Idolatry

I haven't been posting very regularly lately. I've had a lot on my mind, things I don't want to blog about (at least not yet), and as a result it's been hard for me to think of things I am willing to blog about.

But one thing that occurred to me recently was on the topic of idolatry. So, the 10 Commandments say two things about worshipping false gods. 1) Don't have any other gods. 2) Don't make an idol or other image and bow down in worship to it.

The two often get equated in today's culture. We talk about how things like money or fame or video games are "idols." And I don't really buy that definition. I think they can definitely be false gods and fall into the first rule, if you let them consume you. But idols seem to be unequivocally statues or other images that people bow down to. And I can't think of anything that fits into that category that Christians do today.

This is the reason the Church got rid of all Christian paintings and statues at one point. Though I think that's overkill. If an idol is an object of worship, a simple painting is probably not an idol.

These are just my random musings, nothing based on scholarly research or intense exegesis of the original Hebrew or anything. And I'm not saying that means we should put things before God - that's clearly a no-no from rule 1. But I do wonder if we use the term "idol" too loosely as Christians.

Thoughts?