Idolatry
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
![This page Idolatry is part of the worship series.Illustration: Triumph of Christianity (detail) by Tommaso Laureti (1530-1602.)](/images/thumb/200px-Tommaso.Laureti.Triumph.of.Christianity.jpg)
Illustration: Triumph of Christianity (detail) by Tommaso Laureti (1530-1602.)
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Idolatry is a major sin in the Abrahamic religions regarding image. It is usually defined as worship of any cult image, idea, or object, as opposed to the worship of a God. In religions where such activity is not considered as sin, the term "idolatry" itself is absent. Which images, ideas, and objects, constitute idolatry, and which constitute reasonable worship, is a matter of contention with some religious authorities and groups using the term to describe certain other religions apart from their own.
False idol
False idol, interpreted literally, is a phrase meaning a cult image or object considered idolatrous from the perspective of the speaker. For example, Moses considered the golden calf a false idol upon his return with the tablets of stone, as described in Exodus chapter 32.
The sometimes negative connotations of "idol" can make "false idol" sound like a tautological figure of speech.
See also
- Cult image
- Elijah
- Epeolatry
- Idol (disambiguation)
- King Ahab
- Perceptions of religious imagery in natural phenomena
- Seven laws of Noah