How do we define Idolatry? According to Scripture.

[Jesse_Loves_God]

I think it's easy for humans to develop idols, and there's many forms of Idolatry, it's a subject that's similar to a onion, but in my current understanding it really comes down to one event. 

Id like to hear everyone's thoughts on the subject of Idolatry, at big levels and on small levels.  What takes us into that horrible sin? (At the top of the 10 commandments)

What is Idolatry according to God's Word? 

[BeyondET]

 

12 minutes ago, Jesse_Loves_God said:

I think it's easy for humans to develop idols, and there's many forms of Idolatry, it's a subject that's similar to a onion, but in my current understanding it really comes down to one event. 

Id like to hear everyone's thoughts on the subject of Idolatry, at big levels and on small levels.  What takes us into that horrible sin? (At the top of the 10 commandments)

What is Idolatry according to God's Word? 

At the top of the ten would be an object worshipped as a god.

[Jesse_Loves_God]

5 minutes ago, BeyondET said:

 

At the top of the ten would be an object worshipped as a god.

Definitely, nothing crafted can be worshipped. We will also hear kids say..."So n So is My Idol" or "Rick flair was my idol when I grew up" lol.. do we think this is another lesser form of Idolatry?  

Also from what I've read and understood anything that's been created under the heaven is also a form of Idolatry. 

Idolatry I believe is seen as similar  to Adultery in many ways, in that, it's a form of cheating on our Creator.. When God proclaimed... " I shall be a God to you, and you shall be My people"  He was relaying the Message of a Personal Relationship.. 

[AnOrangeCat]

11 minutes ago, Jesse_Loves_God said:

Idolatry I believe is seen as similar  to Adultery in many ways, in that, it's a form of cheating on our Creator.. When God proclaimed... " I shall be a God to you, and you shall be My people"  He was relaying the Message of a Personal Relationship.. 

It's actually rather common in the Bible for idolatry to be compared to prostitution and adultery.

15 minutes ago, Jesse_Loves_God said:

We will also hear kids say..."So n So is My Idol" or "Rick flair was my idol when I grew up" lol.. do we think this is another lesser form of Idolatry?  

I wouldn't think of it that way myself. I've heard it commonly said within the church that anything we give higher priority to than God is an idol. My belief is that while it's similar at heart it's ultimately a misuse of the word. In Biblical times idolatry involved treating an an object as a representation of spiritual beings that the worshipers attributed various acts and a level of power to that can only be attributed to God. Idolatry often went hand in hand with literal demonic forces, adultery, fornication, and human sacrifice, often of children. This is a far cry from giving someone or something an undue amount of focus or the modern use of the term idol where it's just someone you admire and/or emulate.

[Jesse_Loves_God]

22 minutes ago, AnOrangeCat said:

It's actually rather common in the Bible for idolatry to be compared to prostitution and adultery.

I wouldn't think of it that way myself. I've heard it commonly said within the church that anything we give higher priority to than God is an idol. My belief is that while it's similar at heart it's ultimately a misuse of the word. In Biblical times idolatry involved treating an an object as a representation of spiritual beings that the worshipers attributed various acts and a level of power to that can only be attributed to God. Idolatry often went hand in hand with literal demonic forces, adultery, fornication, and human sacrifice, often of children. This is a far cry from giving someone or something an undue amount of focus or the modern use of the term idol where it's just someone you admire and/or emulate.

Great response.. we agree at the beginning and don't really disagree about the modern term used by kids..or adults talking of people or Things as Idols..

But I do know certain people who have such a high love and respect for their "Idol" that it's obsessed behavior..  many people who are secular(non religious) or not...may mean full and well.... So N So really maybe their Idol, just as they have proclaimed.. if a person's love is so great that they begin to worship in one form or another, By giving that dedication or Love to something else Besides God and God only.

It's a form of Cheating, bc that level of Love and dedication only belongs to God Himself. 

Edited December 20, 2024 by Jesse_Loves_God

[Jesse_Loves_God]

And knowing Idolatry has to do with Having this special Relationship with God and God only..

Are most Christians in error by actually Worshipping Jesus?  As Everyone agrees He walked as a man, And that was a man's name, and now praying to the name of a man.. seems like plain Idolatry according to Scripture. 

And it seems that a lot of ppl are sharing that divine love and dedication with more than  the one True God... Or with something God Created, or With a Way God Revealed Himself.. as He did in the Burning Bush.. but of course we don't worship the Bush. 

How do we address this by Scripture and by the knowledge of Idolatry? 

 

As in we cannot have 2 Loves at a divine level.. without Idolatry it seems.

Edited December 20, 2024 by Jesse_Loves_God

[missmuffet]

1 hour ago, Jesse_Loves_God said:

I think it's easy for humans to develop idols, and there's many forms of Idolatry, it's a subject that's similar to a onion, but in my current understa

• Quote

nding it really comes down to one event. 

Id like to hear everyone's thoughts on the subject of Idolatry, at big levels and on small levels.  What takes us into that horrible sin? (At the top of the 10 commandments)

What is Idolatry according to God's Word? 

Worshiping or placing something or someone other than God in the position of God. Trusting anything more than you trust God.

[Jesse_Loves_God]

1 minute ago, missmuffet said:

Worshiping or placing something or someone other than God in the position of God. Trusting anything more than you trust God.

I agree. But Why does this not apply to Things or People God has chosen to reveal Himself thru? Like the burning Bush, the 3 men Abraham seen, or Jesus?

[missmuffet]

Just now, Jesse_Loves_God said:

I agree. But Why does this not apply to Things or People God has chosen to reveal Himself thru? Like the burning Bush, the 3 men Abraham seen, or Jesus?

You mean idolizing another human being?

[Jesse_Loves_God]

3 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

You mean idolizing another human being?

Yes or simply things God chose to reveal himself thru.. as in God Revealed Himself at one moment to Abraham as 3 men.. who ate and drank.. but in No way are we commanded to now worship the idea or image of the 3 men seen by Abraham, bc in context that's not a verse about How we are to Actually perform worship of God.. so applying this same knowledge to the Trinity view of Christian...wld not this be a form of Idolatry praying to or worshiping Jesus? Same as the 3 men, or the burning Bush, God Revealed Himself thru