Idols, a Misrepresentation in sight of their meaning

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In the short clip about Diane Eck and her work around hinduism the topic of Idols was very important. Not, only do people following hinduism have many idols, but they are all over the place. These Idols are a representation of the gods that they worship and follow. However, in the west Idols are seen as a bad thing. My guess is that God is so above us that if we try to create something to represent him we are gravely misjudging him. However, since we cannot see god that is a problem. However in hinduism sight isn’t the underlying factor with these idols. The idols represent more than just being able to see something of the likeness of the gods, but their presence. This in turn seems to be why idols are more accepted in hinduism than in the West.

I have noticed something about Idols that we as westerners seem to look past. The fact that Idols are a stand in for God is the reason they are so taboo. I am a christian and have read most of the bible. In the past Idols were more visual things. Sight was very important in the days of the bible and talked about a lot thus Idols which had to do with that were the biggest wrong. However, the whole idea behind them is that they take the place of god. So nowadays an idol may not be a small statue, but something that you believe has a higher importance than God. For example, fame might be an idol people are after. They want it so bad that to them it has become more important than God. In conclusion, most examples about idols have to do with sight because it is the most understood thing universal, however idols go deeper than just the sense of sight and we need to understand this.


 Image Url:https://www.flickr.com/photos/wicker-furniture/9162528732

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