Reexamining Idolatry: The Golden Calf and False Worship
Editors’ note:
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Of all the questions Christians face, understanding idolatry doesn’t feel like a particularly hard one. What is idolatry? The worship of idols. It’s worshiping something other than God.
While that answer is true, it’s insufficient. Scripture gives multiple accounts of idolatry. Some are clearly worship of false gods. But idolatry also includes false worship of the true God. And, in the Bible, it’s often hard to tell the difference. Ever wonder why worshiping God in the “high places” in 1 and 2 Kings leads so quickly into worshiping Baal and Asherah poles? Because false worship—or unauthorized worship—leads to more f...