The Worship of Things (2)

Acts 19:35–41 ESV

35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

Deuteronomy 14:1 ESV

1 “You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead.

Isaiah 8:19 ESV

19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Worship of the Sun

WORSHIP OF THE SUN A religious practice forbidden in ancient Israel (e.g., Deut 4:19; 17:3; Job 31:26–28; Ezek 8:16–18). It was an important part of worship for the Babylonians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, and Egyptians. The Egyptian city of On (Greek Heliopolis) is called Beth-shemesh, “house of the sun,” in Jer 43:13 because of its role in sun worship. Despite the prohibition of sun worship in Israelite religion, some traces of these practices are mentioned in the Old Testament (e.g., 2 Kgs 23:5; Jer 8:2; Ezek 8:16).

Deuteronomy 4:19 ESV

19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.

Job 31:26–28 ESV

26 if I have looked at the sun when it shone, or the moon moving in splendor, 27 and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my mouth has kissed my hand, 28 this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I would have been false to God above.

Ezekiel 8:16–18 ESV

16 And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east. 17 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their nose. 18 Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Worship of Animals

BESTIALITY Sexual intercourse between a human and an animal, punishable by death in OT legal codes (Exod. 22:19; Lev. 18:23; 20:15–16; Deut. 27:21). Israel’s neighbors practiced bestiality in fertility worship and worship of animal gods.

Brand, C., Draper, C., England, A., Bond, S., Clendenen, E. R., & Butler, T. C. (Eds.). (2003). Bestiality. In Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 188). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

Animal Worship among God’s People

Ezekiel 8:8–12 ESV

8 Then he said to me, “Son of man, dig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. 9 And he said to me, “Go in, and see the vile abominations that they are committing here.” 10 So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. 11 And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. 12 Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land.’ ”

Animal worship, also known as Zoolatry, is a religious ritual where animals are considered as deities. It forms a part of many ancient religions like cow is worshiped in Hinduism as well as ancient Persia.  It is believed that these animals represent deities and have divine characteristics. Animal worship is a very important part of the ancient Egypt religion. It is partially based on the fact that animals have qualities that humans do not possess at all or in lesser measure, such as power or speed, and which stir fear. In different parts of the world, animals are worshiped for different reasons. Here are top ten most commonly worshiped animals across the world:

10. Pig

In ancient Egypt pigs were considered as sacred to the god. Their god appears as a pig with erect bristles and who watched for storms, darkness, deserts and chaos. Even pigs were sacrificed in the name of the God. Greeks also practice the ritual of sacrificing pigs to their goddess Demeter. The goddess represented grain, fertility, purity and also cherishing youth, preserving marriages and greenery. According to Chinese zodiac pigs are one of the twelve auspicious animals. The Celts also worshiped a ‘god of swine’ named Moccus, after the prayer ceremony cooked pork was served as one of the rituals.

9. Snake

In Karnataka, India Serpent deities are worshiped. The worship of snakes is present in several old cultures and traditions. Especially in the Hindu culture Lord Shiva wears a Nag “Indian Cobra” around his neck as an ornament. Cobra’s is the most sacred among the entire snake in India. There is a special festival of snakes called Nag Panchami, where all worship snakes and their deities. It is a festival celebrated all over the India, peoples offer prayer, Milk and worship the snake. Not only in India, even  in other parts of the Old World such as America serpents are worshiped. In south India  live snakes are worshiped. The Egyptians worship a number of snake gods and in some of the Native American tribes snake is the god who give fair winds and cause thunderstorm.

8. Tiger

According to Chinese myth and culture tigers are among one of the 12 zodiac animals. The Chinese art and martial art consider tiger as an earth symbol. For eastern Asia culture tiger is a symbol of royalty, fearlessness and anger. In china there is a suburbs named Kunming which is a major tourist attraction for tiger worship. Here the worship of tiger is a tourist attraction. In Hinduism tiger is associated with the Hindu god Shiva and Durga. In Nepal, a tiger festival is celebrated called as Bagh Jatra. In many parts of Vietnam, there is a tiger temple in every village. Tigers are always admired for their strength, ferocity and royalty. One can easily see tiger statutes at the entrance of temples and palaces. It is believed that they keep evil spirits away from entering those places.

7. Cattle

In Hinduism cattle’s are considered to be holy, even Zoroastrianism, ancient Egyptian and Greek also consider them to be auspicious. Majorly Cow and buffalo are worshipped by people and the slaughter of an ox is seen as an offering to god. In south India, a Toda ritual is performed where in a year a bull calf is sacrificed and later eaten by the adult males. The Egyptian distinguishes bull by some redetermined traits. They celebrate their birthday every year and are mummified after their death and obscured in a tomb. Similar rituals are followed in Nile. In India cows are respected the most among all the animals and its products are magic for Indians. Cow is a symbol of wealth and drinking of cow urine is considered to bring good fortune and prosperity.

6. Elephant

In Thailand people believe that a white elephant contain the soul of a dead person. In India, Lord Ganesha has the head of an elephant. During the festival called Alunam, the unmarried women worship elephants by dancing and singing songs. In certain cultures elephant figurines are used to display the importance. In Sumatran culture elephant statues were built as “seats of the souls”. The Culture of North Borneo holds a different significance at all. Wooden elephant figurines were placed at the top of bamboo pole once the tribe chief had collected a particular number of human heads. It is regarded as a symbol of honor. The elephant holds a special place in Hindu culture and tradition. There are temples in south India that train elephants for temple worship. No tourist to India should miss this sight of elephants worshiping at temples. In India elephants are a part of Hindu ethos and culture. During ancient times it was used as an instrument of war.

5. Monkey

According to Chinese zodiac calendar monkeys are the ninth in the twelve-year cycle of animals. As per their belief next time the monkey will appear as a zodiac sign will be in year 2016. In Hinduism the monkey is seen as Hanuman. Hanuman is a prominent god figure. Even monkeys are worshiped in Togo and in French West Africa. The Buddhist believes that the monkey is an incarnation of Buddha. But some also believe that they are dishonest and ugly. The Chinese Buddhist uses a metaphor called “mind monkey” which means disturbed, impatient state of human mind. In some culture monkey is also seen as a Senseless Creature symbolizing greed. But in Japan monkeys are seen as teaching proverbial principle to “see, hear and speak no evil”.

4. Wolf

 The wolf holds a significant position in foundational mythologies of Eurasia and North America. The attribute of the wolf of a killer, dangerous, destructive makes it a warrior whereas on other hand these are traits of a devil. Among nomadic wolf holds great importance in their religions. In many cultures, wolves are identified with warrior. The Tlingit community god name means “wolf,” and they worship a wolf-head. The shamanic Turkic believes they are descendants of wolves.  Both Zeus and Apollo are also associated with the wolf but there is little clarity about it. The most obvious example in western culture is the Rome’s foundation, and the use of wolves in imagery.

3. Dog

In Nepal and parts of India dogs carry a religious significance. Dogs are worshipped in a five day festival known as Toyhar festival. In Hinduism, dog is considered as a messenger to the god of demise. It is also believed that they are guard to the doors of Heaven. In Nepal 14th day in November is celebrated as Kukur toyhar, meaning dog’s day. On this day dogs are worshipped with holy dot, incense sticks and garland. The Nosarii tribe of western Asia also worships dogs. The Karang of Java believes that dogs are reflection of wood. They worship dogs after the loss of a family member and burn that after thousand days.

2. Goat

During ancient times in Syria, goats were covered with silver necklaces and left open out in the city on the king’s wedding. It is believed that they carry evils with them. Certain communities like Silenus and the Fauns had part of their bodies shaped like goat. In northern Europe a community Leszi, have goat’s horns, ears and legs. In Africa people have goat as their primary divinity. Even in Greece and Egypt goats are worshiped in goat and phallic form. According to Chinese Zodiac sign, people with goat sign are shy, aloof, introvert and creative.

1. Horse

Horse worship is mostly practiced by Turkish and Indo-European people. It is also believed that Poseidon, a water god, was formerly conceived in the appearance of a horse. The horse and the mule are holy to the Roman god. In Hinduism and Buddhism, a horse headed god named Hayagriva is worshipped. Gonds tribe in India also worships a horse, which is in the shape of a stone. Horses are also commonly worshipped in Europe. In Balkan culture, a bachelor person is wrapped with a horse to transfer the sexual power of horse to the individual.

Worship of Things

Acts 19:35 ESV

35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky?