An attempt of a contact with God through pictures, statues and meditations does not require a traumatic encounter with God's character and by that itself a making man certain about his spiritual needs.

By certain psychological atmosphere through pictures, statues and meditations it is possible to provoke in man a feeling of guilt but to feel guilty is not the same as to be conscious of guilt. Also, by certain systems man can be liberated from the feeling of guilt but the liberation from feeling guilty does not mean a liberation from the guilt itself.

Such an experiential attempt to meet God not only fails to make man aware of a need for a change of his own character but just represents an answer to his selfish and self-righteous need for certain feelings.

More than two and a half thousand years ago Jewish sayings speak of it:

"For a father, consumed with grief at an untimely bereavement, made an image of his child, who had been suddenly taken from him; he now honored as a god what was once a dead human being, and handed on to his dependents secret rites and initiations. Then the ungodly custom, grown strong with time, was kept as a law, and at the command of monarchs carved images were worshipped. When people could not honor monarchs in their presence, since they lived at a distance, they imagined their appearance far away, and made a visible image of the king whom they honored, so that by their zeal they might flatter the absent one as though present.

Then the ambition of the artisan impelled even those who did not know the king to intensify their worship. For he, perhaps wishing to please his ruler, skillfully forced the likeness to take more beautiful form, and the multitude, attracted by the charm of his work, now regarded as an object of worship the whom shortly before they had honored as a human being.

And this became a hidden trap for humankind, because people, in bondage to misfortune or to royal authority, bestowed on object of stone or wood the name that ought not to be shared. Then it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of God, but though living in great strife due to ignorance, they call such great evils peace. For whether they kill children in their initiations. or celebrate secret mysteries, or hold frenzied revels with strange customs, they no longer keep either their lives or their marriages pure, but they either treacherously kill one another, or grieve one another by adultery, and all is a raging riot of blood and murder, theft and deceit corruption, faithlessness, tumult, perjury, confusion, over what is good, forgetfulness of favors, defiling of souls, sexual perversion, disorder in marriages, adultery, and debauchery.

For the worship of idols not to be named is the beginning and cause and end of every evil. For their worshipers either rave in exultation, or prophesy lies, or live unrighteously, or readily commit perjury; for because they trust in lifeless idols they swear wicked oaths and expect to suffer no harm.

But just penalties will overtake them on two counts: because they thought wrongly about God in devoting themselves to idols, and because in deceit they swore unrighteously through contempt for holiness. For it is not the power of the things by which people swear, but the just penalty for those who sin, that always pursues the transgression of the unrighteous.

But you, our God, are kind and true, patient, and ruling all things in mercy. For even if we sin we are yours, knowing your power; but we will not sin, because we know that you acknowledge us as yours. For to know you is complete righteousness, and to know your power is the root of immortality.

For neither has the evil intent of human art misled us, nor the fruitless toil of painters, a figure stained with varied colors, whose appearance arouses yearning in fools, so that they desire the lifeless form of a dead image. Lovers of evil things and fit for such object of hope are those who either make or desire or worship them." (Wisdom of Solomon 14,15-30; 15,1-6;)