That verse will carry no weight to catholics for they claim they do not bow or worship any idols...even with visuals that they indeed do, as well as their leadership, they will continue to deny this. As is typical with false religions they have acquired their tactics of twisting scripture and abusing verbage to call it something else entirely then what it is.
These Fathers learned their faith from those who personally knew the Apostles. Yet you believe you have the superior knowledge. Truly Protestantism of a certain type is full of arrogant pups.
VERY WELL PUT.
I think most Christians of any flavor wrestle with various levels of idolatry that Holy Spirit works to weed out of our lives.
However, the INSTITUTIONALIZED and horrific degrees and levels of such sanctioned idolatry pretending to be righteous in the Vatican Cult is extraordinarily destructive to millions of unwitting victims.
Many of the Fathers you cast aspersions upon died for the Faith. Here is one synopsis of the life of one of these great Saints. You sir must live in a blissful state.
St. Polycarp.
St. Polycarp lived in about 69-155 A.D., and was the Bishop of Smyrna, Izmir in modern Turkey. He was the leading Christian figure in Roman Asia Minor.
v He is an important link between the tradition of the Church stretch from the apostles to the 2nd century church.
v Polycarp was a disciple of St. John the Apostle: St. Irenaeus (Bishop of Lyons in 2nd century) tells us that Polycarp sat at the feet of the Apostle St. John. Polycarp also knew others that saw Christ in the flesh. He was appointed to the See of Smyrna by the Apostles themselves.
v Polycarp was a strong defender of orthodoxy—he put much of his energy into refuting Gnosticism. He had a severe attitude towards heretics. According to Irenaeus, Polycarp once met the heretic Marcion in the street: “Do you recognize me?” asked Marcion. “Indeed,” replied Polycarp, “I recognize you as the firstborn of Satan!”
v Polycarp and Ignatius were friends: On his way to martyrdom, St. Ignatius (Bishop of Antioch) stopped in Smyrna and rested with its young Bishop—Polycarp. Polycarp was the only individual to whom the great Antiochian martyr ever addressed a surviving personal letter (see attached). After the martyrdom of Ignatius, Polycarp collected his letters and sent them to others.
v Polycarp visited Rome to discuss a few church matters with Bishop Anicetus, particularly the date of the Easter celebration. Asia Minor churches were celebrating Easter on the exact date of the Jewish Passover, regardless of the day of the week, while Rome was using a specific Sunday each year. Both agreed to leave their traditions as they were—and the fellowship between them was not disturbed.
v On a February day in 155 A.D., St. Polycarp departed with the honor of the crown of martyrdom to the Church of Heaven.