http://www.angelfire.com/la2/prophet1/adultery101.html (bad gateway)*
FTA: Adultery is also defined in a scriptural sense as “idolatry, or apostasy from the true God. Jer. 3.” Idolatry is defined as “1. The worship of idols, images, or any thing made by hands, or which is not God. 2. Excessive attachment or veneration for any thing, or that which borders on adoration.” (An American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828, see Adultery and Idolatry). Adoration is “a feeling of profound love and admiration.” Idolatry can be a profound love or admiration for anything or anyone – an image, a statue, a living or deceased saint, a preacher, a prophet, a pope, etc. Ask a Roman Catholic to identify the Holy Father, and he will likely point to the Pope. Ask a twenty-first century Protestant to identify the Holy Father, and there is a good chance that he will point to the Pope. In contrast to modern-day Protestantism, Bible believing Protestants for the past five-hundred years not only identified God alone as the Holy Father, but they also exposed the papacy as antichrist. In less than on-hundred years Protestantism has come full-circle, from exposing and forsaking the false doctrines and beliefs of Roman Catholicism, to accepting and in some cases even promoting Catholic dogma. The title Holy Father is used only one time in all of scripture (John 17:11), and it refers not to any man, but to God the Father. The application of this title to anyone but God is a blasphemous antichrist usurpation (“so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” II Thess. 2:4; “and I saw a woman… full of names of blasphemy” Rev. 17:3). In the early nineteenth century Noah Webster rightly stated that “All worship of images and saints, is an abomination to God; it is idolatry, which is strictly forbidden in the Bible;” (History of the United States, 1832, p. 299). Adoration of the Roman Catholic “Eucharist,” or so called “Host”, is nothing short of idolatry (See False Gospel of Sacramental Works). In 1765 American patriot and Christian minister, Jonathan Mayhew, published a sermon entitled Popish Idolatry in which he addressed, among other idolatrous practices, the popish doctrine of transubstantiation. Mayhew stated,
“The Romanists do not pretend to deny, but that all the five senses bear testimony against it, as much as they possibly could if it were false, or if the bread and wine remained after the juggling, hocus-pocus trick, which they term consecration…. For the truth of the Christian revelation itself depends on the truth of certain facts, by which there was an appeal made to the senses of men; particularly the miracles and resurrection of our Saviour…. Thus does the church of Rome, by this doctrine, subvert the very foundations of Christianity…. transubstantiation is the grossest imposition and insult, that ever the priesthood itself put upon the superstitious credulity of mankind. This doctrine then, being plainly false, the church of Rome is certainly guilty of idolatry, in worshipping the eucharist as true God.” (Popish Idolatry, Jonathan Mayhew, 1765, pp. 11,12) (“God is love.” 1 John 4:8; “God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” Deut. 4:24; Heb. 12:29)
*Posting this because it is a good assessment of today’s idolatry and Protestant/Roman Catholic dynamic.
We need sweeping reformation. Let me give a definition of reformation as it is given in a religious dictionary: “Change by removal of faults or abuses, and a restoration to a former good estate.” Now that is not so bad. I do not know how anybody who believes he or she is a Christian could ever object to changing in the direction of the removal of faults and abuses toward the restoration to a former good estate. The problem is change, which disturbs many people. They have accepted the status quo as being the very tablets given by God on the mountain. Most people, if they happen to be in any church anywhere, accept the status quo without knowing or caring to inquire how it came to be. In other words, they do not ask, “Oh God, is this of You, is this divine, is this out of the Bible?” Because it was done and is being done, and because a lot of people are doing it, they assume it is all right. Then songs are written about it, and it gets into magazines. Pretty soon people are called to it, and the first thing we know we have gotten into a religious situation that is not of God. It is not according to Scripture, and God is not pleased with it at all. Rather, He is angry. Yet we do not know it because we do not like the word change. The change took place slowly, before we arrived on the scene, and we think because it is everywhere it is therefore right. We accept the status quo, the existing state of affairs, and say, “This is it,” forgetting that history demonstrates that religions invariably degenerate.
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