idol

idol, an object, frequently an image, which is worshiped as a deity. Idols are usually found in human or animal form and may be treated as though alive; they are fed, bathed, anointed, crowned, and sometimes even provided with a consort. Christians and Jews extend the term to include any deity other than their own; theologically, however, idol worship is generally applied to the adoration of what is seen and tangible as opposed to the worship of an unseen spiritual being.

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idol

Image or statue of a deity used as an object of worship. In Judaism, the making of any representation of God is strictly forbidden, as is the fashioning of any “graven image.” Islam has also adhered to this rule. In Christianity, there has been a general acceptance of pictorial or sculpted images of Jesus and the saints and, on occasion, God, and Christianity has thus always faced the danger that such representations could be venerated superstitiously as idols. In Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism images of gods and saints are common; they are often the object of veneration. In Hinduism, a statue may be treated as a god as an act of devotion but loses its special status when the act of devotion is finished (see Durga-puja, puja).

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IDOL - Icon-Derived Object Language. An object-oriented preprocessor for Icon. ftp://src.doc.ic.ac.uk/pub/languages/icon/idol.tar.Z. ["Programming in Idol: An Object Primer", C.L. Jeffery, U Arizona CS TR #90-10].