What Is Wrong With Idol Worship?

[NickD]

God made man in HIS own image, but man turned to man-made gods to worship them and made a fool of himself.This grieved God's heart and provoked Him. What is wrong with idol worship? First of all ,God Almighty , who made the universe and then man in His image, commanded, "You shall have no other gods before me. "You shall make for yourself no molten gods. "The law with the Ten Commandments was given to the Jews first And When God turned to the gentiles after that the word God gave through the apostles to the nations was the same concerning idol worship ..In fact all nations were idol worshipers, including Rome, now the seat of Pope. The following is the main argument in the Holy Bible against idolatry. St. Paul who was the first missionary to Athens preached this message in that city. "The God who made the world and everything in it—He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. From one man He has made every nation of men to live all over the earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live, so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’ Being God’s offspring, then, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination. “Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, because He has set a day on which He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed" – Who is Lord Jesus Christ. . From The Book of the Acts of the Apostles;17:24-31] [ Remember the fact that Greece and Athens were centers of idol worship and haven for gods of all kind.] The Holy Bible says;"The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens."Jeremiah;10:11.In the past nations of the earth in their ignorance worshiped gods that cannot see or hear or speak. Egypt,Assyria,Babylon, Greece, Rome all these countries were once filled with idol worship.The names of those native gods are mentioned in the ancient writings as well as in the Bible. But in course of time ,these nations who earnestly worshiped and served these gods became conscious of the foolishness of serving them and threw them away as dirt.All the gods of the Egyptians and the Babylonians and the Romans and the Greeks and many other nations came to nothing No one even remembers their names any more.But the God in the heaven is the True God ,He is the Living God and He is the Eternal King.His kingdom rules over all things

What is wrong with Idol worship? They are wicked and represents Satanic practices. Old and new testaments in Bible clearly describes idol worship as wicked. Moses clearly warned the people in Bible and Christians and Muslims believe this!

 

[kris_kwel]

For me Statue or Image of Krishna is a beautiful symbol of Krishna. When i see statue of Krishna, my innocent child-like love towards infinite divine Krishna multiply many times. I never thought that Statue as Krishna himself or his manifestation or mediator between me and infinite Krishna.

This is not Idol worship. As a Catholic i can understand Hindu view of Statues and Images.

 

[kris_kwel]

To arunma (not just for this particular thread),

Please stop using we in your extremist and replies full of hate. I don't agree with most of your posts. Just because you have problems with Hinduism due to personal or impersonal reasons, that doesn't mean you have right to represent all Christians on matters which many other denominations have different point of view. You can't exclude point of view of Catholics and claim to represent Christianity.

 

[satay]

To arunma (not just for this particular thread),

Please stop using we in your extremist and replies full of hate. I don't agree with most of your posts. Just because you have problems with Hinduism due to personal or impersonal reasons, that doesn't mean you have right to represent all Christians on matters which many other denominations have different point of view. You can't exclude point of view of Catholics and claim to represent Christianity.

According to him even my wife who is a catholic is not a "good" christian because she prays to jesus' idol.

By the way, your message is a treasure. I will bookmark it to remind myself of something...

 

[satay]

Actually Satay, I reported your posts and asked them to be deleted. And every time you blaspheme the Lord God, I'll continue reporting you.

Oh, in case anyone is interested, there's a certain word in Greek which is surprisingly similar to a descriptor that seems to be used these days to describe Satay.

mōros:

dull or stupid (as if shut up), that is, heedless, (morally) blockhead, (apparently) absurd: - fool (-ish, X -ishness).

​

Strangely enough, the word is first found in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount.

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire. (St. Matthew 5:22)


​

So to Kataphraktos, my brother in Christ, I would say this. Satay is a Gentile and a worshiper of false idols who have no power to save him. You, however, are a child of the Most High God. Yet how can we live as pampered children of the King when the King himself is humbled, and stripped for battle? "Do not throw your pearls before pigs." (St. Matthew 7:6). If you mock a Gentile, Hindu idolater, not only are you giving him an opportunity to blaspheme our Lord and invite condemnation on himself, but you are throwing away your own salvation. If he chooses, let him continue worshiping idols in futility, and heap condemnation on himself. But you obey Jesus Christ by loving him, even though Hindus hate God and his church.

So you agree that you are maleccha and I was talking about the god you believe in. By the way, the mods also believe that maleccha now applies to them as well as christianity.

Not my fault. I never said christianity is a maleccha religion. You guys admitted it yourself by deleting my posts which had nothing to do with your religion and your god...isn't your god all loving and kind?




satay

 

[IronPillar]

What bible says regarding idols mean nothing to us. They are all valid to people who beleive that it is the infalliable word of God for which there is no proof and for which are enough counter proofs.

When Christians cannot challenge the might of Hinduism and its philsopical depth they try to attacks some its weaker links - idol worship and the caste system. But history has proved that it is simply not possible to attack it this way.

I challenge any christian to show an evidence from the Bhagvad Gita or the vedas or the vedanta sutras where idol worship is recommended or made mandatory. I also challenege them to show any passages supporting the hereditary caste system. There is none - that is why Christianity has failed in India, because these are all lies and cannot be proved.

Temple worship, Idol worship etc find no place even in Ramayana - show me one verse in proof. Not even in Mahabartha.

Bhagavata is the earliest Hindus scripture where temple worship and idol worship etc figure along with Panchartara Agamas of the Bhagavatha religion. These are later developments in Hinduism used to protect the religion from goin astray, and making it more organised. Temple worship never existed in olden times because no description is ever found in Ramayana.

Hinduism is essentially about higher spiritual disciplines such as Yoga and advanced meditative practices which are virtually non existant elsewhere, and that is what that has held the religion from getting washed away in the past. Organised movements like the Bhakti movement, temple worship and later rituals are the ways Hinduism evolved to counter non vedic religions like Buddhism, Jainism, and religions like Islam and Christianity. It has in it enough flexibility to adapt an any way in future and free from dogma - challenge it here in India and it will digest you.

False accusations like this will never be taken seriously by any Hindu if that is tha aim of the OP. Show proof about idolatory from ancient Hindu scripture. Only the Agama literature mentions about them - which are more about an organised systematic religeous movement that protected the religion from the maleachas and intruders like Huns, and has continued to this day.

Some day, the Hindus will go back to their golden days of Yoga and higher spiritual disciplines...and stop beleiving in superstitions and fairy tales.

Reply by IronPillar
“There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved."Acts;4:12

 

[satay]

Reply by IronPillar
“There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved."Acts;4:12

Reply by Satay
"Wakee Wakee, Hindus don't believe in your false man-made scripture."

 

[satay]

The way I see it, Satay will either repent one day, destroy his Hindu idols, and be saved by Christ, or he will have an eternity in hell to atone for the sin of falling before the Vedic pantheon of gods. .

This just made my day!

satay

 

[lilithrising]

ANSWER-: Then what is this you quoted ? For symbolically the absence of the Goddess from the officially sanctioned holy scriptures was the absence of a divine power to protect women and avenge the wrongs inflicted upon them by men. The Chalice and the Blade

What's your point? Do you an issue with the quote?

lilithrising

 

[IronPillar]

"This, then, is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who practices wicked things hates the light and avoids it, so that his deeds may not be exposed. But anyone who lives by the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be shown to be accomplished by God." John;3:19-21

 

[Theowne]

IronPillar, do you realize how pointless it is to present Bible quotes as some sort of evidence to people who do not believe in it? Do you assume you're actually getting anywhere?

"I have a note from my mom."
"I don't believe your mom wrote it. What proof do you have?"
"The note from my mom."

Get it?

 

[mark53]

IronPillar, do you realize how pointless it is to present Bible quotes as some sort of evidence to people who do not believe in it? Do you assume you're actually getting anywhere?

"I have a note from my mom."
"I don't believe your mom wrote it. What proof do you have?"
"The note from my mom."

Get it?

I also find most Christians have difficulties in having Bible passages quoted at them!!!!

 

[IronPillar]

IronPillar, do you realize how pointless it is to present Bible quotes as some sort of evidence to people who do not believe in it? Do you assume you're actually getting anywhere?

"I have a note from my mom."
"I don't believe your mom wrote it. What proof do you have?"
"The note from my mom."

Get it?

Friend, I see others quote from religious books.I thought I could do the same thing.Especially since the Bible is the written word of God.How much more I should quote the words that came out of the mouth of the Eternal God.Those words are living and powerfull.
"For just as rain and snow fall from heaven,
and do not return there
without saturating the earth,
and making it germinate and sprout,
and providing seed to sow
and food to eat, so My word that comes from My mouth
will not return to Me empty,
but it will accomplish what I please,
and will prosper in what I send it [to do]." Isaiah;55:10,11

 

[coolbodhi]

"I have a note from my mom."
"I don't believe your mom wrote it. What proof do you have?"
"The note from my mom."
Theowne Post 91

 

[Druweid]

...All the gods of the Egyptians and the Babylonians and the Romans and the Greeks and many other nations came to nothing No one even remembers their names any more...

I hate to burst your bubble, but I know a number of Pagans who commune with Gods from each of these pantheons. And then some.

But then, I digress. For the post itself, regarding idol worship:

I find it at least somewhat disturbing that most of this discussion is narrowly focused on statues and images, and the concept of whether they are God or simply represent God. True idoltry reaches so much deeper than that. It is the concept that something replaces God in every sense of the word. True idoltry is subtle; people do it in their day-to-day lives without realizing what they are doing.

The truest idolators are not the ones who hang a crucifix in their home, place a statue in a holy place, or look to a picture for divine affirmation or inspiration. They are those who place priorites over and above their declared beliefs. A person's beliefs should define what is right and wrong, what is sacred, and how one should live to help bring that sacredness upon themselves. When those concepts of right, wrong, and most of all, sacred are displaced by priorities like getting ahead in a job, making a few extra dollars, gaining authority over others, etc., etc., that, to me, is the worst form of idoltry.

And it's so easy to fall into such a practice! "Oh, I'll tell a little white lie, and I'll get that job no problem," or "I'll just exaggerate about his/her mess-up, and I'll get the promotion easier," or some such. Using Christianity as an example, it's tantamount to saying "I know God wants me to bear a true witness, but it's just a little white lie, but it helps me and no one really gets hurt." No matter how you rationalize it, though, it's still displacing God for personal gain. And I do believe that if you find yourself doing it once, you'll likely do it again. And the next time, a little bit worse.

Now, to come the long way 'round to make a point. Perhaps it's possible that the scriptures warn against lifeless images for a similar reason. In itself, it may be innocuous to have a picture, a symbol, or a statue that represents the One Most Holy, but taken for granted, or not carefully considered, it could lead to greater offenses.

And as far as different religions, i.e., Christianity vs. Hinduism, let's be clear and honest. It's a NCR thread. May we please talk about what's right and wrong, generally, apart from what is good Christian practice? Or, for that matter, good Hindu practice?

Thank you all for listening. ::stepping off soapbox::

Respectfully,
Druweid

 

[Theowne]

"I have a note from my mom."
"I don't believe your mom wrote it. What proof do you have?"
"The note from my mom."
Theowne Post 91

Friend, I see others quote from religious books.I thought I could do the same thing.

Yes, they post them to explain their own beliefs with commentary or in regard to a topic. You, however, simply post quotes as arguments themselves which will not work against people who do not believe in the Bible.

Especially since the Bible is the written word of God.How much more I should quote the words that came out of the mouth of the Eternal God.Those words are living and powerfull.

But they are meaningless in an argument. Non-christian debaters do not believe the Bible is the word of God and such. So why would a quote from the Bible count as an argument.

If you asked me what proof of I had of my God, and I pointed you to a quote that said "I am God", would you take that as appropriate evidence?

 

[lilithrising]

Friend, I see others quote from religious books.I thought I could do the same thing.Especially since the Bible is the written word of God.How much more I should quote the words that came out of the mouth of the Eternal God.Those words are living and powerfull.
"For just as rain and snow fall from heaven,
and do not return there
without saturating the earth,
and making it germinate and sprout,
and providing seed to sow
and food to eat, so My word that comes from My mouth
will not return to Me empty,
but it will accomplish what I please,
and will prosper in what I send it [to do]." Isaiah;55:10,11

Yes, others here do quote from their sacred books. These books also claim to be the words of their god as well. Just as sacred and holy as yours. It's futile to argue over who is the greatest god because the followers of these faiths are just as adament that their's is the true god. What is your faith and truth is yours and yours alone. It is just as precious to you as their's is to them. Each can call the other idolators all day long and it doesn''t change a thing. Neither will budge, no one will be converted and each will cling to his god till death. Can't the topics just be discussed without the bible thumping tactics?

lilithrising

 

[Theowne]

Neither will budge, no one will be converted and each will cling to his god till death.

Well, that's not really true....

Can't the topics just be discussed without the bible thumping tactics?

I think it's okay to post quotes from your books if it is to explain your religion or in regard to a specific topic. I just find it pointless to post quotes as responses themselves - even though no one will take another religion's book as fact.

 

[IronPillar]

"The magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts. For every man cast down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods."Exodus;6:11,12

 

[Theowne]

"The magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts. For every man cast down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods."Exodus;6:11,12

"Ironpillar's worthless irrelevant quotes have no effect or input to the argument" Theowne, 5:63,17