Christian Idols

 

“Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.” (1 Corinthians 10:14)

In Ephesus it is reported that there were over 60,000 idols of various gods in the city. There was even a joke that there were “more gods (idols) than people,” in the city. The Greek City was hub for idol making, and when the apostle Paul came and preached a God not of stone, but flesh and blood who lives not in statues or temples but inside all believers, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17), it goes without saying it caused a stir. 

In fact the early church was labeled athiests because they had no visible gods of stone, wood, or clay. Like the Jews from which Christians were an offshoot, the rule was no idols, but a living God who though unseen could be heard and felt, and then this God took human form and could be touched and seen in the flesh, Jesus of Nazareth. 

The Church did not have images, or temples of stone. There was no need to make a statue of The Word of God or make a shrine to the Holy Spirit. God as the song goes “was on the move,” (7eventh Time Down)  and we were to be different from the other religions that carried their gods in marble, cedar, and clay busts; we carry our God in our person, seen through us. It was to be dramatic opposite of the pagan pantheons that need human made statuettes. Christianity like its parent Judaism was to be different, God tabernacling in us and with us, not bound to stonework and idols, “What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (2 Corinthians 6:16). We went one step further in God’s plan than our Jewish forerunners, while they felt they needed a Temple of Stone for God, we became the living flesh and spirit temples of God, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19-22). In fact, God never wanted a temple of stone (2 Samuel 7:1-7), nor does God dwell in buildings and temples of stone, “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.” (Acts 17:24), “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands,” (Acts 7:48). Sadly this uniqueness of our faith where there are no temples of stone or idols ended. Man not content with the freedom of God living in each Christian, rebuilt temples and turned the word Church or Ecclesia from being the body or community of Christians into the name of buildings of wood and stone. Idols soon followed as Emperor Constantine and his cohorts, pagan priests made into Christian priests and idol makers took images of Zeus and placed a pagan nimbus or halo with a cross behind his head to now make him Jesus. Soon more followed, images of Diana/Artemis was co-opted and turned into Mary Theotokios and Mary Queen of Heaven. In time other saints joined this pantheon of stone idols and even took on pagan and superstitious powers, certain saint statues would heal you like St. Jude, and others like St. Josephus helps you sell your house. This in total opposition to Scriptures that say, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.,” (1 John 5:21), “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the Son of Man Christ Jesus,” (1 Timothy 2:5), “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths,” (Proverbs 3:5-6), and “Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” (Luke 4:8). We are commanded to not trust in anything save the Lord God Trinity. 

Making Idols for the church would become a major business like that of Ephesus and its 60,000 statues of gods. To this day The Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Churches sell images of stone and wood to give supernatural blessings and powers to people; no need to actually talk to Jesus, just stare at a angry icon of Him or three dimensional statue of Him.  Now Eastern Christians will claim their icons arn’t idols because they arn’t three dimensional, but the powers and trust they place in icons and the witchcraft like portals and time travel abilities they ascribe to them creates idolatry; idolatry isn’t just the presence of a graven image, but when your heart trusts in something other than the Living Lord God, and you become dependent on that thing; it can even be a ritual, money, drug, person, and etc that becomes an idol. 

Churches who use images will say its only to inspire faith and represent things in heaven and truths in Scripture in art form. They will cite the Cherubim Angels on the Ark of the Covenant and the Bronze Serpent in the Wilderness. I have even cited these as examples that the Lord God is not against all images. Nor is this post calling iconoclasm. What I am saying is idols exist in the Church and we no longer look different than the other religions. Our golden altar crosses and statues of the apostles go nicely next to Hindu idols of Vishnu and the Golden Buddhas, and so on. In short it looks no different. When we were suppose to be different, we are meant to be the Image of God, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them,” (Genesis 1:27), not statues of marble, cedar, and clay! We are living images of God! This is even more so that Christ our God lives inside us!  (1 John 4:16, Romans 8:10, John 14:23, Ephensians 3:17). We are even more the Image of God, Live and breathing, not motionless and dead stonework! Why have we settled for looking like all those other false religions? Maybe its time to stop carving images and be the image of God made us to be. We are suppose to be image of God, not statues! Amen.