Idol Worship in Today's Society

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What is idol worship? There are many answers one might have to this question. Idol worship is anything that comes between a worshiper and God. It is anything that someone gives power or status to. Idol worship is the perishable while God is the imperishable. Arrogance towards God appears in the form of idol worship.

In his writings, Muhammad says "I am forbidden to serve your idols, now that clear proofs have been given me from my Lord." (726) In our society, fashion, fame, sex, wealth, status, TV, computers, and cars could all be considered idols. They are all perishable objects that take our attention and will away from God. Yet for many people, even those that consider themselves Christians, the idols in our society today are still "served" by those people with priority over God.

Is it then wrong to want to be famous or wealthy or to drive a fast car? None of those wants are wrong, as long as they do not precede or interfere with a person's faith and trust in God. They are all wants though. The only need in life is God; therefore nothing of this earth can take priority or precedence over the creator.

When a person asks themselves, "what will believing in God do for me?" or "What can I get by going to church on Sundays?" this is idol worship in the greatest form. Those statements show the speaker putting his or her interests before the wishes of God.

Putting one's own interests ahead of God's wishes could lead to an even bigger form of idol worship. Money and power may be the biggest catalyst of such a form. By striving for money and power over all else, a person is actually trying to turn him or herself into an idol as well.

With science moving in on religions place in our world, some might even consider Darwinian beliefs a form of idol worship, or even science as a whole. Science, and more specifically Charles Darwin, have taken away much attention from God and his word and replaced it with a different sequence of events that created our universe that make the need for God unnecessary. When everything from the creation of the universe to the evolution of primates into humans can be explained through science, who needs God?

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