Seeing someone commit what can be clearly interpreted as idolatry and breaking the second commandment is worth getting riled up about.
Seconded. That is wrong. Totally.
Reverencing the object is a sin. What I been saying all along. Using it as a focus is not. The commandment tells us that.
God’s commands come first. Even a Catholic knows that!
The command is to not bow.
If someone bows, they are bowing.
I am making no judgment on motive or intent, I’m strictly going by actions which can be seen.
If God says, *Do not bow* and someone bows, that is disobeying, no matter what’s going through their mind.
It’s no different than stealing or lying. Stealing is taking something that does not belong to you. End of story. If I hear someone lie, I can determine that (provided I know the truth, like when my kids would try to pull that), I can make that determination.
If God had simply *Do not worship* graven images, then Catholics could argue the case that they weren’t worshiping it because nobody knows the intent of the heart, and they would have a valid point. But since God said *Do not bow*, there’s far less wiggle room to deny it when you see someone bowing.