overt idolatry
Quick Summary
In Judaism and Christianity, idolatry is the worship of someone or something other than God as if it were God. The first of the Ten Commandments prohibits this practice.
Gross, or overt, idolatry involves direct acts of reverence towards a person or object, such as the sun, a king, an animal, or a statue. This can occur even when a supreme being is acknowledged, as seen with the Israelites worshiping a golden calf while receiving God's law.1
A more subtle form of idolatry involves attaching the confidence, loyalty, and devotion that rightfully belong only to the Creator to a created being. This can even extend to true doctrine if it fails to point beyond itself to God. While some religious traditions distinguish between worship directed solely to the divine and lesser forms of veneration for those with a special relationship to the divine, the core principle against idolatry stems from the affirmation of God's oneness.12
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