What are idols? There are objects and images of worship. In the traditional sense they are made of metal, clay, wood, and other elements. Typically they are fashioned into something like pole, a person, or power god. Pagans since paradise was lost have made idols to worship. But are there idols among us today? Is the Church erecting them in their own homes?
Most would claim they have no idols. That there home is hollowed before the Lord. But if we took an honest look what would we find? From childhood to adulthood people become infatuated with worlds in fiction. When they devote themselves to places like A Galaxy Far, Far, Away..., Middle-Earth, The Final Frontier, Time Travel, Halo, or the Mushroom Kingdom do they erect idols? Upon searching a Ringer or Trekkie's home you would find symbols, images, and perhaps items from franchise which could denote idolatry & worship; but the more sinister form of the idolatry is in digital imagery!
When people are pulled from the things of God and find themselves spending time watching films, playing video games, reading books, chatting on forums, and other media are they not in idolatry? They would rather be on battlefields of Endor and Middle-Earth than be reading the Bible. The images, whither they be photo, digital video, scenes from video game, and everything in between become the idols. Each pixel becoming piece of the idol for worship.
Idolatry has come to the 21 Century. It is not merely made of clay, stone, wood, bone, or metal. It is in millions of pixels, cyberspace, and other medias to reach the devoted fans. Fandom by definition has worship involved in it. Fans who go to sports games wave their hands in air and shout for their favorite players and team; which is similar to worshipping God! While many have said money and sports can be god or a religion; what about the those things people spend more time seeking, learning, and devoting time to then Jesus Christ?
What drives this Neo-idolatry home is the fact that all the fantasy realms are steeped in ancient pagan mythology and religion. Star Wars is hybrid blend of Buddhist, Hindu, and New Age belief systems with some White and Black Magic. Tolkien's Tales like The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are Norse legends (see the Ring Saga by the Nordic people). Star Trek is compilation of different belief systems with Judaism embodied in the Vulcans and Shintoism with the Klingons. Halo is both Norse and Greek mythology and religion, allowing players to wear the armor of Thor (MJOLINER) and destroy ships like "Truth and Reconciliations" and enemies called The Prophets who are dressed like clergymen in Catholic Church. The Mario Bros. is set in a fungi kingdom where a fire demon (Japanese name for Bowser) is the primary antagonist and characters like Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, and Princess Peach travel through warp pipes all over the kingdom (something witches call tunnels and how they travel out of body).
The modern idols are cleaver combination of entertainment, digital pixels, and virtual identity. They draw people devotion, even Christians and undermine the Christian faith with mythologies, pagan gods, and comfort in the form of fantasy. These modern idols are dangerous, for the Lord said, "You shall have no other gods besides me. You shall not make for yourself an idol of any kind or image in heaven (celestial/angels and space/stars), on the earth, beneath the earth, or in the waters below." (Exodus 20:3-4). Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ affirms this commandment, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, this is the greatest commandment, and second it like it, love your neighbor as you love yourself. By this the whole law (of Moses, including Ten Commandments), and prophets are fulfilled." (Matthew 22:37-40).
Jesus also said, "You can serve only one of two masters, you will love one and hate the other, you cannot serve God and Mammon." (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13). Idolatry is adultery. It is adultery on the One True God! We consider adultery an evil thing, even in society today and call it betrayal; well idolatry is the same thing but its betraying God and having sex with other gods! Yes I am going to be that blunt. To participate in idolatry is an emotional affair between you and other gods. It can even lead to actual sex because many pagan gods have orgies and sexual immorality are forms of worship. We are married to God, the One True God who is Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit. To commit idolatry is to cheat on our spouse who is the Creator and Savior. I would say its time to assess your loyalties, for the time is short. Whom do you serve? Jesus Christ or the gods of money, entertainment, and paganism?
Citation:
The idea for this post, the concept of modern idols and what they are, as explained in the post came from my Mentor and Matriarch. I have extrapolated out the concept and even discovered something more disturbing, but my Mentor contributed and came up with the idea, name "modern idols", and what they are. I took it beyond into that idols are not just memorabilia of movies, video games and so forth, but the actual pixels and images you see digitally. This post is in my own words and view on the subject, but the foundation for it came from my mentor in the Lord.
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