Straggler, to PD writes: Nobody is suggesting that those who can be said to "worship" money are going to setup their prayer mats outside the local branch of HSBC. In the sense of being directly comparable to a supernatural being worthy of appeasement through worship you are right that the two things are incomparable. But that isn't what people mean when they say money is a false god (IMHO). We quite legitimately and meaningfully use words like "worship" or "idolize" and even "god" to mean things beyond their strict religiously related definition. For example David Beckham is (or at least was) referred to as a football god. He is arguably idolised and worshiped in a genuine sense of the word that has everything to do with a devout following and nothing to do with being a supernatural entity that needs to be appeased. The use of these terms in such a context is kinda metaphorical and kinda literal in a non-religious sense of the terms being used. |
Good point. Many of the so-called "gods" that we latch on to are nothing more than football players, Penthouse Centerfolds, or gun and pen collections. And upon observation, no one would suggest a collector actually groveling on the floor and worshiping their collection.
What one may find, however, is that the object of "reverence" or excessive interest often takes up a large percentage of that persons time and focus on a daily basis. A coin collector, for example may not do anything more than spend a great deal of time finding more coins to add to his collection.
And while none of us can really judge the intentions of another, we can draw a corollary between traditional worship in a religious sense versus attention given to a hobby and how much daily time it actually occupies. One spends more time with those (things) which they love.
Edited by Phat, : No reason given.
Edited by Phat, : No reason given.
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." ~Mark Twain "
***
“…far from science having buried God, not only do the results of science point towards his existence, but the scientific enterprise itself is validated by his existence.”- Dr.John Lennox
“The whole war between the atheist and the theist comes down to this: the atheist believes a 'what' created the universe; the theist believes a 'who' created the universe.”
- Criss Jami, Killo
“The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of a doubt, what is laid before him.” — Leo Tolstoy, The Kingdom of God is Within You
(1894).