I was fooled to believe by the inc cult that these disasters and calamities are brought by worshipping idols and graven images as jealous god's wrath to people. Before the bible and all the religions exists, natural calamities or disasters ( earthquakes, hurricanes/typhoons, flood, etc. ) already exists and happening naturally in the constant changing world.
In discussions about the topic of graven image in:
>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 earth
I always hear others to say that the graven image is a something as a wooden sculpture and that this commandment means that you are forbidden to worship such things and false Gods (e.g in other religions) and their images of any kind.
However, I always felt that this explanation is, as it were, fundamentalistic. I think that it says something about mental images, that is to say, about our inaccurate conceptions of God. I do not know anybody who would mistaken a wooden artifact for God but I know lots of people (including me) who could easily mistaken their idea of God for the actual God.
Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,Β but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place
Bro christians be kinda wacky ngl
Yup. You heard that right. Here is the reference to prove it. Numbers 21: 4-8: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+21&version=NIV
So after telling the Israelites that they must not make any kind of idol of any creature to worship God commands them to build an idol of a bronze serpent and that this serpent will cure anybody who looks at it who has been bitten by a snake.
Was this verse mad suspect to anybody else?
First off, here it is... KJV style.
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 earth:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God...
They took this commandment pretty seriously in the past. Even today, conservative Jewish groups and Muslims make some observance of this rule.
But how did it originate and for what reason?
I think there really is a problem with graven images. But to understand the problem, you have to understand what "graven image" is supposed to represent.
Take the words themselves.
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Graven is related to engraved, groove and even grave. It refers to the intentional act of carving or shaping a thing.
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Image. This can mean a picture or some kind of representation of something else. But today we also speak of "image" as something relevant to reputation.
So if you take those two terms and put them together, you can have a literal (exoteric) understanding... and you can have a more abstract (esoteric) understanding.
One kind of graven image would be a manufactured physical object that stands for something else. To obsess over it to be distracted by it or to covet it (as something of either physical or symbolic value) goes against the 3rd commandment.
But at the abstract level, the guiding principle is still there and perhaps even more valid.
Once you become aware that graven image can also mean "a deliberately manufactured reputation" you can be wary of them. Why be wary and what's the benefit?
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A true image (not graven) would be a reputation that comes from personal knowledge of a person or a thing. A good example of a false image would be ads, PR campaigns or some other form of marketing.
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In today's world, a lot of examples of these are found in business and politics. Graven images (ie manufactured perceptions of people or things) are created in order to achieve a desired effect... a favorable perception based on something that is essentially false.
That's the problem. The underlying falseness that is "baked into" most manufactured reputations. And the 3rd Commandment serves as a twofold caution against the practice.
1st part - Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. Do not engage in the practice of deliberately manufacturing falsehood or deception.
2nd part - Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.
... keep reading on reddit β‘I grew up Christian and have always wondered how Christian obsession over imagery intended to represent God/Christ is not a Graven image? I understand that many interpret this as similar to having no other gods before the God of Israel, but it also forbids the use of images or idols in the process of worshipping that same God. Do people just ignore this cause we love symbols and idols and imagery or am I wrong about the Ten Commandments forbidding depiction of God?
Exodus 20:4, in the King James Version, states, βThou 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.β Does this apply to wearing a cross? I ask cause... It sounds like it applies and... Ya know... We want to do this right.
Anything or anyone that you place above God in your life becomes an idol.
