The safe-guards found in the teachings of various peoples who hold The Faith, such as the Bible and the Koran (Quaran) that specifically talk of man made speculations, and concocted images, or images of persons or things that are not Him.

Please view our Ontology according to Srila Vyaasa Tirtha, this puts everything nicely in its place, and clears up any confusion.

Please continue on down the page to view more information on the above topic - False Gods.

"I Am the Lord your God…..you shall have no other gods before  me."

God here identifies himself as the great I AM.

He tells us we must not look to any other being who might raise himself up as a god, e.g. Satan; or any myth such as the gods of Olympus.

"You shall make no graven image or any likeness of anything in heaven or earth, nor bow down to any such thing." This is derived from the first commandment and leaves no doubt about what God thinks of false idols.

We too, agree that one should not accept anyone as God other than that Supreme Person Who is totally Independent of all other lesser beings of these worlds. There is only One such being, but just like the Sun in the sky, He is known in different places, at different times, by different peoples, by different names. (See names of God page HERE)

"You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain."

They say, "This too is derived from and is an extension of, the first commandment. It commands respect for God’s name, and lets us know what peril a society is in which uses His name as a curse and as an expletive."

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest."

They say, "This, and all the following commandments, is a part of the second primary commandment to love our neighbours as ourselves. Everyone is to have a day off at least once a week. The Sabbath is made for man and not man for the Sabbath. It is wrong to force our employees to work on the Sabbath."

This means that the concept of 100% dedication to God, and the culture of God consciousness has been replaced by Social and economic ideals based on sense gratification.

"Honour your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land."

If each generation honours their parents and cares for them as for themselves, then each generation will be respected and cared for in their old age. Alas now we see "Rest Homes" and euthanasia as a seeming solution to an unwanted older generation, that have lost their focus due to the over emphasis on sense gratification and little direction toward spiritual persist.

"You shall not kill" now been changed to "You shall not murder."

They now say, "Murder is not the same as killing and the distinction has in past times been clear to most people. Now, however, we have so perverted our language and our laws that the difference has been blurred to the extent that it has become legal to murder babies in the womb. In terms of the primary commandment to love my neighbour as myself, I am guilty of murder if I do not stop a murderer from slaying innocents and the helpless. If society has to kill the murderer to stop him then that is lawfully killing him. It is not murder. A war of defense is not breaking the sixth commandment."

The careful wording still doesn't detract from as mentioned above the innocent being killed. Not just innocent babies in the womb but millions of innocent animals each year. See more on this on our Vegetarianism and Beyond page.

"You shall not commit adultery."

Adultery leads to such devastation of families, to such despair and pain for all, and especially for children, that it must rank as one of the worst crimes against our neighbour.

Cont.

And yet in these latter days it is the norm. It has become so commonplace that those who don’t do this are thought rather strange.

"You shall not steal."

Theft is commonplace even among misguided Christians. Stealing from the boss is regarded as a perk of the job. Violating copyright is claimed as a right and not seen as stealing the property of another. Politicians selling off the assets of a nation do not see that they are stealing the birthright of its citizens. All theft degrades integrity.

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour."

A person’s good name is a priceless asset. To bear false witness is therefore a grievous crime. Creating false evidence to convict a criminal is every bit as evil as his crime.

"You shall not covet anything which is your neighbours."

Coveting leads to envy, which is the original cause of our suffering(s) as separate enjoyers in this mundane world, it leads us to false proprietorship through theft, dissatisfaction, adultery and to gain what one wants even murder.

"The Tenth Commandment reveals how clearly woman was conceived under the rubric of property." (The Story of Civilization, Durant, Chapter XII, p. 339.)

In theocracy all things belong to Yahwah; He is the "giver" of all things. It is unlawful to covet any thing not already "given" and allotted by Yahwah.

The Tenth Commandment is closely aligned with the First, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," and the Second which is an extension of the First: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: ..." In other words, thou shalt not covet any other gods or any thing which Yahwah has created, nor any thing thy hands have created. One's heart, mind, body and the fruit of one's labor ... all belong to Yahwah; "coveting" one's own self and property is unlawful and punishable by destruction, for Yahwah is a jealous God ... vigilant in guarding His possessions. Yahwah's "jealousy" in the First Commandment is the cause of mankind's "covetousness" in the Last Commandment; deprivation causes desperation.

Since Yahwah created every thing that exists out of Himself alone and every thing was to return to Him as His very own, the Tenth Commandment could be seen as a reinforcement of the First Commandment after having been "tested" by the intervening double bind Commandments. By Stage 10 the possibility of an individual no longer exists; there is a total destruction of Self-Identity re-absorbed into the mind of Yahwah.

To "covet" is akin to taking "pride" in ones own creative efforts, which requires a Self; both are jealously labeled by Yahwah as "false idols"... to take pride in what one can create as an individual but which is made unlawful by a jealous Yahwah. There is nothing to covet from a neighbor if one is free and can own and take pride in one's own self and creativity. It is the hungry and starving person who "covets" and steals his neighbor's "bread." The Binder first creates the "hunger," secondly blames the Bound for being hungry, and thirdly steps in to "save" the "sinner" from his/herself by the same means ... more self-sacrifice. It is a circular, repeating pattern of no-win.

It is ironic that Yahwah "freed" the Israelites from bondage, as slaves to Pharaoh, to become slaves bound to Him, and then allowed the Israelites, in turn, to take slaves for themselves.

There is a connection between these two words and the First and the Last Commandments. The First is a covenant with Yahwah that there should be no earthly "gods" or "goddesses" existing before Him; the Last is that one should not covet (desire to own for oneself) any tangible (animate, or inanimate) "thing" for this would allow pride to develop should one actually own one's own creativity and Self which would lead to the danger of worshipping "false idols," i.e., "false gods."

This fits the scripture: "...there are last ("false gods") which shall be first, and there are first (earthly Gods and Goddesses) which shall be last." The use of the Pattern reverses and turns upside-down everything through the loss of personal identity. Being deprived of ownership of the human self and personal creativity causes a hunger that needs to be satisfied, which is then labeled as "aggression," i.e., "covetousness" ... which is a projection from the Binder-Thief who jealously guards His plunder. Possession equates to "ownership."

There is a connection between these two words and the First and the Last Commandments. The First is a covenant with Yahwah that there should be no earthly "gods" or "goddesses" existing before Him; the Last is that one should not covet (desire to own for oneself) any tangible (animate, or inanimate) "thing" for this would allow pride to develop should one actually own one's own creativity and Self which would lead to the danger of worshipping "false idols," i.e., "false gods."

This fits the scripture: "...there are last ("false gods") which shall be first, and there are first (earthly Gods and Goddesses) which shall be last." The use of the Pattern reverses and turns upside-down everything through the loss of personal identity. Being deprived of ownership of the human self and personal creativity causes a hunger that needs to be satisfied, which is then labeled as "aggression," i.e., "covetousness" ... which is a projection from the Binder-Thief who jealously guards His plunder. Possession equates to "ownership."

President Spencer W. Kimball: "The False Gods We Worship," June 1976
("Yes,") "The Lord (Yahwah) gave us a choice world ....
("But,") ... expects righteousness and obedience to his commandments in return. When I review the performance of this people in comparison with what is expected, I am appalled and frightened. Iniquity seems to abound. The Destroyer seems to be taking full advantage of the time remaining to him in this, the great day of his power. Evil seems about to engulf us like a great wave, and we feel that truly we are living in conditions similar to those in the days of Noah before the flood."
.... "These have submitted themselves in one degree or another to the enticings of Satan and his servants and joined with those of "the world" in lives of ever-deepening idolatry."

Kimball(Continues): "Therefore, in all ages when men have fallen under the power of Satan ("flesh") and lost the faith (i.e., have use of their own powers of reason), they have put in its place a hope in the "arm of flesh" and in "gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know" (Dan. 5:23) -- that is, in idols."

Although the disenfranchised are not to desire silver, gold, brass, iron, wood and stone for themselves (making them idols) Yahwah orders his obedient servants to invade and conquer lands, kill all inhabitants, then plunder all gold, silver and other precious things to be put into His Temple. This is likewise true of "pride;" pride in being the best at plundering, lying, etc., because it is done with "Yahwah's Sanction."

Kimball: "Placing "a hope in the 'arm of flesh,' -- that is, in idols ... This I find to be a dominant theme in the Old Testament. Whatever thing a man sets his heart and his trust in most is his god; and if his god doesn't also happen to be the true and living God of Israel (Yahwah), that man is laboring in idolatry."

Again, the human being is dehumanized into a non-entity, then filled with the "spirit" of Yahwah whom he idolizes, becomes as Yahwah is in thought and action, in short, a zealot. All the "Thou Shalt Nots" he formerly could not do, under pain of death and destruction, he is allowed to do by being One with Yahwah in all things.

(Note: Ironically, the coffers of the Mormon church are full; they are second only to the Catholic church in amounts of revenues from tithing and returns on tithing investments. This "carnal security" is "justified" because it is Yahwah's money, i.e., it is not of "carnal man.")

The human individual must not covet anything in this earthly life what you are promised in the next life; you will have all the gold you could ever want in the "many other earths" that you will receive, but don't think of this as being covetous of what you will receive in the next "world." Mormonism says the only thing necessary to obtain what you now postpone to own in this life, is to obediently sacrifice your humanity here ... for the great promises of the next life. Your "soul" which belongs to Yahwah will be "saved" in Him; therefore, being One, you have the promise that all that He has will be yours also ... IF ... at Judgment Day ... there are no "Yes, buts" to put you back at the end of the waiting line.

The precious "souls" (hearts and minds) of men and women are the self-identities that must completely, and "perfectly" die in order to be "saved" for a selfless "life" in/with Yahwah. Nothing will have changed; all "possessions" would be held in common; there would be no personal identities that could claim ownership; the means will have been taken away.
http://www.threegraces.com/AboveTheDoubleBind/mosaic10.htm

Here are some arguments that the modern day Christians present to support their views on idolatry. There are some interesting comments from the author, but what strikes me most is the strong sense of rejection based on their love for the Lord of anything or anyone lesser trying to replace or imitate God as portrayed in the Old Testament of the Bible, and similarly of the books of Islam. http://members.truepath.com/cherub7/idols.html
        99.9% of the presentation I agree with, and as stated one should be very careful to not accept any speculative form or likeness as being The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Who by His grace has appeared to numerous devotees in as many places revealing various aspects of His Divine Nature.

Here's another interesting article:
In "Hudson's Statue," Carlyle questions the populace's authority to vote and the subsequent legitimacy of the elected leaders with bitter sarcasm: "Are these your. . . Great Men?" He answers for them that these leaders elected by the people are "worthy of no worship," thereby accusing the people of idolatry. They have put their faith in leaders who do not deserve worship. Read more from this article HERE:

These articles will reveal the differences between idols, statues, etc., and the devotion needed to see God in His various forms as and when He appears. The picture below while being decorative, neither has Bhakti (devotional love) nor the presence of the nature of Icons (Deities - Shilas) found in the pages of this site from temples, altars and shrines around the world.

What happens when fanaticism takes on the face of iconoclasm. See our article on the Black Stone of Islam - the Kaaba. Here we make an attempt to reveal similarities in Islamic views and Vedik views, and to glorify the One True God, and His representative(s) in agreeance with God's teachings.

Real Icons or Idols