AMERICA AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: MAINTAINING FREEDOM BUT WITH LIMITS ON IMAGES?
- The United States – The Republic of Religious Freedom
The United States was founded on the foundation of religious freedom and inalienable civil rights. The US Constitution protects religious freedom, allowing people to believe, not believe, or believe in their own way – as long as it does not violate the law and the rights of others.
However, that does not mean that all forms of religion are unconditionally encouraged. Religious freedom does not mean the freedom to create superstitions, abuse images to control the spirituality and property of others.
- Prohibition of Idols – A Principle to Protect Freedom of Conscience
The Bible clearly teaches:
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” (Exodus 20:4)
The prohibition of idols is not to restrict worship, but to protect the freedom of true worship, preventing people from being manipulated by material symbols and man-made religious systems.
The idol is not God. But when people worship idols, they are easily seduced by fallen spiritual forces – demons and rebellious angels, which leads to superstition, sorcery, and soul control.
- The Jewish State Religion – Only Worship God, Not Recognizing the Name Jesus
Although the Jewish people worship God (YHVH, Adonai, El…), they do not recognize that the Name of God is revealed in Jesus Christ.
They have temples, rituals, Levites, sacrifices…
But all of these are only shadows, not the essence.
“The law was given by Moses; grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)
Therefore, the Name of Jesus does not belong to the Jewish state religion. He did not come to consolidate a carnal religious system, but to establish the Kingdom of God in the souls of each human god.
- Islam and the principle of no idolatry
Like the Old Testament, Islam firmly prohibits idolatry. This principle comes from the same idea: God is Invisible, and humans have no right to create His image.
However, even without an image, if one only keeps the external law without recognizing Christ as the Name of salvation, that religion cannot save the soul.
- Idols and “maggots” in the spiritual world
An idol is not just a dead object. It is the place where the spiritual world operates if people put their wrong faith in it.
From the human heart come “spirits”, also known as maggots – which are thoughts of disbelief, heresy, curses, etc.
These spirits create spiritual space for evil spirits (demons, fallen angels) to operate.
Therefore, the construction of soulless idols and places of worship, without the real presence of God, easily becomes a tool to manipulate the spirits of others – with money, power or fear.
- Worshiping Jesus – Is Living, Not Image
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24)
Worshiping God is not through temples or statues, but through personal lives and the human community of the spirit – that is, those who have been reborn by the Holy Spirit.
CONCLUSION
✅ The United States protects religious freedom, but there are limits to not fostering superstition and the abuse of images.
✅ Images are tools for evil spirits to operate when people lack living faith.
✅ The Jewish state worships God but does not recognize the true name of Jesus – the only name of salvation.
✅ Only worshiping in Spirit and Truth is true worship.