[aMorePerfectUnion]

"Just over this weekend, at the Easter Vigil, literally hundreds of millions of Christians saw incense wafted upon altars, Gospel books, lectionaries, vestments, all the clergy on the altar, and the entire congregation. It does not mean we worship or idolize this book, this table, this article of clothing: it means we dedicate them to God."

It very well may mean this. It would be most reasonable for you accept our own explanation of our own actions, and not to impose your own. You have no call to appoint yourself the arbiter of things which you don't actually understand. We, and not you, are the proper interpreters of what we think, say, and mean.

Reasonableness is nice, but Christianity is based on revealed truth.. Only God and what He has said through His Word is the arbiter of what is pleasing to Him and what defines worship or idolatry. We are called to judge rightly and righteously.

Paganism and its practices were rejected and approved by God throughout Scripture and never approved Scripture.

Your claim has devolved into reasonableness instead of supporting it with truth. This is the bronze serpent standard.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Your opinion is that bowing, incense, veneration of holy objects, places, etc. is idolatry or paganism. Actually, all these things are solidly Biblical practices--- as long as they do not convey adoration of a false god, but rather, a secondary respect for a holy or honorable person (or place or thing), within a primary worship for the True and Only God of Israel.

It all sdepends on intent. If I say your baby girl is adorable, it does not mean I worship her as a goddess. If I say I venerate the memory of our WWII dead, it does not mean that I think our soildiers are equal to the Almighty.

It is imjpossible to "inadvertently" adore someone or something in an idolatrous way. It is always the deliberate intent which governs the meaning of the act.

I've already referenced the fact that Ark was incensed, anointed with oil, and so forth (gestures of veneraton.) Here’s where the confusion comes in. What’s forbidden is bowing or incensing or anointing in adoration of an object; not bowing etc. as a sign of honor or respect. Can I show that Biblically? Absolutely. It permeates Old Testament culture.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Just to illustraste the range of legitimate Biblical significance of bowing (which is an act of veneration), I looked up “kneel(ing)” and “bow(ing)” in the good old BibleGateway Keyword Search, and found so many references it would be exhausting to list them all.

Genesis 23:7 Then Abraham rose and bowed down before the people of that land

Genesis 33:3-7 Jacob bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother Esau

maidservants and their children bow down to Esau

Leah and her children bow down

Joseph and Rachel bow. Etc. etc!

Genesis 37 Joseph’s dreams: his brothers’ sheaves of corn -— and then the sun and moon and eleven stars —— bow down to him. Later his brothers actually do bow down to him with their faces to the ground

Genesis 48:11 Joseph bows to Jacob “with his face to the earth.”

1 Kings 1:15 Bathsheba bows low (face to the ground) and kneels before the aged king David

2 Kings 1:13 the captain kneels before the prophet Elijah, and “prays” (prays!!)—begs-— him to spare his life and the life of his 50 men

Moses bows down to father-in-law; Ruth bows down to Boaz;

David prostrates before Jonathan;

David prostrates to Saul;

Abigail prostrates to David;

Saul prostrates to Samuel;

Nathan prostrates to David;

Obadiah bows to the ground before Elijah;

the prophets in Jericho bow before Elisha;

the “whole assembly” bows low and prostrates before David;

David bows to the Temple;

David prostrates to Jerusalem;

the sons of the oppressors will bow to Zion.

OK, pretty obviously the patriarchs, prophets, and kings knew about the commandment not to bow down and worship anything or anybody but God. But here they are bowing, kneeling, and prostrating, to persons, places, and things, and God is not offended. Why?

Because the commandment clearly forbids bowing and adoring a creature as the Creator; it does not forbid kneeling or bowing (to king, prophet, father, husband or brother) as a form of honor.

The commandment does not prohibit kneeling or bowing to give honor. It prohibits adoration toward anyone but Almighty God.

Now here’s an interesting episode:

1 Kings 2:19
When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king’s mother, and she sat down at his right hand.

Here’s the King bowing to his mother. Does that mean she’s equal to God? No. It doesn’t even mean she’s equal to the King. It means he’s pleased to honor her because of her royal dignity, her relationship as Queen Mother.

As our mindset gets further and further from traditional custom and culture, it gets harder and harder to grasp what was once the universal language of physical gesture (he salute, the tip of the hat, the bow, the genuflection, the handclasp, the curtsey, the kiss) and put each expression in its proper perspective.

A rich cultural 'vocabulary' of Biblical honor and veneration is something to ponder and appreciate. As I live, I appreciate it more and more.