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Augustine Against Idolatry
Augustine, commenting on Psalm 75, wrote: “For the cup in the hand of the Lord of pure wine is full of mixed” (ver. 8). Justly so. “And He hath poured out of this upon this man; nevertheless, the dreg thereof hath not been emptied; there shall drink all the sinners of earth.” Let us be…
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Evangelicals and Idols: a Reformed Response
Over at the mixed-religion blog Evangel, Matthew Milliner (a doctoral candidate in art history at Princeton University, and apparently a member of the PCUSA) has attempted to argue that the rejection of icons of Christ is a defect in Christology. When faced with the argument that icons inherently involve an implicit Nestorianism (or perhaps Monophysitism),…
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Creature-Worship in Islam
Islam does not attempt to make likenesses of Allah. Nevertheless, there is something akin to idolatry in Islam, namely the worship of Hajar Aswad, the black stone. The black stone is the cornerstone of the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Kaaba is the black cubic building that is central to a number of aspects…
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Spurgeon on Crosses in Worship
The following is something from Charles Spurgeon, who is not always a careful theologian, but certainly has a way with words: I. First, let us enquire, WHAT IS THIS CROSS OF CHRIST to which some men are sadly said to be enemies? Of course, it is not the material cross. It is not anything made…
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J.C. Ryle on the Idolatry of the Golden Calves
J.C. Ryle in his comments on idolatry, provided the following discussion relevant to my recent posts about the golden calves: It is not necessary for a man to formally deny God and Christ, in order to be an idolater. Far from it. Professed reverence for the God of the Bible, and actual idolatry, are perfectly…
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Response to Buracker on Israeli Idols
BJ Buracker aka StupidScholar has posted a response (link to response) to an earlier post of mine on the Israeli idols of Elohim (link to my post). BJB writes: 1. The use of Elohim (God or “gods”) is inconclusive. It may refer to Yahweh, but does not have to. Something else would have to suggest…
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Did Israel Ever Make Idols of God?
Introduction Some people wonder whether perhaps the 2nd commandment’s prohibition on idolatry is limited to making idols of false gods. One of the questions asked is whether Israel ever made idols of the true God, or whether the idols were always of false gods. There are two or three times that come to mind when…
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"We Don’t Worship Statues"
How many times have I heard the line, “We don’t worship statues”! It seems that whenever one brings up the subject of idolatry with a Roman Catholic, they invariably think it is a defense that they are not venerating the statue itself, but the thing it represents. My intuitive response has typically been: do you…
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Valid or Invalid Comparison?
How dare I suggest that this story (link) about an Indian idol’s problem with folks outdoing themselves by giving their idols large crowns have anything to do either with this photo of an idol to Mary (attempted image of Jesus in the background) or these similar idols (first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and…
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Back to Guadalupe – Miraculous Preservation?
Mr. Bellisario has started a new podcast, the “Catholic Champion Podcast” (link to episode 1). In this podcast he complains about a lot of things. He complains about me calling his idol “an idol.” He complains about me calling the worship of the idol “worship.” He complains about me “mocking” his idol and idolatry. His…