V
VesselofMercy
Guest
In your own understanding, what exactly constitutes idolatry? How do you know if something is idolatry or not? Is this a sin many people struggle with?
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J
JRKH
Guest
Idolatry is placing something else before God.
Yes many people struggle with Idolatry.
Peace
James
Yes many people struggle with Idolatry.
Peace
James
C
ClearWater
Guest
Idolatry is putting something over God…could be money, sports, a person. We don´t have as much problem nowadays with a golden calf, but it’d be more likely something else…computer, work,…whatever.
M
MacQ
Guest
J
JRKH
Guest
M
MacQ
Guest
I might have to read it again in purgatory…
(by that I mean I can never achieve its ends in this life, and it is a book that (for me anyway) was above my intellect grade at times…but the parts I got were very enlightening, and thought provoking).
J
JRKH
Guest
What I liked so much about it was how it tended to cut through a lot of "layers’ of theology and doctrine and rules etc. and got down to the basics.
Jesus presented us with a very great challenge - to live by the simplest, yet difficult, standard…Love.
Peace
James
M
MacQ
Guest
Yes indeed. And it’s a tall order.
The biggest takeaway message for me was the idea that we cannot possibly love God the same way He loves us…and that our sole purpose here is to learn that kind of love (practicing on our ‘neighbor’).
I used thoughts from the book in a recent presentation on sin (to RCIA).
J
JRKH
Guest
T
thistle
Guest
Modern Catholic Dictionary:
IDOLATRY. Literally “the worship of idols,” it is giving divine honors to a creature. In the Decalogue it is part of the first commandment of God, in which Yahweh tells the people, “You shall have no gods except me. You shall not make yourself a carved image [Greek eidōlon, idol] or any likeness of anything in heaven or on earth or in the waters under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them” (Exodus 20:4-5).
The early Christians were martyred for refusing to worship idols, even externally, but practical idolatry is a perennial threat to the worship of the one true God. Modern secularism is a form of practical idolatry, which claims to give man “freedom to be an end unto himself, the sole artisan and creator of his own history.” Such freedom, it is said, “cannot be reconciled with the affirmation of a Lord who is author and purpose of all things,” or at least that this freedom “makes such an affirmation altogether superfluous” (Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Church, 51).
Idolatry is always gravely sinful. Even under threat of death and without interiorly believing in the idol, a Christian may not give divine honors to a creature, thereby violating the duty of professing faith in God.
M
mikekle
Guest
I think our modern society is sort of set up to literally force a large percentage of us into worshiping the ‘golden calf’, as in money, power, things, etc.
For proof of this, just look around at the people you know, more than likely they work 40+ hours a week, and most are living paycheck to paycheck, just to maintain a certain lifestyle…a lifestyle they are TOLD is what is most desirable, from the time we get our first job, after thats, its all about how much money you can make, how many things you have, etc. so little by little, each and every one of us ends up ‘worshiping’ the golden calf in one way or another.
I dont think this is coincidence either, I think the way our society is today, has been ‘structured’ long ago, to ensure a great majority of us end up worshiping idols without even knowing it, its disguised as other things today.
Satan is very sneaky and intelligent.
For proof of this, just look around at the people you know, more than likely they work 40+ hours a week, and most are living paycheck to paycheck, just to maintain a certain lifestyle…a lifestyle they are TOLD is what is most desirable, from the time we get our first job, after thats, its all about how much money you can make, how many things you have, etc. so little by little, each and every one of us ends up ‘worshiping’ the golden calf in one way or another.
I dont think this is coincidence either, I think the way our society is today, has been ‘structured’ long ago, to ensure a great majority of us end up worshiping idols without even knowing it, its disguised as other things today.
Satan is very sneaky and intelligent.
V
VesselofMercy
Guest
What exactly is “Divine honors”? And how do you determine if you are personally committing idolatry?
T
Tantum_ergo
Guest
It means that you treat some thing as if it were your god. You pay ‘it’ the same kind of ‘worship’ that you are supposed to give to God (and in so doing, you ignore and dismiss God Himself).
Well, personally committing idolatry? Ask yourself, “Am I living right now for Jesus? If people were being hauled off to prison for worshiping the One True God, would there be enough evidence to convict ME? If God were to appear to me and show me my life, would I be loving HIM most of all, or would I be chasing money, approval, power, material goods, another human being, and giving that all my love/attention?”
It’s good that you ask how we personally might commit idolatry, because we have to beware of judging the hearts of others. It might SEEM as if Mr Smith was treating football as an idol because every time we saw him he was talking about his team, stats, the past year, the year to come, the games he saw, the fantasy leagues, etc. . .Oh how tempting to call him an idolator. . .BUT what we might not see is that after Mr Smith leaves us, he goes home to his loving and loved family where he plays with his children, reads the Scripture, is involved in an on-line group where he uses sports imagery to encourage people to check out Scripture; that he coaches underprivileged kids, etc. IOW, Mr Smith really is just a person who has ONE engrossing hobby which he uses as a tool in what to him is his real mission --love of family, neighbors, and above all, God.
We have to be very careful that when we identify things that MAY be used as idols (and really that’s just about anything), we don’t automatically assume that because some people might go on lots of trips, or be involved in clubs, or talk about sports, money, entertainment figures etc in what WE think is ‘too much’, that these people are engaging in idolatry.
Because we might be going around looking all perfect and do all the talk about how we’re so all about God, and deep inside we might have raised up another idol ourselves–the ‘god’ we have made in our image who approves everything we say and do and is just like us, proving how perfect we are. . . The ‘hidden idol’.
It’s probably a good idea to find a spiritual director, or talk to one’s priest, who can help direct us with relevant Scripture or inspirational works based on same which can help us to know ourselves better, to root out incipient idols, and to work hard to develop an authentic and loving relationship with God.
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