# J-2024.09.15 -- Image and Idol ## Background - Over the last many weeks, I have been doing my daily posts on worship and now on Image of God. On 2024.09.13, I asked the question, "Once more ... What is the difference between an image and physical idol?" One of the regulars, [[Name_Key#^nk-53|M]] responded: - An idol is a physical object that represents a deity or false God, while image can be a representation of God or his creation! - His response didn't agree with my theology, so I took a couple of days to pray and wait on God. Then, this afternoon, I sent the reply shown below. ## Notes - Sorry for the late reply - I guess I have a little different view of these words. - I think we (mankind) have proven ourselves to be quite adept at making idols. They can be abstract such as worshiping a particular form of government or religion or they can be physical such as worshiping sports figures or other "influencers." We even make idols of our pets. Based on my limited observation, I do think we prefer physical idols over abstract. Case in point, all the sports paraphernalia available for sale. Bottom-line, by my definition, an idol can be anything, physical or abstract that we worship other than God. BTW, I must confess that I have spent way too much time in my life worshiping idols! - Although an idol can be an abstract concept, an image always represents a physical object. Obvious examples of images include photographs, TV and the reflection in a mirror. Not so obvious are sculptures. On one hand, the sculpture represents something that the artist wanted to show / communicate. For example the famous sculpture of David gives us an idea of what Michelangelo thought David looked like. On the other hand there are a plethora of photographs of the sculpture. So, not only is the sculpture an "image" of David, it in and of itself is the object of other images. - I feel like I am not fully communicating all that needs to be said about idols and images which is why it has taken me a few days to reply. --- #### Outbound Links - Scripture - Studies - Other Notes - Topics - [[Image_of_God]] - [[Idol]] - [[TOPICS/Journal]] - Hebrew Words - Greek Words J-2024.09.15-Image_and_Idol