Meaning of Idolatry

Col. 3.5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry :

 

While I understand where you are coming from, John, there is a verb in the English language: to idolize. It means 'to make an idol or an object of worship out of'.

To worship means not just ceremonies and prayers, but the attitude of adoration.

Believe me, there are a lot of people who idolize and adore money. There are people who idolize and adore other people, or motorcycles, or their pet dogs -- the list is almost endless.

Making a formal idol is the easiest form of idolatry to see. I don't mind if you don't want to call this attitude many have towards those sorts of things idolatry, but I would ask, then, what would you call it?

 

No, the attitude of adoration does NOT constitute worship!

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary gives us the following:

transitive senses
1 : to honor or reverence as a divine being or supernatural power
2 : to regard with great or extravagant respect, honor, or devotion
intransitive senses : to perform or take part in worship or an act of worship
synonym see REVERE

synonyms REVERE, REVERENCE, VENERATE, WORSHIP, ADORE mean to honor and admire profoundly and respectfully. REVERE stresses deference and tenderness of feeling <a professor revered by generations of students>. REVERENCE presupposes an intrinsic merit and inviolability in the one honored and a corresponding depth of feeling in the one honoring <reverenced the academy's code of honor>. VENERATE implies a holding as holy or sacrosanct because of character, association, or age <heroes still venerated>. WORSHIP implies homage usually expressed in words or ceremony <worships their memory>. ADORE implies love and stresses the notion of an individual and personal attachment <a doctor adored by her patients>.

I find that there is much confusion today among Baptists regarding the word “worship” and that many Baptists use the word very carelessly and inaccurately. We find a good example of this in Helen’s post.

Note: The UBB Code for underlined text does not function on this board. I included the code, however, in order to as accurately as possible quote my source.

 

I believe that many Westerners downplay the seriousness of coveting what they do not have. It is very easy to watch pagans on television and say that I am not like that! And true enough, we are not like that—not exactly—but our sin is no less a sin than theirs. Colossians 3:5 expressly says that covetousness is idolatry, and I for one will take Paul’s word for it. After all, he traveled a great deal and personally witnessed the behavior of many barbarous pagans worshiping idols and he still believed that covetousness on the part of a Jew or a Christian, no matter how educated and refined the man may be, is still idolatry.

 

Perhaps it would be better to describe idolatry as something we put between us and God that eclipes our sight of Him to the point of replacing God.

Think of it like this. When the moon is in just the right position it blocks the sun from our view. We can't see the light. So to, a real idol blocks our view of God so completely that is it impossible to see Him from our perspective.

Not many people love their money so much that they pray to it, make stacks of it in their homes and bow down to it or offer sacrifices to it. They may choose to ignore God, but they can still see Him.

John, you asked about comfort levels. I am uncomfortable with most of what you describe. Mostly because I can't understand how people can be so completely blinded that they can't see or even comprehend what we know about God.

Even during a total eclipse there is still a red rim of sun showing out from behind the moon.

 

Yes, because the graven image is simply a physical manifestation of the breaking of the first commandment.

In fact greed has as it's manifestation - money, which is usually covered with images engravened onto the paper or stamped imto the metal.

HankD

 

Exodus 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,
2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
4 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:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I 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;

Colossians 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

 

John, Craig, all I did was use a dictionary to check the meaning before I posted. Sorry.

 

Scarlet, sorry to have to say so, but this is what I object to most. Having something more important in your life than God is indeed wrong, and disobeys the command to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. But it is not idolatry if worship is not involved, and to call it so weakens the concept of idolatry in the mind of the hearer.

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Sorry about the above. Got a call while editing.

Scarlet, sorry to have to say so, but this is what I object to most. Having something more important in your life than God is indeed wrong, and disobeys the command to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. But it is not idolatry if worship is not involved, and to call it so weakens the concept of idolatry in the mind of the hearer.

</font>[/QUOTE]I've had this same conversation dozens of times and I agree with you 100%, John. Using the term "idolatry" to refer to other sins does weaken it terribly. It's pretty clear to me that scripture originally referred to other sins as "idolatry" in a figurative sense.

But, unfortunately, the English language is constantly evlolving. And because the terms "idol" and "idolatry" have been used so often and so long to describe other sins in a literal sense this usage has become an accepted part of the language English.

(Another example. Not long ago I saw an article that said "unthaw" is now an acceptable synonym for "thaw" because it has been used that way so long by so many people.)

The real problem is people attempting to retroactively apply the new English definition to the original. Imagine the confusion if scripture said to "thaw" the turkey and we "unthawed" it instead!!!

 

Paul used the Greek word εἰδωλολατρεία (eidōlolatreia) from which we got the English word “idolatry” in the 13th century, and the meaning of the English word, as used in contemporary translations of the Bible is identical to its meaning in the 13th century—the meaning has NOT changed. What has changed is the attitude of some Christians regarding covetousness—the very attitude that Paul was correcting!

 

But, can you find a verse to refute it? You should not build a doctrine upon one verse, but one verse can build up a doctrine.

As someone else stated, the graven image is simply a physical manifestation of that which is put before God. That does not refute the idea that covetousness is idolatry. (There are manifestations of this covetousness, as well, but they are not graven images per se.)

 

Isaiah 2
7 Their land also is full of silver and gold, neither is there any end of their treasures; their land is also full of horses, neither is there any end of their chariots:
8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made:
9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not.

It's all related to the basic premise of the First of the Ten Commandments

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Whether worshipped or served:

5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:...

HankD