Unless that's a joke, it's unfair. As a matter of fact, all this smooching gives me the heebie-jeebies. But there are different styles,and not all kisses mean what onlookers think they do. And the onlooker who assumes they MUST mean what they mean in his hometown is silly.
As to idolatry and all that, one question for me is when does error become idolatry, or is it always idolatry? Were those who were baptized with the Baptism of John and had never even heard that there was a Holy Spirit idolaters?
And the question about the existence of false gods also remains.
"As for the gods of the nations, they are but idols."
To me that suggests that it is nonsensical to say the Muslims worship another god. There simply IS no other God. They either are in error about God or they worship the thing that is not.
I am hereby officially out of gas.
Dawg, it’s not all that difficult. You’re either worshiping the true God or you’re worshiping a god of your own making. That’s the message of Scripture.
Those not in Christ are all idolaters, full stop. And even Christians will from time to time be tempted to focus their gaze on something other than God, which is idolatry. See 1 Cor 6:10, Eph 5:5, Col 3:5.
My suggestion is to put aside the philosophical construct that you normally use and try to understand the biblical philosophical construct. You may not agree with it but at least you’ll understand it’s position.