So I recently found out that a friend of a friend joined a Krishna Consciousness group, which is a Hindu group developed in the US. I often ran into these guys in downtown Portland. They’re the ones with shaved heads. It would probably fall into the classification of “cult”, in that they get you to pay more and more money until you give up everything and go live in one of their communes. Hindu is not really a religion but a conglomeration of polytheistic religions; Krishna is just one brand of that which focuses on a “one god” who sounds a lot like the Christian God but is actually a bunch of Hindu dieties that somehow combine or something (maybe like Voltron?)
Pouring Milk on a scary looking idol
My friend – who is friends with the friend who joined the Krishna group – said he went to one of their meetings and it was exactly like the idol worship described in the Old Testament. They brought out a couple small statues and poured milk and fruit juices over them. My friend (who gave me permission to use his story) remarked “uhh, hey this is idol worship!” His friend said it wasn’t because the gods literally came into the statues (which actually IS idol worship). We watched some videos of their “worship” at different festivals (I do not recommend watching them, or at least not with the sound on because their chanting will stick in your head). The whole scene just broke my heart. I really understood the Apostle Paul’s heart when “Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.” (Acts 17:16). I guess over in India there are idols everywhere. China too, as you’re probably well acquainted with the Budda idols.
It almost makes you think to yourself… “wow, good thing we’ve progressed beyond that”. Right? … well about that…
Around the same time I heard a story about an Indian pastor who came and visited America. He said he was appalled by all of the idolatry here. This is a man who knows what idolatry looks like, as he’s seen people offer chicken blood to the idol of a road or numerous other sacrifices to various “gods”. And he saw our sporting events, our entertainment-centric home-lives, and our brand-name obsessed materialistic culture and “his spirit was provoked within him” from all the idolatry he saw.
One of my favorite passages about idolatry comes from Isaiah 44 (I loved with Pastor Trike read this in a sermon last summer)
13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
Can you please help a friend of mine out of idol worship? I hate it and I am disgusted to see him do idol worship. For him every thing is God. It is really disgusting. Can you please make him understand that these Hindu Gods ar enot Gods just stories.
God is the supreme power. I want a miracle to happen to him in which he will realise that all he was doing all these years were wrong and God is the supreme power.
Can you help. I dont want to tell him that someone has asked you to help him. His ego and stummorness would come in between.
Thanks for your reply! Well, I am always willing to chat with people. Use the contact form to contact me.
Two things for you to think about:
First off, idol worship is not only a lack of knowledge about the true God, it is also a heart of rebelliousness against God. All of us have this to some degree. The Apostle Paul says that coveting is idolatry (Eph 5:5). Coveting is craving something that you don’t have. This reflects a heart that wants to find satisfaction in anything but God. Jesus says to take the plank out of our own eye before pointing out the speck in our brother’s eye (Matt 7:1-5). You may be able to help your friend better if you look at your own tendencies toward this sin. By doing this, you will better understand God’s forgiveness of your own sins through Jesus. This will help you be more loving to your friend and be willing to extend grace to him despite his shortfalls.
Second off, “no one understands, no one seeks God” (Rom 3:11). You friend – like all of us – cannot alone see the true God because of sin. Only Jesus can open your friend’s eyes and give him the Holy Spirit so that he can understand the true God. Because God has to do it, praying for your friend is the most effective thing to do.
Remember, God is good and can do miraculous things. I used to worship idols. Although I did not have statues, I bowed down to money as an idol. Jesus rescued me from that and He can rescue your friend as well. Jesus died to all sins on the cross and when He rose from the dead, He proved victory over both sin and death!