Idolatry

Idolatry (from the Greek: eidolon (idol) + latria (worship)) refers to one of the cardinal sins of the Abrahamic traditions: the worship of idols. In the Jewish and Islamic traditions, idolatry is specifically defined as the creation of any representation of the Divine, or the worship of any such image. Christianity, on the other hand, is more permissive, defining idolatry as the erroneous worship of an image, idea or object in place of the worshipping the Triune God (The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit). In most cases, images of Jesus, the human personification of God, are explicitly not forbidden.

The original Hebrew terms for idolatory include avodah zarah ("foreign worship") and avodat kochavim umazalot ("the worship of planets and constellations"). The Greek etymology, in turn, appears to be a loan translation of the Hebrew phrase avodat elilim, which is attested to in later rabbinic literature (e.g., bChul., 13b, Bar.) but is absent in the Septuagint, and other Hellenistic Jewish writings. The first occurences of the term in Greek are found in the New Testament, where it appears in the letters of Paul, Peter, and Revelation, and has a decidedly derogatory meaning. Regardless of the mode of linguistic transmission, it is undeniable that idolatry (as a concept) has had a tremendously negative impact on interreligious dialogue, as it is primarily used to demonize traditions with different worship practices.

"The Adoration of the Golden Calf" by Nicolas Poussin. The worship of images is considered to be a form of idolatry by Judaism.

Idolatry in Judaism

Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible presents what is likely the first conceptualization of idolatry in human religious history. In its account, image worship was common in the time of Abraham, the patriarch called upon to spread the knowledge of the Hebrew God (YHWH). Abraham's father, Terah, was both an idol manufacturer and worshipper of a multiplicity of gods (Joshua 24:2). It is said that when Abraham discovered the oneness of the true God, he destroyed his father's idols. A significant portion of the Torah records the struggle between various partiarch's attempts to spread pure monotheism, and the tendency of some people, especially rulers such as Ahab, to accept or to encourage others into polytheistic ("idolatrous") beliefs. This struggle is significant because those worshipping images are in direct violation of the Ten Commandments, the most concise summation of early Israelite law.

The Second Commandment declares idolatry to be a sin: "Thou shalt not make unto me 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..." (Exodus 20.4-5). This follows the First Commandment, where God decrees that the Isrealites must acknowledge no gods other than He. Thus, the conceptual link is clear: denial of idols is closely related to the monotheistic faith of the Semitic community. Indeed, many of the commandments in the Hebrew Bible repudiated the practices of pagans who lived amongst the Israelites at the time, including the polytheistic Canaanites, Mesopotamians and Egyptians. Each of these religions used icons in order to worship their various gods.

Apparently, these iconoclastic teachings were still being questioned into the prophetic period, as those books reflect a continuing struggle against idol worship. For example, the Biblical prophet Jeremiah complains: "According to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah" (2:28). Many of the pre-exilic prophets argued that images were dangerous because they existed apart from god. After the first exile (in 587), the prophets rallied the Jewish people again, claiming that distancing themselves from idolatry was essential for retaining Jewish monotheism, and maintaining Jewish culture and religion. These teachings helped the early Jews to mainatin a united front, even when Emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes' attempted to syncretize the numerous gods that existed within his empire.

There are a number of admonishments on the subject of idolatry found throughout the Torah. The Bible has many terms for idolatry, and their usage represents the horror with which they filled the writers of the Bible. Thus idols are stigmatized as "non-God" (Deut. 32:17, 21 [1]; Jer. 2:11 [2]), "things of naught" (Lev. 19:4 et passim [3]), "vanity" (Deut. 32), "iniquity" (1 Sam. 15:23 [4] ), "wind and confusion" (Isa. 41:29 [5]), "the dead" (Ps. 106:28 [6]), "carcasses" (Lev. 26:30; Jer. 16:18), "a lie" (Isa. 44:20 et passim [7]), and similar epithets. Taking these verses together, idolatry in the Hebrew Bible can be summarily defined as the worship of idols (or images), the worship of polytheistic gods by use of idols (or images), the general worship of animals or people, and even the use of idols in the worship of the one God. This final definition is the basis of Judaism' strict monotheism. In a number of places, the Hebrew Bible makes it clear that God has no shape or form, meaning that no idol or image could ever capture God's essence.

Rabbinnic Tradition

Although the battle against idolatry was a central theme in the Hebrew Bible, it gradually faded into the background of Judaic thought during the period of the Second Temple. During this time, temples dedicated to Mesopotamian and Babylonian gods were no longer considered significant threats to the Judaic religion. However, passages in the Talmud still maintain the strong iconoclastic sentiments. For instance, the Talmudic Tractate Avodah Zarah (translating to "Idolatry") provides a thorough criticism of the pagan culture that spawned "idolatrous" beliefs, and stipulates the types of contact permissable between Jews and Pagans. Another Talmudic commentary from Sifre Deuteronmium 28 claims that "Whoever endorses idolatry, rejects the entire Torah; and whoever renounces idolatry, accepts the entire Torah." As can be seen, these passages overtly state that one's stance towards idolatrous behaviour is the single determinant factor of one's status as a Jew.

A similar line of thought was propounded by Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides (1135–1204 C.E.), who revisited the Biblical injunctions against idolatry as a means of critiquing the increasingly anthropomorphic conceptions of God that were then popular in European Christianity. When these conceptions began to find favour among the Jewish community, Moses Maimonides responded by outlining thirteen principles that he thought characterized orthodox Judaism. The third of these is an affirmation: "I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is not a body, and that He is free from all the properties of matter, and that there can be no (physical) comparison to Him whatsoever." The near-universal acceptance of these principles by diverse Jewish groups into the present day shows that disdain for idolatry has remained an important element of Jewish practice.

Contemporary Judaism

In addition to the general prohibition of (religious) idolatry, contemporary Judaism also holds that any belief or practice that significantly interferes with a Jew's relationship with God may be deemed idolatry. This broad definition could include such diverse "sins" as extreme nationalism or greed (excessive pursuit of money).

In addition, many modern Jews believe that idolatry is not limited to the worship of an idol, but also involves worshiping any artistic representations of God. Jews do not produce paintings, sculptures or drawings of God. Most Jews will even avoid writing out the full name of God, as the written word itself implies a kind of depiction which could be considered idolatrous. Hence, the spelling "G-d" is commonly used as a representation of the Divine. This can be seen as a modern (English-language) version of the Tetragrammaton, the ineffable name of God that is not to be read aloud and is represented in scripture as the four letter combination YHWH.

Idolatry in Christianity

Apostolic & Patristic Periods

Early Christianity adopted the same negative sentiments toward idolatry as their Jewish predecessors. A major reason that these teachings flourished is that many of the non-Jewish converts came from pagan traditions, and they wanted to divorce themselves from their former polytheistic beliefs. Reflecting this, the New Testament provides opposition to the use of idols. For example, Paul's first letter to the Corinthians (10:19) notes that the veneration of idols is essentially the veneration of demons. Likewise, similar viewpoints are visible among both the Greek and Latin apologists. Justin Martyr forwarded his predecessor's diatribes against idol worship, but was even more critical of those who worshipped natural entities (such as earth, water and the sun). Tertullian argues that statues are only matter, comparing them to the banal, everyday objects of domestic life. Further, he denigrates the value of painting, sculpture and other artistic endeavours, claiming these are merely shrouds for idolotrous yearnings. Finally, St. Augustine of Hippo, the most influential of the early Church Fathers, claimed that idolatry presented an opportunity for demons to invade the person of the idolator. Also, he stated that all pagan gods were merely extensions of mortal men who entered into the hearts of human beings and compelled them to confound parts of God's creation with parts of God Himself.

Byzantine Iconoclasm

In an edict in 730 C.E., Byzantine Emperor Leo III outlawed the worship of all religious images, save for religious symbols such as the cross. The ban on icons was maintained under Leo's son Constantine V, who summoned a council of bishops in Hieria in 754 that was later dubbed "the Iconoclast Council." Monasteries argued vehemently in favour of icon veneration, producing such works as St. John of Damascus' "On the Divine Image," which puts forth the thesis that the incarnation of Christ indicates a shift in god's nature from invisibile to visible. As a result, he deems it permissible to depict Jesus Christ. He also defends external acts of honour towards icons, since the acts go beyond the image and connect with the prototype of Christ within. Instead of replying to such arguments, Constantine V ordered the destruction of all icons and halted the invocation of saints. Such iconoclasm continued until Leo IV's (775-80) wife Irene took power and initiated the Second Council of Nicaea (or the Seventh Ecumenical Council), which eventually codified terms for the proper veneration of icons and unanimously reversed the decrees of the previous iconoclast council. This lasted until Emperor Leo V instituted a second period of Iconoclasm in 813, again with fear that icon veneration was becoming idolotrous. Leo was succeeded by Michael II, who confirmed the decrees of the Iconoclast Council of 754. Michael was, in turn, succeeded by his son, Theophilus, whose wife Theodora took the throne after his death and restored the use of icons in 843.

The Protestant Reformation

Following the Iconoclast Controversy, idolatry was a non-issue for several centuries, as both the Catholic and Orthodox churches resumed using images and icons of angels and saints as objects of veneration. However, with the onset of the Protestant Reformation the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, dissidents began to openly criticize the Catholic church. Foremost among the issues attacked by Protestant reformers (including Andreas Karlstadt, Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin) was the Church's practice of iconic veneration. For these thinkers, such actions resembled the idolatrous practices prohibited by the Bible. Among Protestant congregations, this led to calculated efforts to suppress images. Calvin, for instance, insisted that the interior of churches be unadorned, often demanding that church walls be white-washed to cover images of saints and other religious figures. In addition, each of these Reformers proclaimed seperately that these images should be destroyed. As the Reformation grew in momentum throughout Europe, some icons and images were damaged by rioting groups, while others were removed in a more orderly fashion by civil authorities. Protestant Reformers, however, were not ubiquitously hostile to the use of religious images. In fact, Martin Luther, who spurred on the Reformation, actually supported the use of religious icons, so long as they did not displace God in the act of worship.

Contemporary Christianity

Contemporary Christian views of idolatry may be divided into two general categories: the Catholic and Orthodox assemblies who use icons, and the (conservative) Protestant groups who consider such iconography to be idolatrous. The former group defends iconolatry by saying that these objects are filled with God's grace and power, a belief that denies their classification as "hollow forms" - meaning that they are not idols. Evidence for the use of such articles, they claim, is found in the Old Testament and in Early Christian worship.

Iconography is, of course, particularly important in the Eastern Orthodox tradition. Though they acknowledge the doctrinal prohibition on the worship of idols, they contrast this with the veneration of highly stylized religious pictures, which is not only allowed but is considered an obligation. In the Byzantine tradition, these paintings are actually seen as windows into the transcendent truth of god. As such, Orthodox churches are adorned (both inside and outside) with frescoes and icons. The icons are often placed on an iconostasis, a wall of icons separating the nave and the congregation from the sanctuary in a church. This type of veneration is also practiced in the Catholic Church, though the emphasis is not as great as in the Orthodox tradition.

Fundamentalist Protestants often accuse Catholic and Orthodox Christians of traditionalism, idolatry, paganism and iconolatry for not excising the use of images from their worship. Most Protestant groups avoid the use of images in any context suggestive of veneration, though some Protestant sects do not object to their use for inspiration and education. Some icons may be present within some "high" Protestant denominations (such as Anglicanism), but they are not employed in the same manner or to the same degree as in the Orthodox tradition. Conversely, some of the more conservative Protestant groups have maintained the staunch iconoclasm of the Reformation period and avoid the use of any religious images, as they are seen as potential incitements to idolatry. Puritan Protestant groups, for example, have adopted a view comparable to Islam, which denounces all forms of religious objects.

Christian Attitudes towards Other Religions in the Context of Idolatry

Christian theology requires proselytizing, using missionaries to spread the faith by gaining converts. This has brought Christianity into contact with a wide variety of other religions throughout its history. The predominant negative Christian view towards idolatry has often led to the demonization of other religions, and even the villification of other Christian denominations. Up until modern times, it would appear that most Christian groups, Protestant or otherwise, generally condemned non-Christian religions as forms of idolatry. The Catholic missionary Saint Francis Xavier, for example, referred to Hinduism as idolatry, and Protestant Christian apologetics make similar claims about various non-Christian religions. However, with the increase in ecumenical studies and interfaith dialouge, such intolerance is rapidly being overcome.

Idolatry in Islam

Qur'an and Shirk

As could be expected from its Abrahamic roots, Islam inherited the Judeo-Christian attitudes toward idolatry. Throughout the Qu'ran, anti-idolatrous sentiments are expressed even more vehemently than in the Hebrew Bible. This is likely because Islamic monotheism arose in contrast to the polytheistic worship that was common among Arab tribes and in the Kabbah before the rise of the prophet Mohammed. These tribes usually venerated their gods through the use of stones, which were either raised or smeared with sacrificial blood. The Qu'ran, when describing these stones, speaks of them as idols and roundly condemneds them. It states that idols are the enemy of God's true followers, and should be destroyed in much the same way as Abraham smashed the idols of his neighbours (21:52-70).

The Qu'ran also introduces the term shirk (loosely translated as "sharing as an equal partner"), which refers to the mortal sin of polytheism. For Mohammed, shirk refers to the association of one god or several gods with the one true God (51:51). This sin was seen as so blasphemous that shirk is considered to be the antithesisof the concept of muslim ("believer"). In Surah 9:114, Mohammed implores Muslims to avoid such people at all costs, even if they are kinfolk.

This vocabulary of shirk was developed and refined by later Muslim theologians, some of whom considered shirk to be an offense that included the common pagan practice of giving God the attributes of His creation (See al-Asma was-Sifat or The Names and Attributes of Allah). In this light, idolatry can be described as shirk by humanization, which refers to Allah being given the form and qualities of either human beings or animals. In light of this sin, images of God are banned outright in most sects of Islam, as an attempt to reinforce absolute monotheism and to eliminate all traces of idolatry. Furthermore, most sects of Islam forbid any artistic depictions of human figures, particularly of Mohammed, as these are also considered akin to idolatry. Another form of shirk that relates to Islamic doctrines of idolatry is in the category of Shirk in al-'Ebadah (Worship), and is called Ash-Shirk al-Akbar (Major Shirk). Major Shirk occurs when any act of worship is directed at something other than Allah. It represents the most obvious form of idolatry and is the same sin that all Abrahamic prophets have cautioned against. Thus, through their proscriptions concerning shirk, later jurists and systematizers were able to build upon the Qu'rannic injunctions against idolatry.

Idolatry and Eastern Religions

Hinduism

The Hindu tradition, with its understanding of multiple paths to salvation, is (largely) free of the dogmatism that has inspired the various Abrahamic traditions in their critiques of idolatry. Typically, Hinduism teaches that because humans are sensory beings we have a need to visualize God with form. Consequently, the vast majority of Hindus accept murti (icon worship) as an important part of religious observance.

While Christian missionaries and iconoclastic Hindu traditions have equated murti worship with idolatry, the bhakti devotionalists rebut by claiming that they are only worshiping the image or statue as a representative of (or a conduit to) a higher ideal or principle. The idol is merely a physical object until God is invoked in it, and then it serves as a means to focus the mind and meditate on God. This belief is congruent with the monistic emphasis of the tradition, which stresses the omnipresence of the Divine.

Nevertheless, some Hindu sects (like the Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj) do not believe in using murtis as a way to focus on God, since they choose to singularly worship the undifferentiated Brahman. Other sects argue that the human mind needs an Ishta Deva (chosen deity) to aid concentration upon the Divine principle during sadhana (spiritual exercise). In particular, some Hindu sects like ISKCON will only consent to the worship of icons that they consider to be representations of the supreme God (in the case of ISKCON, Vishnu or his avatar Krishna).

Buddhism

Although the Buddha is said to have asked that no statues be made in his honour, numerous images and icons have nonetheless been dedicated to him throughout history. At first, Buddhist art employed certain symbols to represent the Buddha without actually depicting him, such as a footprint or wheel of dharma. With the impact of Greek culture and sculpture on India, following in the wake of Alexander the Great's invasion, Buddhists soon began to construct statues representing Gautama Buddha as he was posed when he acheieved Enlightenment under the bodhi tree. Though it would have been considered idolatrous (or at least futile) to attempt to portray the formless state of Nirvana, most Mahayana schools did not find any problems with the depiction of the Buddha's human form.

In terms of ritual and worship, Buddhists do not worship the physical images that they employ, rather they meditate upon the meaning and symbolism represented by them. Often Buddhists will bow before statues, but this is understood as an evocation of faith and respect rather than an act of worship. However, given the emphasis on detachment in the Buddhist tradition, there is still an understanding of "idolatry" as the identification with or attachment to the physicality of an object rather than understanding its fundamental impermanence. As a result, it is considered a transgression to worship one of these statues or, more seriously, to risk one's life (or the life of another) to preserve a statue's material form (See Trykaya doctrine).

Chinese Religion

Early Daoism was in fact partially aniconic, disallowing the anthropomorphic representation of its founder, Lao Zi. Yet, despite this prohibition, Lao Zi was still eventually apotheosized (as Divine Lord Lao) and became an object of worship.

Since the time of the Tang dynasty or earlier, Daoism has incorporated the use of divine images (called shen2xiang4) for purposes of portraying its divinity, including the highest trinity, the San Qing. In both Daoism and Chinese Folk Religion, statues, paintings, or name plaques of deities are given central place as the foci of worship in temples and homes.

During the Chinese Rites controversy of the early 18th century, Roman Catholic missionaries debated whether Confucianism consisted of worshipping a God or whether it merely venerated Confucious as a saint. This dispute occured between the Dominicans and the Jesuits, missionary groups who were attempting to ascertain whether Confucians were viable subjects for conversion. The Dominicans claimed that Confucianism and Chinese folk religion were indeed the worship of other gods, and therefore were incompatible with Catholicism, while the Jesuits thought the opposite. Confucianism, of course, acknowledges the existence of a Supreme Heavenly Being (Tian or Tien), though it does not place significant emphasis on worship and prayer directed at that Heavenly being, as in the typical Catholic conception of God. The Pope eventually ruled in favor of the Dominicans, a decision which greatly reduced the role of Catholic missionaries in China.

Idolatry in Polytheistic & Animistic Religions

Religions that center on the veneration of objects are still found throughout the world. Polytheistic Neopagan religions, for example, preform elaborate worship ceremonies in honour of depictions of numerous gods. In addition, animistic beliefs, which are characteristic of a vast number indigenous peoples throughout the world, attribute souls and/or personalities to virtually all objects and venerate them because of these inner spirits. These types of beliefs have been labelled idolatrous for three reasons: 1) they use of certain objects or places that seem to have supernatural powers independent of a central God, 2) they employ prayers or rituals that are considered more likely to be effective when performed in the presence of certain objects or places, and 3) these prayers are often directed to pantheons of polytheistic religious figures.

Adherents of polytheism and animism reject the charges that their religious beliefs and practices are idolotrous. Polytheists generally do not believe that their statues (or other physical objects) are gods; rather, they are symbols of the immaterial spiritual force behind the gods. They maintain that physical idols are simply the representational form of a divine deity, and the act of "worship" is not directed at the object, but at the divinity that the object is believed to represent. Animists, on the other hand, typically do acknowledge supernatural power within everyday objects and natural phenomena. However, they still do not worship or propitiate mundane physical objects, they merely acknowledge the perceived divinity within them.

Significance of Idolatry

The importance of idolatry (as a concept) cannot be underestimated, not only because it has caused a great deal of religious controversy throughout the history of humankind, but also because it has been so central to the development of religion itself. The emphasis on monotheism that characterizes the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) was shaped in part by their common criticism of idolatry.

While not all religions are monotheistic, none encourages idolotrous behaviour, which has become a near ubiqutious taboo. Religions often use iconography and imagery to defend their beliefs by claiming that they perform their worship (or veneration) with a sense of discernment. In many cases, they discriminate between the pious worship of the divinity represented in an icon and the idolotrous worship of the physical icon itself. On an optimistic note, many modern adherents of the Abrahamic traditions have grown past their earlier demonization of other religions as idolatrous, a development that has done much for the growth of interreligious dialogue.

See also

• Aniconism
• Anthropocentrism
• Ethnocentrism
• Religious pluralism
• Sociology

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Brichto, Herbert Chanan. The Worship of the Golden Calf: A Literary Analysis of a Fable on Idolatry. Hebrew Union College Annual, 54, 1983.
• Burggraeve, R., de Tavernier, J., Pollefeyt, D., & Hanssens, J. "True Faith in God and Forms of Religious Idolatry." In Desirable God?: Our Fascination with Images, Idols, and New Deities. eds. Roger Burggraeve, Johan de Tavernier, Didier Pollefeyt, and Jo Hanssens. Leuven-Dudley, MA: Peeters, 2003. 7-38. ISBN 9042913169
• Dorff, Elliot N. "Judaism and Idolatry: In Defense of Images" in Proceedings of the Academy for Jewish Philosophy Ed. David Novak and Norbert M. Samuelson, University Press of America, 1992.
• Halbertal, Moshe & Avishai, Margalit. Idolatry. Cambridge, MS: Harvard University Press. 1992. ISBN 0674443128
• "Idolatry." Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. Mercia Eliade. New York: MacMillan Publishing, 1987.
• "Idolatry". The Encyclopedia Judaica. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing. 1994.
• Kaufman, Yehezkel. The Religion of Israel: From its Beginnings to the Babylonian Exile. Moshe Greenberg, trans. 1960 Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press ISBN 0226427285
• Kogan, Bary S. "Judaism and the Varieties of Idolatrous Experience" in Proceedings of the Academy for Jewish Philosophy Ed. David Novak and Norbert M. Samuelson, University Press of America, 1992.
• Pelikan, Jaroslav J. Imago Dei: the Byzantine apologia for icons. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990. ISBN 0691099707
• Roth, Norman. Maimonides: essays and texts : 850th anniversary. Madison, WSC: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, 1985. ISBN 0942260597
• Streza, Liviu. The Mystagogy of Sacred Space according to Orthodox Theology. Studia Liturgica 24. 1994: 84-90.

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