throughout history. I really thought on a Q&A site like this one, it wouldn't be the case. This question concerns something major, but it's too "well supported" by verses to be allowed. – Gregory Magarshak May 16 '14 at 18:08
  • Your edit is appears to be about the laziest hack to pretend compliance with site guidelines and after a re-read I'm doubting again whether you are actually asking this to learn about Protestantism or to soap-box your own ideas, but on the benefit of the doubt that you are after the latter the answer is really easy...to follow... – Caleb May 22 '14 at 08:12
  • @GregoryMagarshak Re your later comments: This is not a pointed question, and this is not a discussion site. Don't expect to invoke discussion here. I think Benjol's comment points out why you are banging you head here: your question excludes your own audience and what you really want is discussion not answers which makes this the wrong site. – Caleb May 22 '14 at 08:21
  • @Caleb thanks for answering the question. I am still confused as to why you thought I don't want an answer. Why do you say I am excluding my own audience? Who is my audience? YOU asked me to limit the audience of the question so I picked protestants. Why is this not a pointed q? A pointed question is one that is difficult to answer in a confusing, ambiguous, or disingenuous manner, and one that gets to the meat of an issue. – Gregory Magarshak May 22 '14 at 13:39
  • That was quite a bit to unpack, and I do agree that it wasn't entirely clear what you wanted answers to, so I had to downvote. Better luck next time. – matheno Aug 07 '18 at 18:09

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For Protestants across the board, the answer to this question is dead simple:

No, it could not be dangerous in any way.

The notion that it could be is profoundly mis-guided and is not based on the core tenets of the Protestant faith to begin with.

The most basic issue is that in Protestantism there is no consideration of Jesus not being God. If you haven't settled that question you aren't Protestant in any general sense of the word.

There are no places I know of that Jesus explicitly claims to be God.

This is quite simply not true and certainly not representative of Protestant belief. Jesus made it very clear to his audience in many ways (some direct, some indirect) that he claimed to be God incarnate. The issue of his trial is complex in that the Jews were upset with his blasphemy (for claiming to be God) but that wasn't an offence to the Roman court he was changed with, so the whole thing was a racket. A lack of fair trial and proper procedings in no way casts doubt on the fact that he claimed to be God. His audience, Pharisee and layman alike, understood he made this claim and we have witnesses who recorded him making the claim in so many words.

On the contrary, not involving Him in our prayers could be dangerous.

In the matter of prayer, Protestants beleive we have specific instructions to involve Jesus in our prayers:

John 15:16 (ESV)
16  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

This raises another significantly flawed premise of your question:

Protestants don't really pray TO Jesus.

The disciction is not terribly important to us because at the end of the day the three 'persons' are one being and we pray to the One True God no matter which of the three names is involved, but the general pattern for prayer inside Protestantism is to pray:

  • to the Father
  • in the name of the Son
  • by means of the Spirit

Our prayer petition God the father in the name of Jesus — not at all the same thing as praying to Jesus.

This distinction is not relevant to your concern about idolatry because while we might not pray to him, we do worship him as God. That would be preposterous if he was just a man, but it wouldn't be Protestant (or even, in the common sense of the word, Christian for that matter) to not worship Jesus.

Protestants believe Scripture gives us a clear mandate for worshiping Jesus as God:

Revelation 5:11-13 (ESV)
11  Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12  saying with a loud voice,
   “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
   to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
   and honor and glory and blessing!”
13  And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,
   “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
   be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

Worshiping Jesus, the lamb who was slain is not idol worship.

Philippians 2:5-11 (ESV)
5  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Caleb
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  • The verses from Revelation are a good point. Still you're saying that protestants pray TO the father IN Jesus' name. If that were so, I wouldn't be asking the question. Just like Catholics pray WITH the Saints not TO them. But I have heard Protestants specifically say, "Dear Lord Jesus" without saying Holy Father. They use Jesus as the name of God basically. Not all the time, but it's a pretty natural thing to do for many Evangelicals and others. Haven't you seen this? That is what I am asking about. What is the purpose this if at the end of the day, as you say, they are all one God? – Gregory Magarshak May 22 '14 at 13:43
  • I hate to be that guy, but it's core "tenets", not core "tenants"... – Wtrmute Mar 13 '17 at 13:56
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Praying to Jesus is absolutely not Idol worshipping as the question States . As we all know God is holy trinity . The Father , The Son and the Holy Spirit . Reference
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Genesis 3:22

And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Genesis 11:7

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.

Isaiah 6:8

Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Matthew 3:16-17 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Matthew 28:19

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit .

Isaiah 48:16 Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there." And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit.

Isaiah 48:12 "Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last.

Revelation 22:12-13

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

John 10:30 I and my Father are one.

There are even more verses to prove that Jesus is son of God and He is God .

John Marvin
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  • Many of these verses are from the OT and are not talking about Jesus unless you read them that way, which is not a proof. The other verses are all consistent with Jesus being an eternal Son of God, not God Himself! So what do they prove? – Gregory Magarshak Aug 08 '18 at 12:22