HUM_206_03D Madeline CortesProf. Malafry Student ID: 432071Idolatry in the Christian World 05/27/14

IDOLATRY IN THE CHRISTIAN WORLD

“…Thou shalt have no other gods before me…” (Church of England, 1611, Ex. 20:3).

“…La ilaha illa ‘llah…” (The Hadith Collection, #0740).

“…I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (Church of England, 1611, Jn 14:6)

The concept that there is one true God is at the foundation of every monotheistic

religion and Christianity is no exception. Monotheists believe that recognizing any

other god beyond the one true God is to practice idolatry. In ancient times, these idols

were easier to recognize; as physical graven images, it was relatively simple to pinpoint

and reject them as false gods. But as our text so wisely points out, idolatry is not only

an ancient problem – even modern Christianity is susceptible to it.

Idolatry, as Christ defined it, is simply the act of placing any object, physical or

spiritual, above God. It is not necessary to physically bow down and worship these

idols, provided that they hold a greater importance in the believer’s mind than God

Himself. Indeed, it is possible to unwittingly commit idolatry. Perhaps one of the best

descriptions of modern idolatry was given to us by C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape when he

discussed what he called an attitude of “Christianity And”: “…If they must be

Christians let them at least be Christians with a difference. Substitute for the faith itself

some Fashion with a Christian colouring…” (Lewis, 1942).

Early Christians formed their church based heavily on the ideology of the

mystical body of Christ, referring to Christ as the vine and all Christians as the

branches. This church was formed of two parts: the invisible and the visible. The

Invisible Church, made up of all Christians and invigorated by the Holy Spirit, was

perfect and above reproach. The Visible Church, however, because it was formed of

imperfect humans, contained many faults (Smith, 1994). As long as the remembrance of

Jesus’ effect on their lives remained in the forefront, the early Christians were filled

with a notable joy and a love for all mankind. Very soon, though, disagreements among

HUM_206_03D Madeline CortesProf. Malafry Student ID: 432071Idolatry in the Christian World 05/27/14

the fledgling church’s members began to spring up. From the time that Paul

admonished the church in Corinth for quibbling over their leaders, idolatry began to

weaken the Visible Church’s foundations (Church of England, 1611, I Cor. 1:10-15).

From its original groundwork on the belief that Jesus Christ was the Son of God

incarnate, Christianity splintered into countless sects. Roman Catholicism, Eastern

Orthodox, and Protestant branches and their numerous variations sprouted up over

several generations. Catholics placed the authority of church decisions in the hands of

the pope, Eastern Orthodox preferred a more corporate view toward church

management and retained a good deal of mysticism. Both of these sects had numberless

sacraments, traditions, and customs that were viewed by many of their adherents as

necessary for salvation. Protestantism rejected these traditions in favor of belief in

justification by faith alone. Perhaps based on their previous involvement in the

ceremonial Catholic faith, Protestants warned against “absolutizing the relative” (Smith,

1994). They sought to achieve what the early Christians had: a pure communion with

God, untouched by human tradition.

Still, even with concentrated effort to avoid idolatry, Protestants have

customarily placed one dogma in priority: that of the infallibility of the Bible. Rather

than argue whether or not the Bible is, in fact, God’s perfect Word, it would be wise to

consider again the meaning of idolatry. If the argument over the legitimacy of the Bible

causes a believer to remove his eyes from the One True God and diverts him from his

goal of true communion with Him, isn’t even this seemingly noble belief a form of

idolatry?

A prerequisite to true communion with God is complete self-forgetfulness, for

only by removing the self from the way can one truly know God (Malafry). It would

seem that it isn’t only one’s own ego that must be removed from the picture; it is also

necessary to ignore other selves. “…I count all things but loss for the excellency of the

knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and

do count them but dung, that I may win Christ…” (Church of England, 1611, Phil. 3:8).

HUM_206_03D Madeline CortesProf. Malafry Student ID: 432071Idolatry in the Christian World 05/27/14

It matters little whether the self that is being exalted is one’s own ego or the

Pope. Even the belief in the infallability of a group of believers or the integrity of a

specific version of the Bible can cause self-righteousness and create a cliq-like

atmosphere between people of the same opinion. It would seem that if belief in a person

or a concept blurs the message of religion and stands in the way of true knowledge of

and communion with God then it is, by His own definition, idolatry.

Works Cited

Church of England. (1611). Holy Bible - Authorized King James Version .

Lewis, C.S. (1942). Screwtape Letters. HarperOne.

Malafry, Hugh. (s.f.). Module 8: Notes on the Gospel of John. http://www.sevenrays.us/Archaeus/206_-_module_8.htm

Smith, Huston. (1994). World's Religions. HarperOne.

The Hadith Collection. (s.f.). www.hadithcollection.com. http://www.hadithcollection.com/sahihmuslim/132-Sahih20Muslim%20Book%2004.%20Prayer/10647-sahih-muslim-book-004-hadith-number-0740.html