IDOLATRY, the superstitious Worship which is paid to Idols and false Gods. This word is in general understood for all impious, superstitious, and sacrilegious Worship. People are not agreed about the original of Idolatry. The Author of the book of Wisdom proposes three Causes of it: first, the love of a Father who having lost his Son in an advanced age, to comfort himself under this loss, causes divine honours to be paid to him. Secondly, The beauty of Works engrav’d. Thirdly, The skill of an Artificer in Potters-earth, who consecrates a Statue of his own making as if it were a Deity. They who believed that man was formed by chance, imagined, that by degrees he came to institute a Religion for his own use, and that fear and superstition were the first causes of this Religion. Primus in orbe Deos fecit timor. Man under the disturbance of mind, proceeding from his fears, Lucret. l. 5. de rerum natura.forged, says Lucretius, imaginary Deities.
The most knowing in this matter are persuaded, that the first objects of idolatrous worship were the Sun, Moon, and Stars. The brightness, beauty, and usefulness of them, with respect to us and every thing about us, induced men to ascribe some divine virtue to them, and afterwards a religious worship. Others1 have believed, the most ancient Idolatry to have been that of Angels. At first some respect was shewn them, founded on the excellency of their Nature, and the assistance which we receive from them: afterwards a sort of worship, subordinate to that which is due to God, was paid them. Lastly, they were adored without any reference to God. After this, some imagined that Angels belonged to the Stars; and so the worship which was paid them, was insensibly transferred to the Sun, Moon, and Stars.
Vossius, who examined this matter with so much care, maintains, that men began first to depart from the worship which they owed to God, by rendring divine honours to the two Principles of Good and Evil. Mankind observing, that the World abounded with Good and Evil, were not able to imagine, that God, who is all over Goodness, should be the Author of Evil. They invented therefore two Deities of equal power, to whom they allotted quite different offices. The first Principle, the author of Good, created the World; the second Principle, the author of Evil, spread throughout it all the Evil he could. To the worship of these two Principles succeeded that of Spirits, particularly that of Dæmons; afterwards that of Souls was introduced, Wisd. xiii. 13, 14. xiv. 15. xv. 7, 8. Vossius Tract. de Idolat. l. 1. c. 1.of Heroes, and illustrious Persons.
But if we would recur to the true cause of Idolatry, we must search for it in the depravation of man’s heart, in his ignorance, vanity, pride, love of pleasure, his fondness of things sensible, his libertinism, brutal passions, the irregular love of amorous persons, the mistaken tenderness of a father for his child, or of a wife for her husband; an extravagant respect in subjects for their Prince, or of children for their Father, an excessive gratitude for the benefits and services received from certain persons, admiration of the great qualities of creatures, or of illustrious persons: one or many of these reasons, joined with the indelible Idea conceived by man of the Divinity, induced him to pay respect, worship, and a superstitious adoration to what he loved, esteemed, or honoured with excess.
If any one ask at what time this disorder began, some of the Rabbins will tell him, that before the Flood, the descendants of Cain introduced into the world the worship of the creature. They believe Enos to have been the first inventor of it: in this sense they explain a certain passage in Genesis, which, according to the Hebrew2, may be interpreted in this manner: Then the name of the Lord was profaned by giving it to Idols; but the old Greek Interpreters, and St. Jerom, understood it otherwise. The Septuagint3: Enos placed his confidence in calling upon the name of the Lord. Aquila4: Then people began to call upon the name of the Lord. The Vulgate: Enos began to call upon the name of the Lord. The Eastern People make no doubt, but that Idolatry was common before the Deluge; and it is but too probable, that in the inundation of wickedness intimated in the Scripture by this expression, All flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth, impiety of worship was meant, aswell as the infamous irregularities of incontinency.
Joseph. Antiq. l. 1.Josephus, and the generality of the Fathers, seem of opinion, that after the Deluge, Idolatry became very soon the prevailing Religion of almost all the world; for wherever we cast our eyes since the time of Abraham, we see only a false Worship and Idolatry in the world. Abraham’s forefathers and Abraham himself were ingaged in it, as the Scripture mentions with sufficient clearness. Your fathers dwelt on Josh. xxiv. 2, 14.the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor, and they served other Gods. Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the Gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt.
Epiphan. de Hæres. Suidas in Serug. Josh. xxiv. 14.St. Epiphanius believes, it was Serug the grandfather of Terah who first introduced Idolatry after the Deluge. Others believe, that it was Nimrod, and that he instituted the worship of fire among his subjects, which subsisted for so long a time in Persia, and in some places of it is still continued. Some add, that the Patriarch Abraham refusing to adore this element, was cast into the flames, out of which he came in a miraculous manner without having received any harm. Others will have it, that Cassian. collat. 8. c. 21. Lactant. l. 2. de falsa Relig.Ham the son of Noah was the inventor of Idolatry. Some likewise charge his son Canaan with this crime. But we must confess, that there is no positive and historical proof of all this, and there is a great deal of probability, that Idolatry came insensibly and by degrees, and that they who made the first step towards this impiety, did not carry it to the point at which it afterwards arrived. It is without doubt very ancient in the world, but to fix the Epoch of it, and assign the Author or Authors of it, is impossible: for we must not believe, that Idolatry came in all from the same country, every nation set up its particular Gods, and a Religion after its own mode. When once we leave the Jerem. ii. 13, 14.fountain of living waters, which is the Lord, every one hews himself out broken cisterns that will hold no water. Hence proceeds that monstrous diversity of Opinions, Worship, and Deities which is to be met with in Paganism. I do not enter into any enquiries after the rise of Idolatry among the Greeks and Romans.
Read this article in its place on the printed pages