Like Mousethief, I belong to an Orthodox community so my own understanding is from the Orthodox point of view. Still, Roman Catholicism is an offshoot of Orthodoxy <big grin... hey, put down those tomatoes> and still shares many of the ancient traditions.
I think Christianity began as a sect of Judaism and Christian worship originally included the traditional Jewish Temple services with the Christians staying after the conclusion of the Hebrew service to add their own developing liturgical practices. This was before Saul became Paul and became an Apostle. The Orthodox Christian Liturgy, 2000 years later, still begins with chanted prayers and psalms that would sound familiar to Jewish faithful.
Still, accepted Christian theology represents a break with the old traditions. Christ boiled the old Mosaic law down to only two commandments:
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
“On these two commandments” He said, “hang all the law and the prophets.”
In Christian theology, Christ gives (new) meaning to all the old symbols and traditions. Christ is the new sacrificial lamb and His resurrection (Pascha) is the new Passover. Arguing over the interpretration of Mosaic law no longer has meaning for Christians. Mosaic law remains as part of the Tradition of the Church but it's been replaced as a central theme.
Yes, Jesus spoke Aramaic—a friend of ours was born in one of the last remaining villages where Aramaic is still spoken—but he very likely spoke Greek as well. I seem to remember reading that Greek was the lingua franca in that part of the world at the time. The Gospels and Epistles were undoubtedly recited in many languages and versions according to local liturgical practice but when finally written down, I believe they were recorded in Greek.
Orthodox theology—and I suppose Roman Catholic as well—holds that Christ is fully man while being fully God. To disallow any representation (Icon) of Christ as a defilement of that which is holy is to deny Christ's humanity. This was the error of the Iconoclasts, a tradition shared by both the Eastern Church and by Rome.
Bottom line... in Orthodox and Roman theology, Icons aren't idols, Saints and martyrs aren't gods and the Bible—part of the Tradition of the Church—was established by the Church for its own use, the Church didn't come about because someone read the Bible.
Hope I didn't get anyone's shorts in a knot. Didn't mean to.
- Mark