Art, the Universal Language of Religion by Naif al-Mutawa in today’s Lebanon Daily Star newspaper, contains this remarkably inciteful message about the idolatry of scripture:

When people first communicated through the use of images, idols were – well, idolized. As methods of communication improved, the written word – in the form of holy books – often took the place of these idols. The more concrete the interpretation of a word, the more the actual image of that word is being idolized. Words communicate a depth and breadth of meaning that transcends the sum of their letters … In essence, then, a rigid interpretation of God’s words by man is nothing more than idol worship.

We unreservedly concur with this assessment. It is not only images of stone and wood that can turn us from God to the worship of created things.