What exactly is bad about idols

I don't believe in bad jk
It depends on what their purpose is.

i mean for worshipping purposes.

depends on what your worshipping for

Well they get a bad wrap because of the Bible. And keeping in mind how popular the Bible is, of course the word "idol" is going to have a stigma in relation to worship.

Idols have no power of their own. They are carvings of wood, and moulds of metal.

Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.
- Psalm 115:4-8

Those who make them become like them. Idols..... I dolls. The carvings of a craftsman, showing the craftmans skill - I dolls. Nothing more.

Why would anyone bow down to a useless piece of wood or metal is beyond me

That's why idols are wrong. But that's also just my opinion.

Regards, PA

In the same way people like you would bow down to God when you pray to him...even though you cannot see him you still show worship...people that worship idols feel they are right...guess what PA they are entitled to believe it to be so...so why say anything against them...it's unfair for you to say they are wrong, by doing so you do not think they have a right the only ones that have a right are the ones that worship the same God as you...now that to me shows ignorance I'm afraid

I was speaking from the Christians point of view. Yes, BM I do believe they are wrong. I believe everyone who has not accepted CHrist is also wrong. However, I am not going to force my beliefs onto another just to appease my own ego. I am not going to tie anyone down and force them to listen to my beliefs. Nor am I going to judge them, condemn them to some kind of pseudo-hell just because they disagree with me.

See what I'm saying?

Regards, PA

Thats PURE ignorance on your behalf PA...your bible has taught you to show ignorance towards other beliefs...so what makes your belief so right then huh? I mean like other faiths you too can't prove a darn thing can you? So everyone MUST accept christ do they? LOL PA again that is showing ignorance and you are making other christians look bad...you said - nor am I going to judge them...dude you just did you said their beliefs are wrong that to me is a judgement itself and ignorant

Some people pray to idols which in their imagination resembles their image of god. While the idols themselves do not have any meaning, many people often use them in their own way to concentrate and channel their prayers to god. Btw, according to all religions, isn't god supposed to be present everywhere...so why not in an idol? Would you spit on an idol of Christ, you wouldn't right? Why, may I ask? It's because you have a preconceived image of Christ who you believe is god and you cannot disgrace a representation of him, that's why. Similarly, some people use a material representation of god(idols), according to their beliefs to pray. It is people who give meaning to everyhting. Nothing is wrong about it.


In the same way you kneel and pray, in the same way you believe in holy water, in the same way as you close your eyes and pray, in the same way you sing hyms, <add here>...Methods of worship are different, intent is still the same.


lol just lol
I'm sorry but that's just sheer ignorance on your part.

Well said Bone Collector

Stating my belief is different to judging. In your belief I am wrong - is that also not a judgement, even if you are judging me for judging.

In these forums, I express my beliefs because this is the place to do so. Outside in the real world, I will not judge someone on whether they are Christian. I am not going to say, oh you're a Buddhist, you are less of a human than a CHristian.

the fact is, according to the Bible, it is the only way. Jesus speaking - I am the Way,the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me (John 14:6). Sorry, I had to quote that. You cannot be Christian and accept that there are other paths.

As I said, I'm not going to judge someone I meet on the basis of their faith. But for salvation, there is only one way, in my opinion.

Regards, PA

oh, bone_Collector - I don't care about a statue of Christ, or a cross. I don't believe in Holy Water, or in the sanctity of the Virgin Mary, or any other such.

Interesting. The idol isn't as popular as the Christian God. Is it really so different since you're putting faith in both? Oh wait, there is a difference. You can *see* the idol. But most people don't claim to see God. Seems like it would be less believable, to have faith in something invisible. But popularity changes that imo.

I think a lot of people use idols as a reminder to meditate and to symbolize the presence of a divine entity. I would hope that most aren't seriously worshipping a statue and thinking that this object can fulfill a prayer request. If a statue, though, can set forth a spiritual mindset towards an unseen perfect energy which can be tapped in to, I could see that as a good thing.

You are right popularity does change it as christianity is the biggest belief by far...but for those that worship an idol..that to me is intresting...these people believe that their God/Spirit is trapped inside their statue..its their belief and who am I to judge whether they are wrong or right....I say fair play to them...and fair play to those that worship more than one god

Well I've always thought that most of the people that "worshipped idols" had them as *representations* of their god. The same way a cat in Egypt would have been a representation of the goddess Bast.

Idols are represensations and nothing more

AHA you make a good point ...My own dad told me that before (he is big on acient Greeks & Egyptians faiths) But I am sure that a lot of people think that their God like spirit are within these statues.....everyone thinks differently each to their own

Well I have a statue of Heru in my room and it is just a representation.
It's missing the eye and everything

I'm just speculating, but I believe that at least some Sumerians may have worshipped idols literally, because they would give gifts to them and burn incense. But there had to be some who definitely saw them as representations only. Or perhaps the "spirit" within this object could come out.
edit:

Haru?

horus

He is also called Haru, the falcon. Gotcha though.

They are lots of ways for each netjer

I have to agree there. And the more you look into it, the more you see how other religions have copied them.

I know what you mean, many religions copied off of older ones

Saying that people who don't believe in Christ are wrong, isn't stating your beliefs- it's more like rediculing other's beliefs.


You can be Christian and still repect other paths.

Everybody has some kind of a preconceived picture or image of god in their own mind when they sit down to pray. Voluntarily or involuntarily this happens, no matter to which religion you belong or what your beliefs really are.

The human mind needs something to concentrate and channel it's thoughts, that is why there are so many churches, temples and so on with idols and pictorial respresentations of god according to each religion's own beliefs.

Nothing can be proven to be true with something written in some god damn religious books. You can jolly well follow whatever you like but you can't expect everybody else to. Everybody has a right to have their own beliefs, however ridiculous they might seem to others. You might think people of other religions to be wrong in doing certain things in certain ways, in the same way let me tell you...others might think of your religion and beliefs.

Sure there are more chistians in this world than poeple of any religion but that
doesn't necesarly make Christianity the only way and the right way. In 100...200 years, surely there will be more poeple in this world follwing Islam or even Hinduism ...much more than people following Christianity, then would their methods and beleifs be taken to be the methods and beliefs by Christians based on their popularity at that time? No, right?

You use your own methods, others use their's. It doesn't make your methods right and everbody else's wrong. See what I mean?

Well said BC I agree

Thing is PA will claim he does have respect for other beliefs but at the same time say their beliefs are WRONG..LOL that doesnt make any sense but PA may very well try and make it out that it does make sense...when it really doesnt...like many christians will contradict one and other..much like their bible...Old & New Testaments..like they cant make up their minds which one is the right way or the wrong way....IE The Old Testament discrimaniates against women big time...then in the very same bible but a different testament..it says like wise...make up your minds already which is it? I mean that is just proof that the bible was re-written & tampered with again

What christians fail to see is that Jesus was never a christian cuz christians where never around back then...yet they claim that God is a christian one...how they can say that is beyond me

It is so wrong for a christian to preach his/her faith is the one and only true faith...and say that those who have different faiths will go to hell..thats so messed up and yet some will turn around and say ohh we respect other beliefs...but their beliefs are wrong...that is stupid and not to mention laughable.........they really dont have a right but do they care if they offend others?.Not a mission

You sure he just doesn't say that in his opinion they're wrong. If he thought they were right, he'd beleive what they believe. If you thought PA was right and not wrong, you'd believe what he beleives.... Although I even doubt he said your beliefs are wrong. I accept others beliefs wether I believe they're wrong or right. It doesn't matter if I think they're wrong or right, what matters is if I respect their opinion.

Exactly! Still people cannot see. It astonishes me as to how some people believe just about anything written on paper in several religious books. There seems to be no world beyond these books for them. Blind believers! Gosh!

I am not saying this in reference to Christianity but generally speaking...all religions are manipulated and molded according to existing beliefs, customs, traditions, regional interests, and such. This is for the people and done by the people to suit themselves.

He did say they where wrong but didn't add IMO and even if he did say it was his opinion...that to me is still putting down other faiths and shows ignorance

Zero you DO NOT have to think another religion is right...but at the same time you can respect it..there is a difference...like ie- I once told Anu that I disagreed with his beliefs in Gods but at the same time said I respected them...then it got me thinking hold up what if his Gods really do exsist?...from that day onwards I began to look at other faiths differently, and came to the conclusion that any one of them could be right..perhapps more than one..who's to say????

You just can't go around saying your faith is wrong you buddy are going to hell

It's much better to say....I don't agree with your faith but I do respect it very much so...and at the same time stating that no one knows who is going to hell or not and admitting you dont have the actual answer to proove it

Zero you and I believe in the same God but we both can't prove he exsists either...thats why its called a faith...a lot of christians forget about that...faith what is faith?

Now if you can't grasp what I am saying..then I dunno what to tell you...but what I have just typed out just now should be easy to understand

Indeed. I do not go around and tell people - You're wrong, you're wrong. You over there, just for good measure you're wrong too. I would never tell someone they are wrong. This is a spirituality forum, where we can all express our views. Just curious though, saying "You are wrong for saying others are wrong" - is this not also wrong?

That aside, to use an example. I was at my friends house about 3 weeks ago when their next door neighbour rocked around. She was drunk, swearing, and crying. Six months ago this neighbour's son was diagnosed with AIDS. After listening for a while, I got the gist - her son went to Melbourne to be an artist. he has artworks put up in the Melbourne museum of Art somewhere. He met his gay lover and unfortunately contracted HIV from that.

What to do, what to do? I could stay silent. I could give her a lecture on the evils of homosexuality, or if not about that, then about the wrongs of drinking to excess. I could do all these things, yes any of these i could do but I didn't!

I told her that her son has artworks in the museum. No matter what happens he will always have that legacy. Most of can live our full lives - live past a hundred, but never get anywhere close to the legacy that he will have. The brightest flame burns quickest. He may not have much more time to live, but he HAS lived every moment he had to the fullest, and provided something that people generations down the track can look upon in awe and wonder.

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While drinking to excess is wrong in my opinion, as is homosexuality, it is not my place to tell judge people and condemn them. I met this person for all of an hour. She does not know I am Christian, instead she knows me as the man who gave comfort, support and hope to her in her time of grief. CHristians, above and beyond anything else they are, they are supposed to Love their neighbour, treat them with respect, regardless of difference in beliefs.

See what I'm saying?

Regards, PA

Why can't he say that what I do is wrong, it doesn't hurt me

What has all this got to do with Christianity?
You have done what any good natured sensible person would do at such a moment, that is to comfort and support someone in their hour of crisis. Nobody goes preaching about religion and stuff and condemning people when they are up against something that really shatters their life. Well...on second thought, may be there are some people who do but let's not talk about such people right now.


Yes, we can all express our views in this forum and one of the forum rules is to respect the religious beliefs of other members. Now, saying that certain religious beliefs of some people are wrong isn't exactly respecting their beliefs, is it?


No it isn't. The topic that we are discussing right now is not sports, politics, history or such, where you can say a person is right or wrong when he states something, and can then support your argument by providing some proof which cannot be denied. We are speaking of spirituality and religion here where nothing is so far proven to be absolutely true. All that we can talk about this topic is about perceptions and beliefs. Nobiody can prove a darn thing from some religious scrolls ans scriptures and state something from it as a fact. So, while the truth is yet unknown, the topic is still open for debate. So, basically anything goes ... What you personally believe is only true to you, it needn't necessarily be true for anybody else.


While you can say that some things according to some religion can be a possibility, at the same time you cannot say something else concerning some other religion cannot be a possibility...because the fact is....truth is still unknown. That's why you're wrong in saying
others are wrong(concerning this topic). Now, do you understand why?

Btw, I am not standing up for some particular relgious beliefs. I don't have any. I'm just standing up for people's right to believe in whatever they want.


Well ...may be because everbody else might not be as unsure about their beliefs as you probably are about yours.

Very well put BC

I'm not unsure about my beliefs.

Idols are part of some people's faiths, and some arent. You cannot say that for sure they are wrong or right, apart from what your opinion is.

I think that monotheistic faiths frown upon it because you are worshipping something made by human hands, thus it cannot be perfect and cannot contain the Divine.

Others dont worship them, but rather have it as a representation.
And some do worship it.

Different folks, different strokes.

What I dont understand is why there are statues in Churches? Isnt this a sort of idol worship when people pray to it? Just raising a thought. Dont mean to offend anyone.

God Bless.
A-A

"Lest ye corrupt yourselves and make ye a graven image..."
Deuteronomy 4:16
And it goes on to say whether it is a similarity to male, female, animals, etc.
I think a while back someone was asking if saints were idols. I'd say no because you aren't supposed to worship them. Some honor them but they are not an object of worship.

But Christians will kneel in front of a cross and pray.

To me that's where it gets tricky because I cannot speak for everyone's intention. I know not everyone is praying *to* the cross or worshipping this cross. They just use it as a mere representation. Funny how a lot of us agreed that some idols are just mere representations.

It depends what branch of Christianity, and what kind of church. The largest cross in my church is all of six inches long, and is glued to the lectrum (come to think of it, it's the only cross in my church - there's one outside the church above the entrance, but that's it from memory). I have never met anyone, Christian or otherwise, who kneels and prays at a cross, or over a cross in any way.

If they did, even if they were worshipping something greater than the cross, I would still think they are worshipping an idol.

But that's just my opinion.

Personally, I don't get into idols. It's just not my thing. But I figure whatever floats your boat, so be it.

The cross is the traditional sign of Christianity is it not...and can be classified as an idol.

Well in the Churches Ive been to, Ive seen many people kneel and pray *to* a statue. I know some of them have the intent of the statue being mere representation, but then again, some dont.

I guess its like I said before. Different folks, different strokes.

zandore, I agree with you. For some people, yes.

Arent depictions of saints and Jesus idols too?

I would consider them a "graven image". But in order for it to be an idol by most definitions, they have to be worshipped.

Yeah true that. I was thinking though that people treat these statues and pictures with extreme respect, as though they dont want to harm them or offend them. Could be a form of subconscious worship.

I believe an idol can be anyone as well as anything that someone worships. IMO, it can be dangerous to worship a person as an idol. It bothers me that there are several people in my church who quote our pastor verbatim. While there's nothing wrong with that sometimes, it makes me wonder if they have any opinion of their own. Don't get me wrong, I really like my pastor. It's just that I listen to his teachings and choose to form my own opinion instead of just taking his word for it. Most of the time I agree w/what he has to say but on certain things I just don't see eye to eye with him.

I agree especially in the Catholic church

Sorry to knock the catholic church but they pray to a graven image it is wrong. Therefore leading people into false doctrine and abominations. Gee why did New orleans get hit so hard? Could it have been mardi gra? hhhmm must look closer to the big picture of just what's going on in the world. India, sri lanka, Idol worshiping area?