Series:
Idolatry in the 21st Century
Part
II: Idolatrous practices
Christian Bible (KJV) |
Diana Washington Valdez/Faith Today Ministries
Part II - Idolatrous practices
“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” - Revelation 1:18 (KJV)
Some overt forms of idolatry that people today engage in
include pagan ceremonies or rituals stemming from ancient Greek, Roman and
Egyptian cultures that deified entities they considered to be gods. The worship
of nature and ancestors are other forms of idolatry.
In the North American continent, Mexico is witnessing an
uptick in indigenous religions among young people who revere the Maya and Aztec
deities. Some “deity” examples for the Aztecs include Huitzilopochtli, the god
of war and sun; Tlaloc, the rain god, and
Mictlantecuhtli (male and female versions), the god(s) of death and
of the underworld.
According to Aztec mythology, the Aztecs had literally dozens if not hundreds of deities that oversaw many aspects of their lives. The Ayahuasca tradition found in the shamanism of certain South American regions, and which has spread to Mexico, is also resurging.*
According to Aztec mythology, the Aztecs had literally dozens if not hundreds of deities that oversaw many aspects of their lives. The Ayahuasca tradition found in the shamanism of certain South American regions, and which has spread to Mexico, is also resurging.*
Nearly all pagan cultures honor or worship a god of death.
A more modern adaptation of the same idol is la santa muerte (holy death), which became popular among the
subculture of drug-traffickers in Mexico and the Southwestern United States.
A recent and eye-opening article by Al Jazeera reported that in Nepal consecrated religious statues and artifacts are considered "living deities." Residents who worship these iconic items are concerned about the steady theft of valuable religious artifacts from their land. Theft of Nepal's sacred objects
Is this is not much different from the phenomenon of bleeding crucifixes or statues of the Virgin Mary that are widely reported in certain church circles? One of the latest statues "to come to life," in a sense, sits in a Hobbs, New Mexico, church. Statue of Mary cries olive oil
A recent and eye-opening article by Al Jazeera reported that in Nepal consecrated religious statues and artifacts are considered "living deities." Residents who worship these iconic items are concerned about the steady theft of valuable religious artifacts from their land. Theft of Nepal's sacred objects
Is this is not much different from the phenomenon of bleeding crucifixes or statues of the Virgin Mary that are widely reported in certain church circles? One of the latest statues "to come to life," in a sense, sits in a Hobbs, New Mexico, church. Statue of Mary cries olive oil
The local priest for that congregation said it cannot be explained.
John 5:24 (NIV)
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes
him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over
from death to life.”
Jesus Christ destroyed death at the cross:
Hebrews 2:14 (NIV)
14 “Since the children have
flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might
break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil,”
The tradition of adopting spirit guides, often in the shape
of animals some people claim to see during drug-induced rituals, is another
form of idolatry that also puts practitioners in perilous proximity to
supernatural beings.
Blood
sports
Bullfighting, which is prevalent as a sport in parts of Spain
and Mexico, has as its objective the “sacrificial death” of a bull.
Bullfighting could be done without killing the bull, but then it wouldn’t be a
blood sport. According to Bible History Online [2], the bull as a symbol has
been associated with idolatry for centuries.
For further details, read the account of the golden calf worship that angered the Lord in Exodus 32: 1-9. He also forbade in Leviticus 18:21 the worship of Moloch, an idol symbolized by a bull-like creature and which involved child sacrifice [2]. Most people who attend bullfights do so ignorant of the pagan symbolism attached to bulls and sacrifices in ancient cultures. [3].
For further details, read the account of the golden calf worship that angered the Lord in Exodus 32: 1-9. He also forbade in Leviticus 18:21 the worship of Moloch, an idol symbolized by a bull-like creature and which involved child sacrifice [2]. Most people who attend bullfights do so ignorant of the pagan symbolism attached to bulls and sacrifices in ancient cultures. [3].
Fights between people, without gloves and body protections,
and sometimes held in cage-like structures to add to the drama, have grown in
popularity. Except for the clandestine bouts with more serious violence, these bouts
are televised or videotaped.
The brutality exhibited – and required – for these
matches are ungodly. Paying people to beat up on another human being cannot be
considered a Christian sport, including cockfights and dogfights. Boxing as we
know it today, skirts the line between what is right and wrong.
Promoting death and violence for entertainment is totally
contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
John 10:10 (NKJV)
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and
to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it
more abundantly.”
The “thief” in this verse is an obvious reference to the
devil.
1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV)
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil
walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
Isaiah 25:8 (ESV)
“He will swallow up
death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, And
He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has
spoken.”
In certain cultures, spiritual leaders permit indigenous groups
to substitute pagan deities with the names of “Christian” saints. In other
words, the indigenous practitioners are not asked to repent and abandon their
pagan gods, only to exchange their names for Christian-sounding ones.
Children born in such cultures are dedicated allegedly to “saints”
of their birth dates, depending on the calendar used. In China, children are
dedicated at birth to the “dragon.” According to the Bible, the “dragon” is
associated with the devil, although people who invoke the dragon generally are
ignorant of this fact.
Revelation 12:9 (KJV)
“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent,
called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out
into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
From the Book of Exodus (KJV). |
Other dedications that could hinder a Christian’s work for
the Gospel include places were occult secret societies operated, and where they
dedicated special cornerstones for buildings (including churches), and communities
where pagan rituals were conducted, often long before more extensive urban development
occurred.
If Christians read and closely followed what the Bible
teaches, then they would understand how to avoid idolatrous practices that seem
innocent. This includes the idea of praying to angels. Remember that idolatry,
in its simplest definition, is the worship of created beings or images.
God created the angels. He is the Creator, and as such, we
are to worship Him only. From the Bible, we also know that some angels sinned
and rebelled against God, some sought intimate relations with women, and Satan
himself is a fallen angel. God, in turn, by His very nature is incapable of
sinning.
Revelation 22:8-9 (ESV)
8 “I, John, am the one who heard
and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at
the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 but he said to
me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the
prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
Luke 10:17-18 (NIV) -
17 The seventy-two
returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”
18 He
replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Matthew
25:41 (NIV)
41 “Then
he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the
eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
At
times, the Lord sent angels to execute divine judgment (Isaiah 37:36), as
helpers, including the ministering angels sent to Jesus after he completed His
40-day fast in the desert (Matthew 4:11), or as messengers (Luke 2:10-11).
See more
references in Genesis 16:7; 21:17; Genesis 18:2; 19:16; I Kings 19:5-7; Matthew
25:41 (Mary and the angel Gabriel).
To reiterate what the Lord says to us in the Bible, the
worship of any other god is idolatry.
Deuteronomy 5:6-9 (ESV)
6 “‘I am
the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house
of slavery.
7 “‘You
shall have no other gods before me.
8 “‘You
shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is
in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under
the earth. 9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for
I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on
the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me[.]”
The Old Testament contains several references to angels
appearing to people, and in every case, none of the angels ever encouraged or accepted
worship. Jesus Christ never taught that we should pray to angels or anyone else.
When His disciples asked Him to teach them to pray, He gave them the “Our Father,”
which connotes that we have direct access to the throne room of God, once we
become believers.
There
is only one mediator
We are not to seek out mediators (middle persons or
supernatural beings) between us and God. Jesus Christ (who is God the son)
should be our sole mediator with God the Father.
1 Timothy 2:5 (NKJV)
“For there is one God and one Mediator between God
and men, the Man Christ Jesus…”
World regions that are steeped in idolatry also seem to
experience greater degrees of political oppression, poverty, violence and fear.
Extensive idolatry can lead to curses on lands that last for generations. These
too can be overcome, with guidance from the Holy Spirit on how to proceed, and
with prayer until a breakthrough is reached.
Adopting patron saints at birth or for other events is
another form of idolatry that can affect a person’s spiritual life.
Idolatry in modern times also is practiced by white-collar
professionals and prominent politicians who make idols of their worldly
pursuits, social and professional relationships. Obsessive pursuits of worldly
success have led some to look for help from idols.
According to a book by Mexican journalist Jose Gil Olmos,
numerous prominent politicians in Mexico who wanted power allegedly sought out
witches and shamans to conduct rituals for them, including in Africa. Some of
the rituals he described in the book are intended to invoke idols [4].
1 John 2:15-17 (NKJV)
15 “Do not love the world
or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father
is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust
of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father
but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the
lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
Idolatry in the United States, if it continues to spread,
will lead to divine punishment. It is inevitable. (Of course, idolatry is not the
only national sin, but it is a root one.). The history of the Israelites in the
Old Testament teaches us that God will not overlook idolatry. Christians, like
the Israelites of the past, must stand up against this pernicious practice in
all its forms. Idolatry leads to spiritual blindness and defilement, and
damages societies.
Zechariah 13:2 (ESV)
2 “And on that day,
declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the
land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the
land the prophets* and the spirit of uncleanness.” [*False prophets]
To be continued.
The scriptures quoted here can be looked up in Bible Gateway tool featuring different languages and versions at Online Bible .
Part
III: A consecrated heart and the “selfie generation”
Recommended reading: The Book of Jeremiah
Recommended reading: The Book of Jeremiah
[Diana Washington Valdez, president of Faith Today Ministries,***
is an independent ordained Christian minister with Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, based in the United States.]
*** At times, may recommend books and DVD's by other authors that are sold by online stores. Faith Today, however, is a free ministry. All the information provided here is free of charge. To God be the glory Who makes this possible. Other ministries rely on donations to survive; fortunately, this ministry does not. Your prayers are welcome, though!
Matthew 10:5:7-8 (NIV)
"7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give."
*** At times, may recommend books and DVD's by other authors that are sold by online stores. Faith Today, however, is a free ministry. All the information provided here is free of charge. To God be the glory Who makes this possible. Other ministries rely on donations to survive; fortunately, this ministry does not. Your prayers are welcome, though!
Matthew 10:5:7-8 (NIV)
"7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy,[a] drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give."
Bible references
The scriptures quoted here can be looked up in Bible Gateway tool featuring different languages and versions at Online Bible .
Other references
[1] Cindy Jacobs, a Christian prophet, addressed the need
to renounce the birth dedication to the dragon during a conference in
California. Cindy Jacobs
[2] “Ancient Bull Worship” Bible-History
[2] “Ancient Bull Worship” Bible-History
[4] José Gil Olmos, “Los
brujos del poder: el ocultismo en la política mexicana,” (Grijalbo; 2012.) Book link
* Secular literature: Essay in Aeon on the return of the psychedelic experience Psychedelic revival
* Secular literature: Essay in Aeon on the return of the psychedelic experience Psychedelic revival
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