Tag Archives: Idolatry

BIBLE QUESTIONS

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT ASTROLOGY? — BOB PRICHARD

Astrology is a practice based upon the belief that a person’s destiny is greatly influenced, if not determined, by the pattern of the stars in the sky at the time of the person’s birth. Millions of people consult their daily horoscopes (predictions based on astrology) to plan their activities. Although popular, astrology is not based on scientific, rational, or biblical principles. It is simply pagan superstition, which has its roots in the practices of the Babylonians of 4,000 years ago. Sometimes confused with astronomy, which is the  scientific study of the stars and celestial bodies, astrology has no place in modern society.

Astrology has no basis in reality. The astrologer determines the horoscope according to the position of the twelve signs of the zodiac at the time of birth. When astrologers conceived the twelve signs of zodiac, however, men thought that the earth was the center of the universe, and all the stars and planets revolved around the earth. We now know that the earth revolves around the sun, and not even our solar system is the center of the universe. In reality, there are no such things as the signs of the zodiac. They are complete fabrications.

Astrology is popular today because as people become further and further removed from God, they seek answers to their fears and anxieties. Astrology supplies the mysterious answers to fill the void in their lives. Thoughtful examination of the horoscopes reveals that the predictions and advice are couched in carefully worded vagueness. There is usually more than one outcome possible, and the person who believes in the horoscope makes its promises or warnings come true. The horoscope “comes true” because the reader rearranges his life to align with what he thinks the horoscope is saying, not because the planets have any actual influence on life. Different people, including identical twins, who have the same “sign” supposedly have the same horoscope, even though their life circumstances are completely different.

The Bible condemns astrology because it is nothing more than idolatry. Isaiah foretold the fall of Babylon, and spoke of the powerlessness of astrology:  “Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame” (Isaiah 47:13-14).  Jeremiah warned Israel, “Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them” (Jeremiah 10:2). God commended Good king Josiah for destroying the places of worship to “Baal and to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven” (2 Kings 23:5).  Paul condemned sorcery, idolatry and witchcraft, which includes astrology, warning that those who practice these things “shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:20-21). Astrology is not harmless fun. It is idolatry of the worst sort, and should be avoided by all. As practiced today, it is a religious racket that dupes the gullible, and has  no place in a modern society.

BIBLE, BIBLE QUESTIONS, EXODUS

WHAT DOES THE SECOND COMMANDMENT MEAN TO CHRISTIANS? — BOB PRICHARD

The second of the Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20, gives timeless principles concerning God’s attitude about worship. Christians, who are “delivered from the law” (Romans 7:6-7), learn principles from the Ten Commandments that allow them to live under the better covenant of Christianity (Hebrews 8:6-7) 

The commandment reads: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:4-6). Israel had to understand clearly that God would not tolerate idolatry. 

Idolatry, the worship of a creature, or inanimate object, seems inherently absurd to the modern mind. While modern man might not carve a statue, and then bow before it as ancient man did, he still has his idols, the false gods he worships. The problem of the idolater is not so much the idol as it is the spiritual blindness of the idolater. To place anything above God, whether it be possessions, family, occupation, or leisure activity, is to become an idolater. It has been well observed that sometimes the modern churchgoer may have his true god parked outside the place of worship. 

The command forbids making graven images to represent God to a worshipper. No image can ever “capture” God. As Paul told the Athenians, who worshipped so many gods, including an “unknown god,” “Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:29-30). God’s Word must always govern worship to Him, because man has always had a tendency to worship the thing rather than the One Whom it represents. Despite God’s care of Israel, they easily slipped back into an idolatrous way of thinking. On one occasion they took the ark of the covenant into battle against the Philistines, as a sort of “good luck charm,” and wound up losing the ark, as well as the battle (1 Samuel 4). They also began to worship the bronze serpent Moses raised as a symbol of salvation (Numbers 21:4-9), so that King Hezekiah had to destroy it with the other marks of idolatry (2 Kings 18:4). 

The commandment gives a lengthy “enforcement statement,” which stresses that God will not share His people with any other god, but will bless all those who do His will. As Jesus met with the woman at the well, who wanted to sidestep the discussion of her checkered past, He reminded her, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Jesus warned that worship is vain when men worship God “teaching for doctrine the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:8-9). Blessings for future generations depend on proper worship today!