| WHY ALL THE FUSS ABOUT IDOLS? |
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| gods can easily lead to a paralyzing fear. If Kali isn't kept happy, her followers believe, she will cruelly punish them. Other Hindus, less devout, take a different approach. They treat their gods almost as good-luck charms. A taxidriver mounts a tiny statue of a monkey god on the dashboard of his car, occasionally draping it with flowers for decoration. If you ask, he'll say he prays to the god for safety - but you know about the traffic in India, he adds with a laugh. A Good-Luck Charm or an Evil Cult Idolatry had similar effects on the ancient Israelites. Some Israelites took the same spirit as the Indian taxidriver: Maybe an idol will help you out, maybe not, but why not play along? They drifted carelessly from god to god, adopting the religion of whatever group seemed to be having most success with its agriculture or armies. No attitude could be further from that demanded by the true God. He had chosen the Israelites as a kingdom of priests, a "peculiar people" set apart for him. As Lord of the universe, he wanted not a casual faith, but total allegiance. He was not a good-luck charm. Far too often, however, idols in Israel took on a more sinister form, resembling the evil goddess of Calcutta. Legends about Baal, for example, celebrated his drunkenness and debauchery. Followers worshiped him by having sex in the temple with prostitutes or even by sacrificing a human baby. Worshiping Baal meant a complete rejection of God's special relationship with the Israelites - a crime very much like adultery, as the prophets often pointed out. Baal worship could not possible coexist with the worship of |
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