1) please provide a Biblical definition of a false idol, or an idolatror; cite context if Scripture is used.
2) find a verse, Old or New Testament, that forbids Scripture in art form.
Your insult collapses before you even start.
Deuteronomy 4:16
Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure,
the likeness of male or female, worship the work of thine hands
Would this verse not cover a figure, or a statue of a female person like Mary ?
Idolatry is just as common today as it was in the Stone Age. Of course, the materials,
technologies, trends and fashions are much different than they were then.
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“Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” God continued (Exodus 20:1-3).
That word before means “in place of.” God must have first place in our lives
—always; without exception. This First Commandment forbids man from placing
anyone or anything in front of God. It forbids idolatry.
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or
any likeness of any thing that is
in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a
jealous God …”
This commandment obviously forbids the use of any physical substitutes or aids man sets
up in order to “worship” God. But what about the spiritual idols we set up in our hearts,
as it says in Ezekiel 14:3? We may not bow down to any physical idols made of stone,
wood or precious metal, but our modern world is filled with idolatry, just the same!
For us, it may be an inordinate love of self—or vanity—as it was with Lucifer. His heart
was lifted up because of his own beauty—so much so that he wanted to raise his earthly
throne above his own Creator’s (Ezekiel 28:17; Isaiah 14:13).
Maybe it’s pursuing the physical beauty of others that we place in front of God. Just look
at how our Western culture glamorizes beauty, among women especially—as if good looks
and a youthful appearance are all that matters. It seems the reverential treatment of
celebrity icons has reached near-saturation point in society today.
Perhaps it’s physical wealth and materialism that prevents us from putting God first, like
the young man who told Jesus he had obeyed all of God’s commandments since the days
of his youth. But when Jesus told him to give up his earthly possessions, he went away
sorrowful because his heart was so attached to material things.
Some make an idol out of gluttony, drunkenness and other such addictions. Instead of looking
to God in time of need, they turn to physical substances in order to cope or to escape.
Still others insist on putting friends or family members ahead of God. They would rather
give God second or third place in their lives than face alienation from loved ones over
their obedience to God’s laws.
Whatever it is, if we place it ahead of God and living according to His laws, it becomes a
false god! If it interferes with our relationship with God, the Bible says, then it becomes
an idol—and it must be crushed!
“Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry,” Paul wrote to the brethren at Corinth,
well over a thousand years after Israel had come out of Egyptian captivity. He knew well
that the idolatry command was not meant for some bygone age. It was written for us.
Like the rest of the Ten Commandments, it applies to our time today!
Keep yourselves from idols, as John wrote to conclude his first epistle. Give God first place
in your life. Make your relationship with Him more important than anyone or anything else.
Nothing in this material life, after all, is as important as that.
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