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How do people worship images? (Psalm 97:7)

7 All who worship images are put to shame,
    those who boast in idols—
    worship him, all you gods!

And doesn’t this verse imply there are many gods?
Psalms 97:7
ESV - 7 All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods!

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Psalms 97:7

ESV - 7 All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols; worship him, all you gods!

Clarify Share Report Asked February 03 2019 My picture Jack Gutknecht Supporter

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Mini Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army
I would say that, even though (as noted in both the Old and New Testaments, in passages such as Psalm 19:1, Romans 1:19-23, and Romans 2:15) God has manifested His existence in nature and in the human conscience since the beginning of time, and has also selectively made His voice audible to humans, He is nevertheless (as noted by Jesus in John 4:24) a spirit Being.

Since humans relate to the world around them primarily through their senses, they have throughout history invented or constructed false gods (with a lower-case "g") in the form of images or idols in order to provide a tangible manifestation of the Power that they perceive as being greater than themselves, so that they can worship something that they can see and touch (while willfully ignoring or disregarding the contradiction that the very act of doing so reduces that Being to something inferior to themselves).

The use of the term "gods" in Scripture does not imply that God is just one of many such beings, but is either in reference to the false deities that humans have created, invented, and/or worshipped, or (as noted in verses such as Psalm 82:6 and by Jesus in John 10:34) to the granting of authority by God to humans to act or speak on His behalf in earthly matters.

In addition to providing a means by which humanity could attain eternal life, the incarnation of Jesus also provided a visible, tangible manifestation of someone who was both fully, truly God, and also fully, truly human that other humans could identify with, so that they would no longer have to invent or worship images or idols.

February 03 2019 0 responses Vote Up Share Report


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