The Effect of Idols on Christians Worship (A Case Study of Uyo L.G.A of Akwa Ibom State)
Chapter One
Objective of the study
The objectives of the study are;
- To find out how happy is God with idolater
- To find out the effect of idols on Christian worshippers
- To find out whether God is happy with the unfaithful Christian
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The Worship of Idols
In striking contrast to her neighbours the religion of Israel prohibited the use of images.9 Whereas Deuteronomy 4:12-18 explains that God chooses to make himself known through words rather than a form, Isaiah 40:18, 25 reasons that the incomparability of the Lord renders all representative forms inadequate. Nonetheless, on numerous occasions the nation failed to keep the second commandment (see e.g. the golden calf in Ex. 32-34; Micah’s image in Jdg. 17-18; and Jereboam’s bulls in 1 Ki. 12:28-34). In dealing with the subject of idolatry we confront a problem of definition, for the term can be taken to mean both the worship of images and the worship of foreign gods. Both senses are valid. The second commandment extends and applies the first. At least in the Israelite understanding, a pagan deity was present in its image.10 Disagreement over the division of the Ten Commandments also belies the close relation between the first and second commandments. Whereas the conventional Jewish division takes the opening verse as the first commandment and the prohibitions of worshipping other gods and the worship of images as the second, Augustine, the Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions consider all of this material to be the first commandment. In most cases the OT authors do not distinguish between the worship of other gods, the worship of images and the worship of the Lord using images. While a formal distinction between having gods and having images is possible and may be useful, especially in exploring teaching about the latter, for our purposes idolatry is taken in the broadest sense including material relating to both. Just as keeping the first commandment was expected to lead to obedience to all the commandments, so idolatry was thought to lead to other sins (Rom. 1; cf. Wisdom 14:27: The worship of idols… is the beginning and cause and end of every evil’), including and in particular, sexual immorality. In one sense the link between sexual immorality and idolatry could not be more concrete. Pagan temples were often the venue for illicit sexual activities. Religious prostitution was commonly practised by the cults of the ancient Near Eastern fertility religions and it was a problem for Israel from the moment they entered the Promised Land (Nu. 25:1; cf. Jdg. 2:17). This became especially prevalent in Judah and Israel during the divided monarchy from Rehoboam, 1 Kings 14:24 to Josiah, 2 Kings 23:7. According to Exodus 34:11-16 the extermination of the inhabitants of the land was commanded so that the Israelites would avoid the practice. Deuteronomy 23:17 forbids cult prostitution for Israel (cf. Am 2:7). Prostitution at cultic events of a festive nature was well-attested in places like Corinth and is even mentioned in the OT. It was common in the ancient Near East for orgies to take place at heathen festivals. Hosea 4:13-14 probably refers to this kind of activity, where mountain top sacrifices, suggesting a pagan altar, and prostitutes are juxtaposed. Further possible references in the OT include Numbers 25:lff, where Phineas’ slaying of Zimri for sexual immorality occurred in the context of pagan sacrifice, and Isaiah 57:3ff, Jeremiah 2:20; 3:6 (cf. 2 Macc. 6:4-5). In Judges 21:19-23 even a feast to the Lord at Shiloh was the occasion for the Benjamites to take wives by force. The description of the cult of the golden calf can be considered as an archetype of the events (Ex. 32). During the celebrations ‘the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play’ (Ex. 32:6). The verb ‘to play’ in Hebrew is clearly a euphemism for sexual activities. According to both pagan and Christian writers feasting and sexual immorality inevitably went together. There seems little doubt that the discussion of idol food in 1 Corinthians 8-10 included the problem of sexual immorality. Paul’s response to the problem of the prostitute in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 should probably be read in this light. Apparently some Corinthians were eating in pagan temples and using the prostitutes on offer on such occasions and defending both behaviours with the slogan, ‘all things are lawful for me’ (6:12; 10:23). As already noted, ‘rise up to play’ in 1 Corinthians 10:7, which alludes to Exodus 32:6, is probably a reference to prostitution on a festive occasion in a pagan temple. Revelation 2:14ff may supply evidence of such activity in Asia Minor: The church in Pergamum is guilty of eating food sacrificed to idols and of sexual immorality. All this speaks for a close literal association between sexual immorality and idolatry.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled. According to Singleton & Straits, (2009), Survey research can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human behaviour, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
According to Udoyen (2019), a study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitutes of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description.
This study was carried to examine the effect of idols on Christians worship. Selected Christian in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state form the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of eighty (80) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which only seventy-seven (77) were returned and validated. This was due to irregular, incomplete and inappropriate responses to some questionnaire. For this study a total of 77 was validated for the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain the effect of idols on Christians worship. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of the effect of idols on Christians worship
Summary
This study was on the effect of idols on Christians worship. Three objectives were raised which included: To find out how happy is God with idolater, to find out the effect of idols on Christian worshippers and to find out whether God is happy with the unfaithful Christian. A total of 77 responses were received and validated from the enrolled participants where all respondents were drawn from selected Christians in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state. Hypothesis was tested using Chi-Square statistical tool (SPSS).
Conclusion
We may think that, since we do not worship idols made of wood or stone or venerate our ancestors or offer gifts to the spirits, we cannot be guilty of idolatry. However, if we put anything before God, that thing becomes our god.
Recommendation
The study recommended that Christians should be faithful to God and shun involving in idolatry
References
- Richard Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of Revelation (CUP, 1993). Edward M. Curtis, ‘Idol, Idolatry’, Anchor Bible Dictionary 3:376-381 (Doubleday Image, 1992).
- Moshe Halbertal and Avishai Margalit, Idolatry (Harvard University Press, 1992). Reinhold Niebuhr, The Nature and Destiny of Man. Volume 1: Human Nature (? in London 1941 reprinted Westminster/ John Knox Press, 1997).
- Vinoth Ramanchandra, Gods that Fail: Modern Idolatry and Christian Mission (Paternoster Press, 1996). Brian S. Rosner, Greed, the Second Idolatry: The Origin and Meaning of a Pauline Metaphor (forthcoming; Tübingen). ‘Temple Prostitution in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20’, Novum Testamentum 40.4 (1998): 336-51
- Angus, Samuel. The Environment of Early Christianity. Covent Garden, England: Duckworth, 1931.
- Apuleis, Lucius.The Golden Ass. Trans. Jack Lindsay. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1967. Aristophanes. Fragments. Ed. and trans. Jeffrey Henderson. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008.
- Balch, David L., Everett Ferguson, and Wayne A. Meeks. Greeks, Romans, and Christians: Essays in Honor of Abraham J. Malherbe. Lansing, MI: Fortress Press, 1990.
- Barclay, John M. G. Pauline Churches and Diaspora Jews. Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011. Barnes, Ernest. W. The Rise of Christianity. New York: Longmans, Green and Co., 1948.
- Braude, William. G. Proselytizing in the First Five Centuries of the Common Era, the Age of Tannaim and Amoraim. Providence: Brown University Press, 1940.
- Budin, Stephanie. The Myth of Sacred Prostitution in Antiquity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
- Cohen, Shaye J. D. “Crossing the Boundary and Becoming a Jew.” Harvard Theological Review 82 (1989): 13–33. —. From the Maccabees
