What Is Wrong with Worshiping Idols?

Ah, if it were only that simple. I am not a member of the tribes of Israel nor can I ever be because I am not born of a Jewish mother and so am not one of the biblical god's chosen people. The old testament of the bible is a history of those chosen people and contains within it the laws required to be a part of the convent between the biblical god and his chosen people. Since I am not included in that covert I do not see my self as being governed by the laws of that convent. There is nothing wrong withe constructing and worshiping a representation of the god principle if you are not a part of the rather restricted group that makes up the tribes of Israel.

Two basic problems here. The first of which is the identification of a "true god" singled out from the vast pantheon of gods and spirits that have been invented and or identified by the human species. To accept one to the exclusion of all the others requires the acceptance of a chain of coincidences and a suspension of reason and logic. While the three Abrahamic religions and the Hindu religion all share a common mythology in derived from the early religion of Mesopotamia they all went there separate ways and were influenced by the environment and culture in which they developed and evolved. The Abrahamic religions developed among warlike nomadic tribes and borrowed the beliefs of the Cro-magnon culture while the Hindu religion developed among the more settled people of the Indus valley. No real surprise that Idols featured in the Hindu culture where the people were rooted to the land and could worship gods and spirits that were fixed in place in an object. In the rooming bands of the mid-east their gods needed to be portable so it became simple to develop a belief in a single god that was an invisible all-encompassing presence. There is no right or wrong in it, only different views of the god principle. No "one true god" but instead many gods, goddesses and spirits. The second problem here is the failure of your analogy because while the spirit or god seen to inhabit an idol is not inclined to save a person in a building the invisible presence of the Abrahamic god does not seem to do a better job of rescue.

I am not Jewish either. There are no chosen people today. Notice what one Jewish man said: Acts 10:34-35 (New International Version, ©2010) 34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. We can all worship the one true God. Another Jewish man wrote: 1 John 5:21 (New International Version, ©2010) 21 Dear children, keep yourselves from idols. Idols are just wood or stone or metal. They have no power to save. They cannot even save themselves, so how can they do something for someone else. If there was a fire in a building where the idols are located: will they put out the fire? Will they run out? Will they be able to save a human that is trapped in the fire?

"A simple definition of idol worship”... Gordano, this definition itself is flawed. Idol-worshippers do not believe that anybody beside God can help us, neither do we put anything else as more important than God. What we believe is that God is omnipresent and hence, anything and everything contains the essence of God, including stones and trees and mountains. If I want, I can feel my God in a piece of stone and worship that stone in all sincerity... polytheism is very flexible unlike monotheism. Also, monotheism give human attributes to God, polytheists give human look to God. It’s the same thing.

I have to take issue with your definition. In most parts idol worship results from and is a feature of the worlds oldest and still most prevalent religion, Animalism. In Animalism objects become invested with the presence of gods or spirits. Your definition assumes an individual god which is not something most people in this world are willing to recognize. We of the world outside the Abrahamic religions are not turning away from an individual god we are embracing a pantheon of gods and spirits.

Thanks for sharing your views.Please try to understand that only "people" did not propagate the Abrahamic religions but it was also from God Almighty.He had sent about 1,24000 Prophets to all towns to teach them "Tauheed" or Monotheism,but Satan emerged as more successful in indulging simple people in Polytheism.We even started worshiping those Prophets and pious people, who came to teach us Monotheism from God Almighty.The present plight of Hindus and some Muslims in India and Pakistan is a clear evidence of this fact....

awapak the only evidence that anyone other than people propagated the Abrahamic religions comes from the people who have a vested interest in them. Satan is no more real than Donald Duck. The concept of satan was created as a coping device without which monotheism did not work. monotheism could not blam all the bad stuff on their all-powerful but merciful god so the idea of an independent entity was developed to take the blame. The Hindus of India, the Buddhist of Thailand, the Shintoist of Japan and the Animist of the Pacific are doing quite well without monotheism , thank you.

There is only one real difference between what is superstitious and what its religious. What is superstitious to one person is a closely held, precious religious belief to another. People who employ it also has a part of their worship believe that the object is inhabited by a spirit or a God. They do not confuse the object with the spirit or the God but do see it as a way to focus their worship. In difficult times when people are hungry and suffering it is sometimes the most appropriate time to make offerings to the representation of the gods.

"What is superstitious to one person is a closely held, precious religious belief to another." So you claim but I think a clear distinction can be drawn and criteria used to determine which is witch all the best urban

In the Christian as in the other Abrahamic religions it goes beyond statues and physical representations. In these religions there is an abiding belief in an anthropomorphic god who is an individual entity. By making a god an individual and seeking a relationship with this deity rather than union within the god concept they make this individual entity into an idol to be worshiped from afar.

As usual those that are not Christian and seek to speak for them get it wrong. Worship of Idols in Christianity is advised against, it is good practical advice, worshipping of a lump of matter is futile and a waste of time and energy that is better employed spiritually. all the best urban

Since I am neither a Christian or a follower of any of the Abrahamic religions I do not see how a mortal sin in the Christian religion has any meaning to me. I still do not see how it matters to me or the society I live in whether I worship one god or many or if I chose to believe that a god inhabits an object I chose to direct my devotion to. Where I live it is a common practice to ordain trees. This results in a reverence towards the trees and protects them. In this case what could be seen as idolatry provides a benefit to the community and preserves the trees.

That was only my opinion and as I said I am no bible expert. I also said that I might be wrong or right. There is "Might" in my response above. I guess, there is nothing wrong with that as long as the image is not what you worship. Images of Jesus Christ or Statue of Him represents the God we worship. It's idolatry if we worship the image of christ or statue of christ and deem those images and statue as GOD. We don't deem images and statues of God as a God. I can see that this issue is a never-ending conflict even before I joined MyLot. It's been a never-ending issue because of different religion with different practices. My respond above was only my opinion and I am not making 100% assumption. For us Catholics, we are firm at what we believe in and most of all I respect other practices and beliefs. I don't care if you are Muslim, or Jehovas witnesses, or Born-again, or Buddhist, as long as we pray to only ONE GOD, that MATTERS. We are all one in One God!

Chiang_Mai_boy, don't worry as I am not condemning the practices in the area where you live in. I respect that. For us catholics to observe reverence or worshiping trees is a sin. That's idolatry to us Catholic Christian. Don't worry, this response of mine is not intended to condemn your practices but only to provide an answer to your question about what's wrong in worshipping idols. Okay? Don't worry. I respect the practices in the area where you live in. Happy Mylotting!

You are right...christians or catholics do pray to humans and they do have icons. This is idol worship even though they will never admit it. The whole concept of the christ figure was because they needed a tangible god. They needed to see him, touch him, and make him like themselves. It is wrong to put down idol worship. If you do not like it then steer clear of it and leave it alone. I hate it when folks go into areas and start converting enmass because their "gods are better".

All of what you say is true if you accept the premise that there is some virtue in monotheism. I do not accept this so I can find no problem with either polytheism or the worship of the spirit that dwells in objects. If I construct an idol of stone or rock with my own hand to serve as a place where one of my gods can find sanctuary and rest it is an act of devotion. I do not confuse the idol with the god. I do not worship the idol, I worship the god within.