Wednesday, 4 June 2014

What is Idolatry?



When St. Paul went to the Council of Jerusalem concerned over those who wanted to impose Jewish Law on the Christian message, the result was a simple result of guidance regarding Gentile converts. Here is the passage:


Acts 15:20

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition 
20 but we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from blood.

Idolatry is connected to those customs of things polluted by idols, such as incense, or talismans, or food and drink--also, things strangled and from blood, which would mean animals not killed with knives and blood sacrifice stuff. In addition, Paul refers to fornication, which is idolizing a person over natural law, either in heterosexual or homosexual sex.

Think today about things connected to idolatry in your life...pray.