When false idols become falser
One of my favourite Old Testament passages is Isaiah 44:9-20, which artfully describes the utter foolishness of idolatry. A man spends his time and work fashioning an idol, then spends the rest of his time bowing before the very thing that he has created: “No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, ‘Half of it I burned in the fire ... And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?’”
Next in the line of the evolution of idolatry, comes PocketChapel: “a software altar for your Computer.” Through the software, you can create and decorate your own private little worship spot right on your desktop. Some of the advantages that are listed: “See it as a sign of god on your Computer, which remembers you, that we all are a part of a bigger thing”, “A lot of people work more than 8 hours a day on their computers. Know that computertime is lifetime. Give PocketChapel a chance to balance your life or helping you to stand your dark hours.”
Perhaps we might now rework Isaiah 44:16 to something like: “He takes his computer and creates a PowerPoint document, when his boss is not looking, he loads it up and plays Quake. Also he clicks his mouse and says, ‘Aha! I have been efficient!’. And the rest of his desktop he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it.”
I can't understand whether it's good or bad when computer graphics take the place of wooden idols: how confused is modern life when even your false idols aren't real?