{"id":810,"date":"2024-01-29T16:04:17","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T21:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/?p=810"},"modified":"2024-02-05T16:58:56","modified_gmt":"2024-02-05T21:58:56","slug":"deeper-meaning-idolatry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/deeper-meaning-idolatry\/","title":{"rendered":"The Deeper Meaning Of Idolatry"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p><figure id=\"attachment_816\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-816\" style=\"width: 780px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-816\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1818\/2024\/01\/pexels-alem-sanchez-1422730-1024x684.jpg\" alt=\"grayscale-of-lighted-candle-\" width=\"780\" height=\"521\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-816\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Alem S\u00e1nchez\/pexels.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">God\u2019s wrath is brought on by idolatry (Lk. 16:13). Because it\u2019s a serious offense, we should know what it is. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/idolatry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" class=\" decorated-link\">Britannica<\/a>, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">idolatry<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cthe worship of someone or something other than God as though it were God.\u201d This definition is one that many know and accept, but is there a deeper meaning of idolatry? Grab your Bible and your favorite googling device and let\u2019s find out.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is Idolatry?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Idolatry<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is an Ancient Greek term, found in the New Testament as <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eidololatreia <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(\u03b5\u03b9\u03b4\u03c9\u03bb\u03bf\u03bb\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1), which comes from two words: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eidolon<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (\u03b5\u1f34\u03b4\u03c9\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd) and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">latreia <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(\u03bb\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1). The first word, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eidolon<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can generally be defined as \u201cimage.\u201d <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Latreia<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the second word that forms the word idolatry, means \u201cservice or servitude.\u201d Some Christian groups define<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> latreia<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as \u201cadoration due to God alone,\u201d but originally it meant service, such as that of a hired servant. Therefore, idolatry can be literally translated as \u201cidol service or servitude.\u201d Sometimes, we refer to it as idol <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">worship<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. For the real meaning of worship, check out my previous post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/real-meaning-worship\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\" decorated-link\">here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What are Idols?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Idolatry in the Bible has nothing to do with worshiping humans. This definition of idol came much later. It also has nothing to do with an excessive love of money, cars, fame, or sex. Let\u2019s look at the history of the word <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">idol<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eidolon<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to gain a deeper understanding of its meaning.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First, an idol wasn\u2019t an object in Ancient Greece. An <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eidolon<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was an immaterial or unsubstantial form, visible to the eye, such as a ghost, apparition, or phantom.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The word could also refer to an image in a mirror or even an idea or mental picture (Perseus). Throughout Ancient Greek literature, ghosts, or immaterial images of deceased people, have been called eidolon. These ghosts would try to communicate with the living, in order to give warnings, reminders, or any other important message.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The term eidolon was also used to describe copies of humans. In 412 BC, Euripedes, a Greek tragedian, published a play based on Helen of Troy called <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helen<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In the play, Hera created an eidolon, or phantom, of Helen that looked like her, sounded like her, and even breathed like her. So essentially, Hera created a doppelganger of Helen<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> In other ancient works, the word was used in a similar manner <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Nagy)<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. But, how did an eidolon go from being a ghost or doppelganger to becoming a pagan god or statue? The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, offers insight into this question.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Idolatry in the Septuagint<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the Septuagint was most likely completed before the New Testament, it can help us understand what idolatry truly is. Its meaning in the Septuagint will be the closest we have to that of the New Testament. At a glance, we find multiple Hebrew words, such as <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shiqquts<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">teraphim<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gillul<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> translated as e<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">idolon <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">in the Septuagint.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shiqquts <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(1 Kgs. 11:5;7) means \u201cfilth\u201d, \u201cabomination\u201d, or a \u201cdisgusting or detestable thing,\u201d and it\u2019s believed that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">teraphim<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (Gen. 31:19) are some type of small objects of worship, commonly called \u201chousehold gods.\u201d Last, and certainly least is the word <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gillul<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 which simply means \u201clog\u201d or \u201cheap,\u201d and can refer to animal poop, or mor<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">e properly <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">called <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dung <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Lev. 26:30)<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now, recall that in Ancient Greek, before the Septuagint came to exist, eidolons or <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">eidola<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (plural) were normally spirits of the deceased who were fond of conversing with people, or they were look-alikes created by gods. But according to Torah, or God\u2019s \u201cLaw,\u201d consulting or communicating with ghosts is forbidden (Deut. 18:11). And <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">what about gods creating copies of humans to stand in place of the Lord\u2019s creation? <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who gives breath except God alone? So, in what way are these things related? Well, it\u2019s likely that both were considered abominations by God\u2019s people, and therefore by biblical translators.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Deeper Meaning of Idolatry<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore,<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> idol<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the biblical sense means filth, dung, or abomination and applies particularly to pagan gods and their physical representations. It\u2019s what the Lord says is useless, deceitful, forbidden, and detestable. Consequently, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">idolatry refers to those practices that are in rebellion to God, such as sacrificing or offering incense to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">daimones<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (pagan gods), what Christians today refer to as <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">demons,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and serving objects in place of, or in addition to, the one true God.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Lord is a jealous God and rightfully so (Ex. 34:14). After all, he is the creator and sustainer of all things. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His hand moves the sun as dawn and dusk approaches, and he set the moon and stars in their places. He alone provides breath and life, and he alone takes them away. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Therefore, he will not share his glory with another nor give the praise he\u2019s due to idols (Is. 42:8). He alone is worthy and deserving.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bibliography<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. \u201cHelen\u201d. Encyclopedia Britannica, 18 May. 2011, https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Helen-play-by-Euripides. Accessed 12 January 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wikimedia Foundation. (2024, January 26). <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eidolon<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Wikipedia. https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Eidolon\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perseus Digital Library. Ed. Gregory R. Crane. Tufts University. http:\/\/www.perseus.tufts.edu (accessed January, 20, 2024).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Student, R. G. (2017, October 3). <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is the jewish view on ghosts?<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. OU Life. https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/inspiration\/jewish-view-ghosts\/\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nagy, G. (2020, June 22). <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Helen of Sparta and her very own Eidolon<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Classical Inquiries. https:\/\/classical-inquiries.chs.harvard.edu\/helen-of-sparta-and-her-very-own-eidolon\/\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strong\u2019s Hebrew: 8655. \u05ea\u05b0\u05bc\u05e8\u05b8\u05e4\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd (teraphim) \u2014 (a kind of idol) perhaps household idol. (n.d.). https:\/\/biblehub.com\/hebrew\/8655.htm\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strong\u2019s Hebrew: 1544. \u05d2\u05b4\u05bc\u05dc\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd (gillul) \u2014 an idol. (n.d.). https:\/\/biblehub.com\/hebrew\/1544.htm\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strong\u2019s Hebrew: 8251. \u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05e7\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05e5 (shiqquts) \u2014 detested thing. (n.d.). https:\/\/biblehub.com\/hebrew\/8251.htm\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>God&#8217;s wrath is brought on by idolatry (Lk. 16:13). Because it&#8217;s a serious offense, we should know what it is. According to Britannica, idolatry is \u201cthe worship of someone or something other than God as though it were God&#8221; (Britannica). This definition is one that many know and accept, but is there a deeper meaning of idolatry? Grab your Bible and your favorite googling device and let\u2019s find out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5064,"featured_media":816,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[158],"tags":[225,222,216,219,71],"class_list":["post-810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sin","tag-eidololatreia","tag-eidolon","tag-idolatry","tag-idols","tag-worship"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Deeper Meaning Of Idolatry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"God&#039;s wrath is brought on by idolatry (Lk. 16:13). Because it&#039;s a serious offense, we should know what it is. According to Britannica, idolatry is \u201cthe worship of someone or something other than God as though it were God&#039;&#039; (Britannica). This definition is one that many know and accept, but is there a deeper meaning of idolatry? Grab your Bible and your favorite googling device and let\u2019s find out.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/deeper-meaning-idolatry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Deeper Meaning Of Idolatry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"God&#039;s wrath is brought on by idolatry (Lk. 16:13). Because it&#039;s a serious offense, we should know what it is. According to Britannica, idolatry is \u201cthe worship of someone or something other than God as though it were God&#039;&#039; (Britannica). This definition is one that many know and accept, but is there a deeper meaning of idolatry? Grab your Bible and your favorite googling device and let\u2019s find out.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/deeper-meaning-idolatry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Embracing Truth, Escaping Tradition\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RandaT841\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-01-29T21:04:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-05T21:58:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1818\/2024\/01\/pexels-alem-sanchez-1422730.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1919\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1281\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Miranda Turner\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Miranda Turner\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/deeper-meaning-idolatry\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/deeper-meaning-idolatry\/\",\"name\":\"The Deeper Meaning Of Idolatry\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-01-29T21:04:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-05T21:58:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/#\/schema\/person\/22f16b94316e20b5d97be837944fc00f\"},\"description\":\"God's wrath is brought on by idolatry (Lk. 16:13). Because it's a serious offense, we should know what it is. According to Britannica, idolatry is \u201cthe worship of someone or something other than God as though it were God'' (Britannica). This definition is one that many know and accept, but is there a deeper meaning of idolatry? Grab your Bible and your favorite googling device and let\u2019s find out.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/deeper-meaning-idolatry\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/deeper-meaning-idolatry\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/deeper-meaning-idolatry\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Deeper Meaning Of Idolatry\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/\",\"name\":\"Embracing Truth, Escaping Tradition\",\"description\":\"Embracing Truth, Escaping Tradition is primarily dedicated to helping sincere seekers grasp the true God, and to edifying the Lord\u2019s church by offering insightful, well-researched, and sometimes new perspectives on Scripture, as well as practical application of the Lord\u2019s teachings.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/#\/schema\/person\/22f16b94316e20b5d97be837944fc00f\",\"name\":\"Miranda Turner\",\"description\":\"Miranda Turner is an author, blogger, and podcaster. In her writings, she discusses God, the Bible, and anything else related to glorifying the Lord. Find out more at https:\/\/truthtrumpstradition.wordpress.com\/.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/truthtrumpstradition.wordpress.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RandaT841\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/randa_t._\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCYwkr6N6c8cNTgX03MW4IZA\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/author\/mturner\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Deeper Meaning Of Idolatry","description":"God's wrath is brought on by idolatry (Lk. 16:13). Because it's a serious offense, we should know what it is. According to Britannica, idolatry is \u201cthe worship of someone or something other than God as though it were God'' (Britannica). This definition is one that many know and accept, but is there a deeper meaning of idolatry? Grab your Bible and your favorite googling device and let\u2019s find out.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/deeper-meaning-idolatry\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Deeper Meaning Of Idolatry","og_description":"God's wrath is brought on by idolatry (Lk. 16:13). Because it's a serious offense, we should know what it is. According to Britannica, idolatry is \u201cthe worship of someone or something other than God as though it were God'' (Britannica). This definition is one that many know and accept, but is there a deeper meaning of idolatry? Grab your Bible and your favorite googling device and let\u2019s find out.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/deeper-meaning-idolatry\/","og_site_name":"Embracing Truth, Escaping Tradition","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RandaT841","article_published_time":"2024-01-29T21:04:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-02-05T21:58:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1919,"height":1281,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/1818\/2024\/01\/pexels-alem-sanchez-1422730.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Miranda Turner","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Miranda Turner","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/deeper-meaning-idolatry\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/deeper-meaning-idolatry\/","name":"The Deeper Meaning Of Idolatry","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-01-29T21:04:17+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-05T21:58:56+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/#\/schema\/person\/22f16b94316e20b5d97be837944fc00f"},"description":"God's wrath is brought on by idolatry (Lk. 16:13). Because it's a serious offense, we should know what it is. According to Britannica, idolatry is \u201cthe worship of someone or something other than God as though it were God'' (Britannica). This definition is one that many know and accept, but is there a deeper meaning of idolatry? Grab your Bible and your favorite googling device and let\u2019s find out.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/deeper-meaning-idolatry\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/deeper-meaning-idolatry\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/2024\/01\/deeper-meaning-idolatry\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Deeper Meaning Of Idolatry"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/","name":"Embracing Truth, Escaping Tradition","description":"Embracing Truth, Escaping Tradition is primarily dedicated to helping sincere seekers grasp the true God, and to edifying the Lord\u2019s church by offering insightful, well-researched, and sometimes new perspectives on Scripture, as well as practical application of the Lord\u2019s teachings.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/#\/schema\/person\/22f16b94316e20b5d97be837944fc00f","name":"Miranda Turner","description":"Miranda Turner is an author, blogger, and podcaster. In her writings, she discusses God, the Bible, and anything else related to glorifying the Lord. Find out more at https:\/\/truthtrumpstradition.wordpress.com\/.","sameAs":["https:\/\/truthtrumpstradition.wordpress.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RandaT841","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/randa_t._\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCYwkr6N6c8cNTgX03MW4IZA"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/author\/mturner\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5064"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=810"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":837,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/810\/revisions\/837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/embracingtruthescapingtradition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}