Bible Study Idolatry

[Edward]

I'm pretty much agreeing with Obadiah on this. I think it's ok to have pictures of the Lord and so forth, and I even have the Picture of Jesus on my desktop background, the one that was painted by that little girl who had a vision of Him. Akiane is her name I think. I see nothing wrong with it. I even kind of talk to it sometimes. I don't pray to it or have extended conversations to it, but like when I first come down to the computer in the morning and stuff I may say casually, Good morning Lord. But I know it's not the Lord and I don't worship it. It's just a focus thing for the moment.

I'm sort of on the fence about figurines. I don't go buy them (or even have any) but this is sort of too close for comfort to being an idol to me. I know that some people worship them and that God is a jealous God so I don't take the chance.

 

[eddif]

Let me see if I am understanding you correctly. First of all when we read scripture that has Jesus in it, it is just natural that we are going to imagine the setting and what the people look like including Jesus. Most of the times that I can recall, the picture that popped in my head when I thought of Jesus was not anything in particular that I had seen. It was probably based on a drawing or painting or just a combination of different descriptions of Jesus that I have seen or heard over the years. Until I watched the Bible series I had not attached Jesus' identity to something or in this case someone in particular. That is what I felt was wrong. I started to place an importance on what Jesus really may look like, where as before it was just something random and not important.

I am probably sounding like a person from another planet to you. Sorry about that. My view of Jesus is more behavioral than physical. I see him seated at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. Jesus is active in our lives. Revelation 3:20 has him knocking at the door of our lives. If we open the door we sup with him and he with us.

There is a physical view.
There is a view of the Law as a shadow of his life
There is a spiritual reality
There is an expected eternal existence

Vanity would be about what I do (not what Christ works through me) Galatians 2:20
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

A passage that seems just physical can have :
Physical, social, spiritual, etc., meanings. An idol (as a construct ?), becomes a false doctrine in our mind. (IMHO).

eddif