Idolatry's Logical Failures

Idolatry is a visible religious phenomena in India, despite the fact that some religious reformers like Nanak, Dayananda Saraswati, and Raja Ram Mohan Roy opposed it. One of the most sympathetic apologetics that anyone ever presented was Swami Vivekananda. The story goes that once when he visited a king, the king who disbelieved in idolatry questioned Vivekananda's support of idol worship. The king argued that an idol is just an image and was nothing but clay, stone, and metal. Swami Vivekananda was not disturbed by this. He looked at a painting of the king hanging on the wall and asked an official there to take it down and spit on it. The official refused saying that it was a dishonor to the king. Then, the Swami rhetorically objected: "If a piece of paper with a painting of the king was to be so respected, then why shouldn't we understand the idol to also bear the same amount of value for the worshipper? The idol is not god; it is clay or stone or whatever, but the worshipper looks at it with respect because it embodies the sentiments towards god."

The king is said to have repented, thereafter.

The argument is quite sympathetic and relevant. We will certainly pay respect to any object that is considered to be connected in any way with a loved one. People treasure objects, pictures, and different things. Respect about things is a part of our daily life. But, I think we cannot ignore three issues with Vivekananda's analogy:

1. The painting of the king was based on his visible appearance. Someone saw him and painted his picture. But, nobody can claim that they have seen God.
2. If someone treasures the picture of a crocodile saying that for him it is the picture of the Prime Minister of India (just because he hasn't seen him, and based on certain description or metaphors, thinks he looks like a crocodile), then belief must address reality somewhere.
3. Probably, the picture of a crocodile with the caption of the Prime Minister is not honor but a misrepresentation in objectionable terms.

Of course, in some contexts the objects of veneration are objectionable as well. For instance, the Roman Catholics say that they do not worship the icons but venerate them. Only God is due worship, and that veneration is not the same as adoration. It may not seem the same as idolatry, of course; but, it also doesn't look much different from ancestor worship.

Gods and Goddesses of Modern Times

.. if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you. (Exo 23:33 NKJ)

1. Gods of IMAGINATION - The Gods of Craving (Deut 4:28; Jer 1:16)
They are unreal and based on human imagination and wishful desire.

Examples: Barbie doll, Heman, James Bond, Playboy, False ideals, etc.

2. Gods of INSPIRATION - The Gods of Charisma (Ex.32:1)
They are figures that inspire at the cost of the gifts that God has given to us. The Israelites got the jewelry as God's gift from the Egyptians; but, now the devil is taking all of that so that they can have dead gods (powerless in themselves) to lead by false inspiration.

Examples: Career icons, Movie stars (the Hero-worship, Fan culture), Charismatic personalities (empty within themselves), Musicians, Artists, Skeptics, Ungodly peers & friends, etc

3. Gods of INFIDELITY - The Gods of Compromise (EX. 34:15,16)
These are gods that promote infidelity and immorality and compel you to cheat on God and sell children to harlotry with the devil.

Examples: Secular Novelists, Movie makers, Libertinists, Relativists, Liberal theologians, Self-prolaimed and Self-promoting Leaders (not Shepherds but Thieves)

4. Gods of INVEIGLEMENT - The Gods of Commerce (Ex.23:33; Jdg 2:3; Josh 23:13)
These are gods that ensnare people by deception and sly.

Examples: Prosperity Cults, Utilitarian Gurus (even among Christians- those who make themselves center of everything and look at God as someone who is there to satisfy their selfish desires), Pharisaic Gurus (those who self-humiliate and put down others to show themselves superior)

5. Gods of INNOVATION - The Gods of Curiosity (Deut 3:17; Jdg 5:8)
These are the new gods that satisfy the curiosity of those who seek for new things every time.

Examples: New Music (in rebellion that despises forms - musical idolatry), New Doctrines (that try to put down others, teaching out of pride rather than in humility), New Loves (Church hopping, Faithlessness, Self-seeking)

6. Gods who are IMPORTED - The Gods of Culture (Gen 35:2; Deut 6:14; 13:6; Josh 24:20)
These are gods that are imported from ungodly cultures, traditions, and philosophies.

Examples: Cultural Nationalism, Racism, Clan-ism, Feminism, Sodomism, Class-ism, University-ism (that idolizes the secular University even within the Church)

Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Jos 24:14-15 NKJ)

For all that is in the world-- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-- is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1Jo 2:16-17 NKJ)

But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2Co 4:3-6 NKJ)

Why Idolatry is Wrong

IDOLATRY

© Domenic Marbaniang, May 2007

Published in the Light of Life Magazine, Mumbai, 2007

INTRODUCTION

‘Idolatry’ may be defined as the practice of worshipping and serving images (pictures, sculpts, etc) as identical with, as representative of, or as deity. In almost every major religion, idolatrous misrepresentation of God has been denounced at some point or the other by religious reformers. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are blatantly against idolatry. Though Roman Catholicism practices reverence to icons, such practice is nowhere endorsed in the Bible, even in a limited form. Sikhism also believes that God is formless and rejects idol worship. Hindu reformers such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Swami Dayananda Saraswati spoke against idolatry. From the Biblical point of view, idolatry is symbolical of rebellion against God and indulgence in the world of passions (Rom. 1: 18-25).

I. SINFULNESS OF IDOLATRY

A. The Commandment

The second commandment of the Decalogue demands: ‘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: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.’ (Ex. 20:4-6).

Note: making images, here, specifically refers to making images of God with religious purposes (Lev. 26:1).

1. ‘Thou shalt not’ – ‘I shall make’ demonstrates rebellion. It shows disrespect for the divine person. It dishonors the divine command and disavows God Himself. (Rom. 1:18-21)
2. ‘make…graven image, or any likeness…’ – breaking this command displays the disorientation and ill-directioning (not merely mis-directioning, as if mistake) of worship. It displays degeneration of theology and self-interpretation of cosmos, in other words the jettisoning of divine revelation (the suppression of truth, Rom. 1:18). It displays manufacture of a lie, the substitution of reality, the replacement thereof with self-created virtuality. (Isa. 42:8; 46:5).
3. ‘of any thing that is in heaven…earth…water.’ – idolatry is delimitation of God, misrepresentation of the Godhead, corruption of religion, and destruction of the transcendental. It ends up in the disavowal of absolutes and materialization or secularization of spirituality. The image itself displays the impersonalization and passivitization of God, in other words, God is rendered dumb, deaf, and powerless and left to the wistful, fanciful, imagination of the idolater.(Ps.115:4-8).
4. ‘Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them’ – ‘bowing down’ displays submission to the idol, implying a categorical departure from the Biblical God. ‘Serving’ implies self-giving, abandoning, enslavement to the idol or idolatrous system.

B. Explanation

1. God is Spirit. Worship, therefore, specified Jesus, must be spiritual and true (Jn. 4:24). Making idols is de-spiritualization of the Godhead, suppression of truth (Rom. 1:18, 21), and invention of lie (Rev. 21: 27). Remember God is not a spirit like angelic beings or the spirit of a man. God is wholly different from all created beings and things. Therefore, no created (non-divine) object can represent His form. The physical idol alienates the idolater from the true God (Eze. 14: 5).

Question: Dishonor of pictures or symbols are considered wrong. For instance, dishonor of the Indian Flag is considered dishonor of the nation. Likewise, doesn’t dishonor of any image thought to represent God constitute dishonor of God Himself?

Answer: I consider a pig to be a beautiful animal. However, if anyone made a picture of me like a pig, I would consider that to be misrepresenting, if not dishonoring, me.  If, however, he says that he knows me only as a pig then, in reality, he doesn’t know me and that picture is not mine and his labeling of it as me is dishonoring me. On the other hand, if he claims that he doesn’t know how I look and, therefore, has made a picture of me like a pig; then, he has no right to make a picture of what he doesn’t know for that would constitute fabrication of falsehood; and that picture would only distort the truth of what I am. In reality, then, an idol (whatever people say it is) is neither God nor can it be His representation.

Question: If I had a photograph of Jesus or a painting of Him, can I worship it?

Answer: Worship of images involves substitution of the true object of worship, God, with an invention or self-decided representation of it. Therefore, worship of any images, including those of Christ (even if they are original photographs!) is sinful (missing the mark and falling short of God’s true glory). To put it simple, that picture is not Jesus; therefore, worship of it doesn’t mean or imply worship of Jesus. For instance, eating the picture or clay model of an apple doesn’t mean one has eaten an apple.

Note: The worship of Jesus the son of God is based on His divinity and not His humanity. We worship Him because He is God and not because He is man. Jesus is the bodily indwelling of the Godhead, the true Temple of God (Col. 2:9; Jn. 2:19). Therefore, He is worshipped. His image, however, is not indwelt by the fullness of Godhead neither is it a temple of God.

2. God is Infinite (immense - 1 Kgs. 8:27; eternal - Ex.15:18; Dt. 33:27). Therefore, limiting Him to an image in space-time is distortion of His true nature. God must be worshipped as the infinite, unlimited God. Limiting God by any means or form is symbolic of unbelief in the true nature and power of God (Ps. 78: 41). Picturing Him in the form of some limited creature is departure from faith in God as infinite in being and power.

C. Dimensions of Idolatrous Sin

1. Subjective (Internal). Idolatry is primarily internal. There are idols in the human heart that take the place of God (Eze. 14: 3) and must be removed because God desires truth in the inward being (Ps. 51: 6). The idols of the heart are anything that distort the truth of God or replace Him.

2. Objective (External). Objective idols are of two kinds: those that are religiously defined (idols of deities, 1 Cor. 10: 19, 20) and those that are socially defined (money, pleasure, power, 1 Cor. 10: 7, 8).

III. DIVINE RESPONSE

1. Repent and turn from idols (Eze. 14:6). God calls all men (His children, Acts 17: 28, 29) out of enslavement to idols. The idols cannot and do not hold the people captive. It is the people who blindly and willingly give themselves over to both internal and external idols. Therefore, repentance or turning of the mind, will, and emotion from idols (since traditional bonds are involved) is necessary.

2. Flee from idolatry (1 Cor. 10: 14). This command is with respect to one’s attitude towards idolatry. A child of God is to flee idols not because he fears the idols will do something (1 Cor. 10:19), but because he abhors and hates any falsehood that stands against the true nature of God (1 Cor. 10:21). The child of God must flee from any partaking or fellowship with idolatrous worship. (1 Cor. 10:20). He must come out of idolatrous relationships and separate himself for God (2 Cor. 6: 17).

3. Idol worship will be completely destroyed. In the Final Judgment, idolatry will be judged (Rev. 21: 8; 22:15). Idols will be totally removed (Isa. 2:18). False worship will be abolished and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord (Isa. 11:9; Hab. 2:14).

PRACTICAL QUESTIONS

1.  If I’m given food offered to idols can I eat it?

Answer: If one doesn’t know that it was of such kind and eats it, it is not sin (1 Cor. 10: 27). However, one must not eat it if one knows it is offered to an idol. There are at least three reasons behind this injunction in the New Testament.

1.      That food connotes fellowship with that religious system which is denial of relationship with Christ (1 Cor. 10:20, 21). The food in itself and by itself has no magical or evil influence: ‘the earth is the Lord’s.’

2.      A Christian must not eat it for his own conscience’s sake (1 Cor. 10: 28-30). There are many things which are morally not wrong but still are spiritually inexpedient (1 Cor. 10: 23). The conscience gets polluted when one denies absolute allegiance to the Lord and avoids testifying of Him for personal, social, political or any other reason. It also gets polluted when love of self-security and respect is placed above love of God.

3.      A Christian must not eat it for the sake of others’ conscience (1 Cor. 10: 28-30). The weaker Christians must be governed by many laws, like children in a home before they are able to learn responsibility and make mature decisions. Such Christians may get easily ensnared into idolatry when they see stronger Christians harmless partaking of such food. Therefore, for the sake of their conscience, such food must be avoided.

2. Will I be destroying my social relations by not partaking of food offered to idols?

Answer: No, it is only by despisal of and insult of others religions that one harms social relations. A Christian by not partaking of such food is not insulting someone else’ religion but is simply exercising freedom of conscience. For instance, a strong Christian may eat goat meat and feel nothing wrong about it in his conscience. On the contrary, a strong Brahmin will not eat meat since it is against the rule of his conscience. A Christian and a Brahmin can be good friends as long as they respect each other’s conscience. The problem comes when the Christian tries to despise the Brahmin for not eating meat with him.

3. How does a government servant respond to religious contexts?

In a secular nation such as India, one must remember that state and religion are separate. Religion is a private and individual issue. Therefore, religious practices of any particular religion cannot be enforced in any governmental context. As far as invitations as guest to religious meetings and gatherings is concerned, the government servant may go there but is not obliged to participate in the rituals thereof. All this should be clarified before accepting the invitation.

CONCLUSION

Idolatry is sin because it involves departure from God towards creation, a self-definition of the Godhead along one’s own drives and passions. It is corruption and rejection of divine revelation. Therefore, the God who reveals Himself as the one and true God abhors idolatry. However, idolatry is not just something that involves idols of paint, clay, stone, and metal. Idolatry may be something deep within someone’s heart. A Christian must, therefore, regularly check his heart and if there is anything other than truth and integrity therein, he must cast it out of his heart and fill the empty space with worship and reverence of the only true God (Ps. 139:23,24).