Reply #26: How, exactly, does that NOT violate the Second Commandment? [View All]

[jmowreader]

"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, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."--Exodus 20:4-7

A literal reading of that would send every visual artist and every shutterbug straight to hell. Fortunately for those of us who create, our most prominent theologians have defined this to mean "no making idols"--which would make the most sense, because Judeo-Christianity was designed to replace the polytheistic and idol-worshipping religions that were popular at the time.

(This passage works with Exodus 20:2-3, which bans polytheism--the worshipping of multiple gods, as was done in Ancient Greece.)

Okay, so we are looking at a very hardcore fundamentalist church. They're probably selling tee shirts, postcards, keychains and all manner of trinkets to people who go to see The Cross--if they're not, SOMEONE in town is, so you know they're doing it themselves. I'd call this an idol, though; you know people rush to this town, drop to their knees in front of The Cross, and start praising His Name. Isn't this what Exodus 32 (the story of Aaron and the Golden Calf) was warning us against?