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[–] 4 points 1 week ago (8 children)

No symbols allowed or no idols allowed?

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  • [–] 6 points 1 week ago (6 children)

    I mean any likeness of anything anywhere by the looks of it. So I guess that would include both?

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  • [–] 7 points 1 week ago (5 children)

    any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.

    So making fish statues are ok, but don't worship a fish statue as an idol. I don't see an issue with making a likeness to something as long as you're not worshipping it

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  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago (2 children)

    No, it clearly says: "You shall not make...", and then adds the reason at the end. It seems God doesn't even want you making it for any reason, because you might use it to worship. Banning images eliminates the temptation.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago

    I'm not sure that's the interpretation that Catholics go with, and I don't think they idolize the statues they make. Either way the qualifier, as I'm reading it, is that they make the thing to worship the thing.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago

    One way you can think of idolatry is by analogy to the concept of map and territory. The map is not the territory, and that can be far more of a rabbit hole than it sounds at first glance. For instance, you do not experience reality directly, full stop. Your entire experience of life is actually a living map of life generated by reality's interactions with your senses which are then filtered and interpreted by the rest of your bodily and cognitive systems.

    And so it is for those who believe in and cultivate a relationship with their deities - a direct experience that will always be impossible to fully achieve, and is nevertheless expected they spend their lives chasing.

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