Are Christians Idolators?
Posted on: July 22, 2010 - 10:23pm
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Are Christians Idolators?
Idolatry is a concept that appears to trace its origins to a form of jewish words meaning 'foreign worship'. For this reason and thanks to their fixation on figurines of jesus on the cross, I believe that christians are guilty of idolatry - as are all those who endeavour to morph almighty god into an anthropomorphic man-thing in their minds' eyes.
What do people think? Are christians guilty?
"Experiments are the only means of knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination." Max Planck
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-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
Veneration of icons, relics, saints and holy men is also a form of idolatry.
Encouraging this is a great method for harnessing the pre-existing superstitions of the populace.
Stalin knew this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theotokos_of_Vladimir
The venerated image was used in celebration of coronations of tsars, elections of patriarchs, and other important ceremonies of state. In December 1941, as the Germans approached Moscow, Stalin allegedly ordered that the icon be placed in an airplane and flown around the besieged capital. Several days later, the German army started to retreat.
Franco was also a keen idolator:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/libby_purves/article4887190.ece
I made a programme about relics once - sparked off by discovering that Generalissimo Franco had Teresa of Avila's severed hand on his bedside table - and talked to many aficionados. The Anglican Bishop Graham Leonard (who later converted) carried a bit of St Philip Neri's kneebone in his pocket. Bishop Worlock of Liverpool, a palpably holy man, spoke eloquently of the awe he felt in the presence of ancient relics. '
Teresa of Avila is one of the more entertaining Catholic saints. Bits of her body are all over the place.
She is the patron saint of lacemakers and headaches.
Remember touchdown jesus? If that isn't idolatry I don't know what is. Have to give it to them though, christians are persistent. Zeus strikes down their idol and they are all ready to blow a few more million on a new statue. The amazing thing to me is how blind most christians are to the hypocrisy of their own churches. I wonder how many catholics notice how opulent their church is and think to themselves "maybe this money could be spent elsewhere" but for some reason they continue to give their 10%. Are they blind to it? Or do they just continue doing it to fit in with their social circle?
If, if a white man puts his arm around me voluntarily, that's brotherhood. But if you - if you hold a gun on him and make him embrace me and pretend to be friendly or brotherly toward me, then that's not brotherhood, that's hypocrisy.- Malcolm X
Well, many denominations level the charge of idolatry at each other. For example, the baptists think that the catholics are idolaters because of the veneration of Mary.
On the other hand, I remember back in the early 80's, there was an up and coming seventh day Adventist who make the evening news for invading his own church with K-mart camos and daisy bb rifles, all in the name of collecting evidence of “corpse abuse”. It seemed that a rival for control of the church had announced that he was going to prove that he was like the 6th coming by resurrecting his mother who had claimed the title of the 5th coming. Mr. Kmart rifle guy would later become famous as David Koresh of Waco Texas.
They are all nuts as far as I am concerned.
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