Modern day idols. by Jeffery Curtis Poor. We tend to view idolatry as a sin of the past or something of Eastern mysticism. We associate idol worship with small wooden trinkets, a golden calf, or other images of gods. We certainly don't think we have modern idols in Western culture. The self and idolatry. In today's world, far from ancient times, the concept of idolatry has taken a different form. A major aspect of modern idolatry, particularly in Western culture, revolves around the idea of putting oneself at the center of everything. Your ego, your pride and your identity can become objects of worship and alienate you. During the 19th century, the European representation of Buddhism underwent a profound metamorphosis: from a form of idolatry practiced by pagans, to a religion, then to a world religion, and finally to something beyond the category of religion. . Today, scholars of Buddhism are often asked: Is Buddhism a religion? Refusing to worship Him but worshiping another is idolatry, a serious sin condemned throughout Scripture Lev. 19:1-4 Ps. 31:6 96:5 Ezekiel. 6 10:1-22 Revelation 21:8. Throughout biblical history, the idolatry that most prophets railed against consisted of serving pagan deities, beings that people specifically worshiped as gods. Obviously the attempt here was to worship the true God through the golden calf. Moses made this fact clear when he recounted this event at the end of his life in 16: “And I looked, and behold, you have sinned against Yahweh Elohim, the Lord your God. You had made yourself a golden calf. Idolatry is the subject of the first three of the Ten Commandments and its practice is one of the three cardinal sins that one is supposed to die rather than transgress with murder and illicit sexual relations.