idolatry Archives — Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Pentecost and the Ziggurat

June 7, 2020November 12, 2024 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

Mankind is suffocated by his idolatry. If we want to breathe, to breathe again the Holy Spirit, it begins with repentance. It begins with sacrifice. It begins with worship.

Icons and Idols: Was God Invisible Before the Incarnation?

March 10, 2020March 10, 2020 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

The argument against iconography breaks down because those who reject icons do not understand what idolatrous images were actually used for. They were not merely religious art. They are a kind of religious technology designed to trap and control a god.

The Idolatry of the Pharisee

February 11, 2020 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

If we read the parable of the Publican and Pharisee merely as a morality tale about being humble rather than prideful, we miss how it is placed in the larger narrative of the Scripture and all the revelation of God.

Morality is the Original Dogma

December 15, 2019December 17, 2019 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

When you see people claiming that dogma is non-negotiable but morality can be revised, you can remind them that the original dogma was about morality and also about idolatry. And since those two things are always linked in Scripture, you can also use your discernment to figure out what they’re worshiping instead of the one true God.

Feed Your God or Be Fed by God

August 15, 2019August 18, 2019 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

To what are you sacrificing your time, your attention, your money, etc.? That is what you are worshiping.

Which God Are You Sacrificing To?

July 21, 2019 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

If we want to be like Jesus Christ, then we have to worship Him by sacrificing to Him. Sacrifice always means giving over something valuable that then becomes a means of sharing and communion with God. A Christianity that is convenient, that is without sacrifice, is not the true Christianity that worships Christ.

St. Nicholas and the Battle Against Idolatry

December 6, 2016December 7, 2016 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

A couple brief incidents from the Life of St. Nicholas of Myra in Lycia, whose feast we celebrate today, which are perhaps less well-known than other tales of the Wonder-worker: After the persecution of the Church was lifted in AD 313, St. Nicholas began to travel freely throughout his diocese of Myra in Lycia. He found that there were many altars built throughout his…

The Worship of Fire

November 4, 2010 · Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick

While I was in Toronto a few weeks ago for an educational event, I had the delight to spend many hours with a good friend from my seminary days. He turned out to be a fine guide to introducing an American to Toronto. One of the many places we stopped was a place of some religious curiosity that he’d apparently always wanted to look…