Meaning of IDOLATRÍA

Idol worship has been practiced since relatively early times in history. We know that Abraham's direct ancestors worshiped foreign gods instead of Jehovah (Josh. 24:2), undoubtedly through idols. Laban had statuettes ("terafim") that Rachel stole from him (Gen. 31:30, 32-35).

These were "domestic gods", whose possession gave the right to inheritance. The Egyptians, for their part, worshiped statues that represented their gods; In the holiest part of their temples was the emblem of a god or a deified animal (Herodotus 2:63, 138).

The Canaanites had idols that the Israelites had been ordered to destroy upon arriving in the country, among which were Baalim and Ashtoreth, Moloch, etc. (See PAGAN DIVINITIES.) The second commandment of the Decalogue is directed especially against idolatry (Ex. 20:4, 5; Deut. 5:8, 9), prohibiting bowing before images, sculptures, statues, paintings.

The prophets of Israel, in stigmatizing and ridiculing the incapacity and impotence of idols, were obeying a formal order from the Lord (Ps. 115:2, 8; Is. 2:8, 18-21; 40:19, 20; 44: 9-20; Jer. 10:3-5). This impotence of the false gods is revealed, p. e.g., when the ark of God is placed in the temple of Dagon (1 Sam. 5:3-5). With the exception of the Persians, all the peoples with whom the Israelites came into contact in biblical times were idolaters.

In the apostasy of the Israelites, as they embarked on following the pagan practices of their neighbors, there were two characteristic phases of their descent into error. First it was about worshiping Jehovah using idols to represent him.

In the second phase, Jehovah was completely abandoned, making idols representing other gods. In NT times, Christians living among pagan communities were exhorted to avoid any compromise with idolatry. The Council of Jerusalem ordered abstention from all meat that had been sacrificed to idols (Acts 15:29).

The apostle Paul warned those Christians who gave no importance to idols that they too should practice this abstinence, so as not to scandalize their brothers weaker than themselves (1 Cor. 8:413).

The Christian invited to a pagan's meal was not obliged, by reason of scruples, to find out whether the meat had been sacrificed to an idol; but if he was expressly informed, he must then abstain from consuming it. The same rule was to be observed with respect to food purchased in the market for home use (1 Cor. 10:18-33).