Idolatry and Images in Scripture

The Bible repeatedly forbids idol worship and making idols. In the Old Testament God warns Israel not to “corrupt” themselves by crafting any graven image “in the form of any figure”. Deuteronomy insists the people must not turn to worship “the gods, the work of men’s hands” or “make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing”. God’s glory is uniquely revealed (Deut 5:24 KJV) and the Israelites witness that “God doth talk with man, and he liveth”. Thus the commandments emphasize exclusive devotion to Yahweh. Israel is repeatedly warned that if they break this covenant and serve idols, they will fall under God’s judgment (Deut 4:23–28). Believers are urged to “observe” all God’s commandments and turn neither “to the right hand nor to the left”, for obedience is the path to life and blessing (Deut 11:13–16).

In short, Deuteronomy and the rest of Scripture portray idolatry as a fundamental breach of the covenant. God reminds Israel that He alone is faithful and merciful to those who love Him and keep His commandments (Deut 7:9–13). The law even forbids desiring or bringing an idol into the house: “neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house”, lest you be ensnared. God’s people are called to hate what He hates: burning the graven images of false gods, not coveting them (Deut 7:25–26). All these commands underscore that worship belongs to God alone, and anything resembling idolatry is “an abomination to the Lord”.

New Testament: Worship God Alone

The New Testament reiterates and deepens this teaching. When the devil tempted Jesus, our Lord replied by citing Deuteronomy: “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve”. Jesus’ response (Matt. 4:10 KJV) affirms that there is no middle ground – no other being may share God’s worship. Paul likewise warns believers to flee idolatry: “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Cor 10:14 KJV). He laments how men “changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like” created things and “worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator” (Rom 1:22–25 KJV). Idolatry is thus portrayed as a tragic exchange of truth for a lie. John the Apostle echoes this urgency in simple terms: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21 KJV).

At the heart of the Gospel is the call to love and obey Jesus, which includes keeping God’s commandments. As Jesus taught, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15 KJV). Loving Christ involves worshipping Him alone (Matt 4:10) and obeying His Father’s laws (John 14:15). The early Church uniformly rejected idolatry. For example, in Acts 17 Paul stood in Athens and denounced the folly of erecting an altar “to the unknown god” (Acts 17:23), calling his hearers to repent from the “unknown” to the living God. Christian writers from the beginning affirmed that honoring saints or images in any way that replaces worship of God is forbidden (1 John 5:21; see also 1 Cor 8–10 on eating food sacrificed to idols).

Did he even bother to read the Bible?

Why God Cannot Be Represented by Wood, Stone, or Gold

At the heart of true biblical worship lies a non-negotiable truth: God is Spirit (John 4:24). He is not a material object, not a created thing, not confined by matter or bound by space. He is eternal, invisible, omnipotent, and omnipresent; existing beyond time, beyond form, beyond the categories of human limitation. The moment we attempt to portray Him with human craftsmanship, we step into dangerous territory; not only misrepresenting Him but reducing Him to something He is not. And in that reduction, we distort the very nature of God.

When human hands fashion an image out of wood, stone, gold, or silver, no matter how ornate or reverent the intent, that object remains the product of creation, not the Creator. It is subject to decay, to gravity, to manipulation. It can be carried, polished, or broken. It can neither hear prayers nor answer them, neither observe nor act. It is, at best, a symbol; and at worst, a false god.

God Himself, through Moses, declared in Deuteronomy 4:15–16 (KJV), "Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves... lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure..." The people of Israel were reminded that they saw no form when God spoke to them from the fire on Mount Horeb. That absence of physical form was not an accident; it was a divine teaching. God deliberately withheld any visible shape because He is not like the idols of the nations, who have eyes but do not see, ears but do not hear, mouths but do not speak (Psalm 115:5–7). To make an image of Him would be to lie about who He is.

This is not a small error. It is not about art versus worship, or symbolism versus substance. It is about truth versus falsehood. When a man creates a physical image to represent God, he is saying: “This is what God is like. This is how you should think of Him.” But God is not like anything in creation. Isaiah 40:18 asks, “To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?” The implied answer is no one and nothing. As soon as we attempt to define the infinite through finite forms, we do not elevate God; we diminish Him. We exchange the glory of the incorruptible God for something corruptible (Romans 1:23). This is why idolatry is not just offensive; it is blasphemous.

Consider the logical absurdity: How can a finite object represent an infinite being? How can gold, which was mined from the earth, reflect the majesty of Him who created the heavens? How can wood, which grows and rots, encapsulate the timelessness of the Alpha and Omega? How can stone, shaped by human hands, convey the unsearchable depths of God's wisdom, justice, mercy, and holiness?

A carved statue might show a man with a beard, a hand raised in blessing, or a crown on His head; but God has no fleshly body. He is not male or female in physical form, nor is He confined to any human posture or expression. Even in the Incarnation; where the eternal Word took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ; the early church did not encourage sculpting or painting the image of God. The focus remained on His words, His works, and His divine nature; not His physical appearance. In fact, the New Testament offers no description of Jesus' physical features. Why? Because even in His human form, the emphasis was not on how He looked, but who He was: the exact representation of God's being (Hebrews 1:3); not in image, but in essence.

Images appeal to the senses, but faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17). God does not call us to see Him with our eyes, but to know Him by His Spirit and Word. When we rely on visible representations to worship or relate to God, we are not enhancing our devotion; we are replacing true faith with sensual substitution. And history shows that what begins as symbol almost always ends as idol.

The prophets of old understood this danger. Isaiah ridiculed the idol-maker who cuts down a tree, uses part of it to bake bread, and with the rest makes a god and bows down to it (Isaiah 44:14–17). The man says, “Deliver me; for thou art my god.” But Isaiah's point is devastating: the object of worship is made from the same material used to cook dinner. What could be more absurd; and more insulting to the true and living God?

Some may argue that an image is not meant to be worshipped itself, but merely serves as a “reminder” of God. But this logic is never accepted in Scripture. In fact, God’s command in Exodus 20:4–5 is explicit: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image... thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.” The issue is not merely the worship of the object, but the making of it to represent God. He does not say, “Make one, but don’t worship it.” He says, don’t make one at all.

God cannot be domesticated, confined, or represented by physical things. He is not a symbol. He is not a metaphor. He is not an artistic impression. He is the I AM; the self-existent, eternal Spirit who revealed Himself in fire and cloud, in voice and vision, but never in visible form to be copied or carved. Every attempt to represent Him visually ends in deception; not because God is against beauty, but because He is against falsehood. And every image is a falsehood when it claims to show what cannot be shown.

The only image God ever sanctioned is the image He created: man and woman, made in His image morally and spiritually; not physically. And the only image of God fully expressed is Jesus Christ, who revealed the Father not through appearance but through character, truth, and divine action. To know God, one must be born of the Spirit, not stare at a statue.

Therefore, let all who claim to worship the one true God put away their icons, statues, relics, and sacred portraits. Let them stop bowing before objects fashioned by man, no matter how ancient, beautiful, or well-intended. God is not there. He never was. He never will be.

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24)

This is the worship He seeks. Nothing less. Nothing else.

What House Will You Build for Me? When God Rejects Man-Made Religion

"Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: and what is the place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all these things?"; Acts 7:49–50, quoting Isaiah 66:1–2

This piercing question, asked by God through the prophet Isaiah and later echoed by Stephen in the New Testament, is more than rhetorical. It is a thunderous rebuke to any effort by mankind to confine, contain, or control God with buildings, objects, or images. It strikes at the very heart of false religion; the presumption that man can craft something that captures, represents, or houses the Almighty.

God speaks and reminds humanity of an obvious truth that we so easily forget: “Hath not my hand made all these things?” The heavens themselves; vast, immeasurable, ablaze with stars; are His throne. The very earth upon which we walk is His footstool. He is not a tribal deity needing shelter. He is not a localized god dwelling in stone halls or golden sanctuaries. He is the Creator of time, matter, and space. All that exists; from galaxies to grains of sand; was spoken into being by Him. What could we possibly build for such a God that He does not already own?

The context of Isaiah 66 and Acts 7 reveals an even deeper indictment. In Isaiah’s time, the people of Israel were going through the motions of religion; bringing sacrifices, offering prayers, building temples; but their hearts were far from God. They imagined that by maintaining the appearance of reverence, they could substitute true obedience with ritual. And God rejected it all. He was not impressed with their temples. He was not moved by their offerings. He wanted their hearts, not their monuments.

In Acts 7, Stephen stands before the Sanhedrin; the religious elite; and quotes this same passage from Isaiah. He exposes the hypocrisy of a people who revered the temple, boasted in its glory, and yet rejected the God who once filled it. Stephen’s speech leads to his martyrdom because he dared to say what so few would: God is not honored by buildings or ceremonies if the heart is corrupt. He is not served by architecture or gold, but by truth and righteousness.

This divine question; “What house will ye build me?” applies today more than ever. In an age of ornate cathedrals, gilded icons, incense-filled sanctuaries, and elaborate rituals, God’s voice still echoes: “I made all this. Do you think I need your structures to be worshiped?” The tragedy of modern religion is not its beauty, but its blindness; a belief that external things can substitute for internal surrender. When churches bow before statues, kiss relics, and exalt religious leaders as “holy” or “father,” they do not elevate God; they offend Him.

God cannot be housed in a building, nor represented by wood, stone, gold, or silver. To attempt such a thing is to invert the created order; to place the work of man’s hands above the glory of the Creator. And yet millions do this every day under the guise of worship, all the while ignoring the clear and sobering word of the Lord: “What house will ye build me?... Hath not my hand made all these things?”

If God made the universes, then He cannot be honored by a shrine. If God is Spirit, then He cannot be depicted in paint or carved in stone. If God is holy, then no image, no matter how sacred it is called, can represent Him without mocking His transcendence.

God is not looking for monuments — He is looking for contrite hearts. Isaiah 66:2 continues, “But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” This is what pleases the Lord: humility, reverence, obedience. Not altars of marble or statues of saints, but men and women who bow their lives to His Word.

God created all things. He does not dwell in temples made with hands. He is not served by human craftsmanship. He is not glorified by stained glass or golden crowns, but by those who worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). He is near not to the ornate, but to the obedient.

Let every heart who seeks God hear His question and answer rightly; not by building shrines, but by offering themselves as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1). The only house God desires to dwell in is the heart that trembles at His Word.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that it does not commit idolatry because it claims to distinguish between “veneration” (dulia) and “worship” (latria). Yet this distinction is foreign to Scripture and ultimately fails to justify practices that directly violate God’s explicit commands. Despite the Church’s attempts to rationalize the use of images in devotion, the Bible leaves no room for such accommodations.

God’s commandment in Exodus 20:4–5 is unambiguous:

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image... Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.”The prohibition is not just against worshiping an idol, but even making one in the likeness of anything in heaven or on earth; especially for religious purposes. Deuteronomy 4:15–16 adds,“Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves... lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image.”

Despite this, the Catholic Church continues to defend the making and use of religious statues and images of Jesus, Mary, and the saints. They argue that in the Old Testament, God commanded the creation of certain images; such as the bronze serpent (Numbers 21) and cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25); and use these as justification. But this is a misapplication. These were not objects of devotion or veneration; they were symbolic, strictly limited, and ordained by God Himself ; not fabricated at human discretion for widespread devotional use. In contrast, Catholic images are manmade, mass-produced, and actively involved in ritual acts that mirror biblically condemned idolatry: bowing, kissing, lighting candles, and offering prayers in their presence.

Further, the Catholic claim that the Incarnation permits visual representations of God rests on dangerous theological ground. It assumes that because Christ took on flesh, we are now free to depict the eternal God as a visual object. Yet the Bible never endorses creating images of Christ; none of the apostles described His physical appearance, nor did the early Church practice image-based devotion. The Word became flesh to reveal God’s nature, not to authorize His depiction in wood or stone. Jesus never instructed His disciples to make images of Him; He instructed them to obey His Word and walk by the Spirit.

Catholic apologists claim that when a person bows to a statue, prays before an icon, or lights candles to an image, they are not worshipping the image but honoring the one it represents. Yet Scripture does not allow for such a separation of intent and action. In Deuteronomy 12:4, God says:

“Ye shall not worship the LORD your God in that way.” He explicitly forbids using pagan-inspired or human-devised rituals to worship Him. Worship, by biblical definition, is not merely about the heart’s intention; it includes actions, symbols, and associations. When the Bible condemns idolatry, it does so without making allowances for nuance. To make a graven image, bow before it, and direct religious devotion toward it; regardless of stated intent; is, according to Scripture, idolatry.

The New Testament reinforces this with equal force. Paul writes in Romans 1:22–23 that men “changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man.” This mirrors exactly what Catholic practice does: it takes the invisible, infinite God and reduces Him to material representation. In 1 Corinthians 10:14, Paul says, “flee from idolatry.” Not tolerate it under technical distinctions. Not rename it to avoid guilt. Flee from it. Elsewhere, Paul equates covetousness with idolatry (Colossians 3:5), showing that even internal misdirected devotion is sinful; how much more the outward act of bowing before carved figures?

Furthermore, the Catholic Church calls the pope “Holy Father,” a title that Christ directly forbade. In Matthew 23:9, Jesus said,

“Call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” This is not a cultural suggestion; it is a divine command. And yet the pope is routinely addressed with the very title Christ reserved for God alone. He is exalted, kissed, and revered in ways that blur, and often erase, the distinction between man and deity. The use of such titles, along with the ceremonial pomp and spiritual authority ascribed to the pope, represents not only usurped reverence but also a form of idolatry in the highest ecclesiastical office.

The greatest form of covetousness is to envy and receive worship meant for God alone.

The argument that Catholic statues and icons are not "worshipped" but only "venerated" is, at best, semantic gymnastics. Biblically, there is no technical distinction between veneration and worship when outward religious acts are involved. Bowing is worship. Kissing is worship. Praying is worship. Lighting candles in front of a statue while making intercession to a saint is worship. And Scripture allows worship to be given to God alone.

Even the Church’s revised numbering of the Ten Commandments; which folds the Second Commandment into the First; is telling. By doing so, they obscure the specific, direct prohibition against making and using graven images. While Catholic catechisms claim that the commandment is still respected, the practical result is that this clear biblical warning is buried, deemphasized, and contradicted by common Catholic practice.

The same distortion applies to the Fourth Commandment regarding the Sabbath. While Scripture sanctifies the seventh day; Saturday; as a day of rest, the Catholic Church openly admits to changing the day of worship to Sunday, not based on divine command, but on ecclesiastical tradition.

In both of these issues; idolatry and the Sabbath; the Catholic Church has placed tradition above Scripture, and man’s decree above God’s command. By sanctioning the veneration of images and changing the day of worship, it has overridden the eternal word of God, precisely what Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for doing in Mark 7:13:

“Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition.”

The Roman Catholic Church cannot claim innocence on the issue of idolatry. Its use of images, its doctrinal justifications, and its appeal to tradition all fall short of the biblical standard. No matter how refined the terminology or sincere the intentions, the Church's practices stand in opposition to the clear command:

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image... thou shalt not bow down thyself to them.” God is Spirit. He is not represented by wood, gold, or canvas. He is not honored through forbidden rituals or titles He has reserved for Himself. True worship is spiritual, obedient, and grounded in truth; not in human invention. And no tradition, no council, and no catechism has the authority to overrule the eternal voice of God.

Idolatry in the New Testament: A Greek and Theological Rebuke of Image Worship

While the Old Testament clearly and repeatedly condemned idolatry, the New Testament intensifies and spiritualizes this condemnation, leaving no room for compromise or reinterpretation. Idolatry is not only prohibited in the form of carved statues or overt pagan rituals; it is exposed in the inner life of the heart, in misplaced devotion, and in acts of service and reverence given to anything besides the one true God.

The Greek word εἰδωλολατρία (eidōlolatria) is the term most often used in the New Testament for “idolatry.” This word combines eidōlon, meaning “idol” or “image,” and latreia, meaning “religious service” or “worship.” Together, the term refers directly to the worship or religious veneration of images, false gods, or any created thing. Related terms include eidōlolatrēs (idolater), and eidōlolatrai (idolaters), which consistently describe those who are disqualified from the kingdom of God due to their idol-related practices. The Greek makes no room for nuanced justifications of intent; it focuses on what is done and to whom that action is directed. If an individual offers reverence, religious service, or prayer to an image or a being besides God, the New Testament categorizes that act as idolatry; eidōlolatria; regardless of intention.

Jesus Himself lays the groundwork for this teaching in the Gospels. In Matthew 6:24, He warns, “No man can serve two masters... Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” While He is speaking about wealth, the principle is universal: divided loyalty is not tolerated in the kingdom of God. Whatever competes with God's authority in our hearts; whether material or spiritual; becomes an idol. Worship requires full, undivided devotion.

The early church, led by the apostles, strongly reinforced this standard. In Acts 15, the Jerusalem Council specifically instructs Gentile believers to abstain from food polluted by idols. This command is repeated in Acts 21:25. Paul, arriving in Athens in Acts 17:16, is deeply troubled to see the city "wholly given to idolatry." When he preaches Christ to the Athenians, he does so by confronting their reliance on images and the altar “To the Unknown God,” exposing their ignorance of the true God. Later, in Acts 19, we see the economic consequences of Paul’s teaching when a riot breaks out in Ephesus; instigated by silversmiths whose idol-making business, centered on the goddess Artemis (Diana), was threatened by the message of exclusive worship.

Paul's letters leave no ambiguity on the matter. In Romans 1:22–25, he describes the corruption of mankind as having “changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man,” and goes on to condemn those who “worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator.” This exchange; replacing the invisible, eternal God with something fashioned by human hands; is the essence of idolatry. In 1 Corinthians 5:10–11, Paul makes it clear that idolaters are not to be associated with, even naming them among those who “shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9–10). In chapters 8 through 10, Paul lays out a thorough warning about participating in practices associated with idol worship, culminating in a command to "flee from idolatry".

Paul’s warning in 1 Corinthians 10:14 ; “flee from idolatry”; is not simply about avoiding false religion. Just a few verses later, he makes a chilling theological declaration: “the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils” (1 Corinthians 10:20, KJV).

In other words, Paul reveals that behind every idol is a spiritual presence; not merely symbolic or cultural, but demonic. Idols are not just harmless statues; they are spiritual doorways through which disembodied spirits (demons) operate. While the physical object is lifeless, it becomes a vehicle through which unclean spirits gain access to the minds, emotions, and even bodies of those who venerate them.

These spirits; also referred to in Scripture as “unclean” or “familiar”; thrive where God’s truth is rejected and where unauthorized worship is offered. Idolatry is never spiritually neutral. When someone bows, prays, or seeks guidance from an image or statue, they open themselves to spiritual parasitism; demonic deception, oppression, and influence. Just as Paul said, such acts are not communion with God, but with devils.

This is why Scripture commands us to destroy idols; not just reject them intellectually. They are not just false objects, but spiritual lures, where demons reside, deceive, and enslave.

Second Corinthians 6:16 poses the rhetorical and theological challenge: “What agreement hath the temple of God with idols?” The implication is that there is none; they are wholly incompatible. In Galatians 5:19–21, Paul lists idolatry among the “works of the flesh,” and states that those who practice such things “shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” In Ephesians 5:5, he writes, “No covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God,” again emphasizing that idolatry disqualifies one from salvation. In Colossians 3:5, Paul connects the inward sin of greed with idolatry, declaring, “covetousness, which is idolatry.” This internal dimension of idolatry proves that it’s not just about physical statues; it’s about anything we elevate to a place of trust or affection above God.

Other apostles agree without hesitation. In 1 Thessalonians 1:9, believers are praised for turning “to God from idols to serve the living and true God.”

Peter (the Roman Catholic Church’s alleged first pope), writing to believers scattered throughout the empire, acknowledges their former pagan lives and calls them to have nothing to do with “excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries” (1 Peter 4:3). John closes his first epistle with the striking and final command: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). The sentence stands alone; a timeless warning.

These are not vague sentiments, but direct apostolic instructions ; clear, uncompromising commands to reject all forms of idolatry, both physical and spiritual. Yet astonishingly, the Roman Catholic Church; which claims apostolic succession from Peter and fidelity to the teachings of the apostles; has not only tolerated idolatrous practices but institutionalized them, embedding statues, icons, and saint veneration into the heart of its worship. This is not continuity with the apostles, but a betrayal of their doctrine. The very man they claim as their first pope warned believers to leave behind the “abominable idolatries” of their former paganism; while the Church that bears his name has reintroduced those same rituals under new labels. The apostolic witness is clear: idolatry has no place among the people of God. The Catholic Church’s embrace of such practices stands as undeniable evidence that it has departed from the original faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3), choosing tradition over truth and ceremony over Scripture.

The book of Revelation reinforces this verdict in the most dramatic terms. In Revelation 21:8, “idolaters” are listed among the cowardly, unbelieving, and abominable who will have their part in the lake of fire. Revelation 22:15 affirms that idolaters will be excluded from the holy city; the New Jerusalem.

The glorified Christ condemns the church in Pergamum for tolerating those who “eat things sacrificed unto idols” (Revelation 2:14), and warns of judgment for those who teach His people to commit spiritual fornication and idolatry (Revelation 2:20). Revelation 9:20 laments that despite devastating plagues, the rest of humanity “repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood.” These are sobering indictments of rituals rooted in man-made worship, where physical objects are treated as sacred or divine.

So what is the act of eating the Eucharistic wafer in Roman Catholicism, which is declared by Catholic doctrine to be literally the body of God? It is nothing less than the elevation of a man-made object; a piece of bread; as God Himself, followed by acts of adoration, kneeling, and consumption. This is not biblical worship; it is a reenactment of the very practices that Christ condemned in Revelation. A created object, fashioned by human hands, is being presented, elevated, and consumed as the physical presence of God; which the Bible never commands and consistently warns against.

To bow before a wafer, to adore it, and to call it God is to exchange the glory of the incorruptible God for something corruptible (Romans 1:23). It is to sacrifice spiritual truth for sensory ritual, and to eat, quite literally, “things sacrificed unto idols.” In calling a piece of bread divine, the Catholic Mass crosses the very line that Revelation condemns; honoring and consuming a product of man’s own hands as if it were the Creator. This is not the Supper Christ instituted, but a sacramental system built upon the same idolatrous pattern that provoked God’s judgment throughout Scripture. It is the works of their hands; the bread, the monstrance, the golden chalices; that have become objects of veneration and worship, directly contradicting the spirit and warnings of Revelation.

In light of this unrelenting biblical clarity, the claim of the Roman Catholic Church that its use of images and saints is “veneration” rather than “worship” does not hold up under the weight of Scripture. The New Testament writers do not distinguish between external rituals of bowing, offering incense, or making intercession to a created being and what they define as idolatry. In every relevant use, eidōlolatria encompasses physical acts; prayers, offerings, acts of trust and homage; directed toward something that is not God. Whether the person intends it as "worship" or not is irrelevant. The act is what matters, and Scripture condemns it plainly.

The Catholic defense; that latria is worship and dulia is mere honor; is a later theological invention not grounded in biblical language. The apostles never taught that you could bow before an image, pray to a being other than God, or treat a saint as a heavenly mediator without committing idolatry. On the contrary, the New Testament elevates Jesus Christ as the sole mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5), and every act of devotion is to be directed toward God through Him alone.

The conclusion is unavoidable: according to the language and theology of the New Testament, the Roman Catholic Church’s use of images, statues, saintly intercession, and exaltation of the pope constitutes eidōlolatria; idolatry in the biblical sense. These practices are not minor deviations; they directly contradict the spirit and letter of both Old and New Testament teaching. From Deuteronomy to Revelation, the message is consistent and urgent: worship God alone, serve Him only, and keep yourself from idols.

Why are Catholics trusting men to determine their eternal destiny — men who break God's commandments and covet the worship that belongs to God alone?

Following those who exalt themselves is not faith; it’s rebellion against the Word of God.

Sources: All Bible verses are quoted from the KJV as requested. Catholic teachings and official positions are drawn from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Council of Trent documents, and Catholic apologetic sources. Scripture references and paraphrases appear with citations for verification.