{"id":32324,"date":"2019-05-01T12:28:59","date_gmt":"2019-05-01T16:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=32324"},"modified":"2019-05-01T12:28:59","modified_gmt":"2019-05-01T16:28:59","slug":"biblical-idolatry-authentic-counterfeit-conceptions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2019\/05\/biblical-idolatry-authentic-counterfeit-conceptions.html","title":{"rendered":"Biblical Idolatry: Authentic & Counterfeit Conceptions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

Idolatry is a conscious act by nature or definition. Catholics are accused of substituting bread and wine as idols for the living God. I think virtually no Catholic who knows anything at all about his Faith would be stupid enough consciously to worship what he believes is still just a piece of bread.<\/span><\/p>\n

It may be regarded as mistaken worship<\/span><\/em>, but it is still quite pious and non-idolatrous, just as we Catholics would say that Lutheran or Anglican worship is pious and well-intentioned but in fact lacks the Real Presence (due to ordination and apostolic succession issues). It\u2019s not idolatrous \u2014 only mistaken as to the metaphysics.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where is the sin in worshiping Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and Redeemer \u2014 God the Son? We think He is truly present in the consecrated elements. So did Luther. If we are idolaters, so is he. Luther was even known to bow in adoration. Lutherans, too, believe that Jesus Christ is truly, substantially present after the Consecration, so why are they<\/span><\/em> not habitually accused of idolatry?<\/span><\/p>\n

It is of the essence of idolatry to be from one\u2019s heart and soul and will. If one is replacing God with something else, that is an interior decision. It has<\/span> <\/em>to be; otherwise, the whole thing would be reduced to robotic actions of an agent with no free will. This sort of thing is presupposed also in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus shows how all sins begin in our hearts: hatred is the seed of murder, lust the kernel of adultery, et cetera. All sin is like that (at least the sin for which we are responsible).<\/span><\/p>\n

Idolatry is the worshiping of a false god. That does not happen at Mass, because it is understood by all that Jesus<\/span><\/em>, not bread and wine, is being worshiped eucharistically. The very word transubstantiation<\/span><\/em> proves this. As for its being a matter of the heart and soul: the Bible establishes that, I think:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Isaiah 66:3<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0like him who blesses an idol. These have chosen their own ways, and their soul<\/span> <\/em>delights in their abominations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ezekiel 14:4-5<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0Therefore speak to them, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD<\/span>: Any man of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart<\/span> <\/em>and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, I the LORD<\/span> will answer him myself because of the multitude of his idols, that I may lay hold of the hearts <\/em><\/span>of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ezekiel 20:16<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0because they rejected my ordinances and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my sabbaths; for their heart<\/span><\/em> went after their idols. (cf. Ezek. 36:25; Sir. 46:11)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Another biblical motif is God\u2019s disgust over men \u201cserving\u201d idols (which is from the heart and the will: 2 Kings 17:12; 2 Kings 21:21; 2 Chron. 24:18; Ps. 106:36; Ezek. 20:39; 1 Thess. 1:9). St. Paul locates idolatry firmly in the interior disposition:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Romans 1:21, 24-25<\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0[F]or although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds<\/span> <\/em>were darkened. . . . Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts <\/span><\/em>to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature<\/span><\/em> rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The word for \u201cminds\u201d in Romans 1:21 is kardia<\/span><\/em> (\u201cheart\u201d: the basis of \u201ccardiac\u201d), and is often rendered \u201cheart\u201d or \u201chearts\u201d in other translations. The same word appears in Romans 1:24, where it is rendered \u201chearts\u201d in the RSV. In the KJV it is translated \u201cheart\u201d all 158 times that it appears (according to Young\u2019s Concordance<\/span><\/em>).<\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span> Catholic Encyclopedia<\/span><\/em>\u2019s entry for \u201cIdolatry\u201d backs me up also:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The guilt of idolatry, however, is not to be estimated by its abstract nature alone; the concrete form it assumes in the conscience<\/span><\/em> of the sinner is the all-important element<\/span><\/em>. [see,\u00a0J. Wilhelm,<\/span> \u201cIdolatry,\u201d<\/a> Catholic Encyclopedia<\/span><\/em>, (New York: Robert Appleton, 1913) ]<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Idolatry is an internal disposition \u2014 the conscious worshiping of something other than God and replacing God with a creature or inanimate object.<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Related Reading:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Is the Mass Equivalent to OT Golden Calf Worship?<\/a>\u00a0[1996]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
Why Transubstantiation Isn\u2019t Idolatry At All<\/a>\u00a0[11-22-96]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
Veneration of Images, Iconoclasm, and Idolatry\u00a0(An Exposition)<\/a>\u00a0[11-15-02]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
Dialogue: Is the Mass Similar to Jeroboam\u2019s Idolatry?<\/a>\u00a0[8-7-04]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
Ten Commandments: Changed by Catholics to Uphold Idolatry?<\/a>\u00a0[9-4-04]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
\n
Catholic Mass: Can\u2019t Possibly be Idolatrous<\/a>\u00a0[12-15-08]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
Crucifixes: Abominable Idols or Devotional Aids?<\/a>\u00a0[11-10-09]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
\n
Eucharistic Adoration: Idolatry or Biblical? (vs. Calvin #47)<\/a>\u00a0[12-2-09]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
Christmas Trees as Idols?: Silly So-Called \u201cArguments\u201d from Holy Scripture<\/a>\u00a0[12-12-10]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Anti-Catholics & Alleged Catholic Idol-Worship at Mass<\/a>\u00a0[4-11-11]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n
Biblical Evidence for Worship of God Via an Image<\/a>\u00a0[6-24-11]<\/div>\n
*<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

***<\/p>\n

(originally 2015)<\/span><\/p>\n

Photo credit:\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Moses breaks the Ten Commandments in response to the golden calf worship<\/em> (1860), woodcut by\u00a0Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld (1794-1872)<\/span> [public domain \/<\/span> Wikimedia Commons<\/a>]<\/span><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Idolatry is a conscious act by nature or definition. Catholics are accused of substituting bread and wine as idols for the living God. I think virtually no Catholic who knows anything at all about his Faith would be stupid enough consciously to worship what he believes is still just a piece of bread. It may […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":32327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[231,58,206],"tags":[855,2361,3467,416,666,4924,3469,1074,190,1229,4576,384,417,385,3466],"class_list":["post-32324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anti-catholicism","category-eucharist-liturgy","category-saints-purgatory-penance","tag-anti-catholic","tag-anti-catholicism","tag-bread-worship","tag-catholic-mass","tag-consubstantiation","tag-golden-calf","tag-graven-images","tag-iconoclasm","tag-idolatry","tag-images","tag-jeroboam","tag-real-presence","tag-sacrifice-of-the-mass","tag-transubstantiation","tag-wafer"],"yoast_head":"\nBiblical Idolatry: Authentic & Counterfeit Conceptions<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It is of the essence of idolatry to be from one\u2019s heart and soul and will. 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \"This Rock\" (now called \"Catholic Answers Magazine\"), \"Envoy Magazine\" (Patrick Madrid), \"The Catholic Answer,\" \"The Coming Home Journal,\" \"Gilbert Magazine\" (American Chesterton Society), and \"The Latin Mass.\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \"The Michigan Catholic\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \"Envoy Magazine.\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).","sameAs":["https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}