--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Orthodoxy is idolatry if it means holding…" description: "\"Orthodoxy is idolatry if it means holding the 'correct opinions about God' - 'fundamentalism' is the most extreme and salient example of such idolatry ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/john-d-caputo-44050_certain_orthodoxy-is-idolatry-if-it-means-holdin_490416.png" --- # Orthodoxy is idolatry if it means holding the 'correct… ![“Orthodoxy is idolatry if it means holding the 'correct opinions about God' - 'fundamentalism' is the most extreme and salient example of such idolatry - but not if it means holding faith in the right way, that is, not holding it at all but being held by God, in love and service. Theology is…” quote by John D. Caputo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/john-d-caputo-44050_certain_orthodoxy-is-idolatry-if-it-means-holdin_490416.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/john-d-caputo-44050_certain_orthodoxy-is-idolatry-if-it-means-holdin_490416.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cd/john-d-caputo-44050_certain_orthodoxy-is-idolatry-if-it-means-holdin_490416.png) > “Orthodoxy is idolatry if it means holding the 'correct opinions about God' - 'fundamentalism' is the most extreme and salient example of such idolatry - but not if it means holding faith in the right way, that is, not holding it at all but being held by God, in love and service. Theology is idolatry if it means what we say about God instead of letting ourselves be addressed by what God has to say to us. Faith is idolatrous if it is rigidly self-certain but not if it is softened in the waters of 'doubt.” [John D. Caputo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-caputo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Faith becomes idolatry when it fixes on human ideas about God rather than being open to divine encounter. **In simple terms:** Faith is idolatry if it clings to rigid beliefs instead of love and service. Key Takeaway Embrace humility and openness in belief. Themes faith theology humility Mood reflective inquisitive Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - Personal prayer - interfaith dialogue - community service Key Concepts Idolatry fundamentalism divine encounter Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to be “held by God”? - How can doubt enrich faith? A Different Perspective Rigid doctrines can hinder spiritual growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Idolatry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idolatry/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Orthodoxy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orthodoxy/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Right way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-way/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Theology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theology/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [“It (idolatry) means turning a good thing into an ultimate thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/it-idolatry-means-turning-a-good-thing-into-an-ultimate-thing/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Idolatry is permissible in Hinduism when it sub serves an ideal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/idolatry-is-permissible-in-hinduism-when-it-sub-serves-an-ideal/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [We need a critical theory that seeks to change the world by challenging the world - including the world of evangelicals - in its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-r-trueman/we-need-a-critical-theory-that-seeks-to-change-the-world-by/) Carl R Trueman > [I loved him as we always love the first time: with idolatry and wild passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/i-loved-him-as-we-always-love-the-first-time-with-idolatry-and-wild/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [The heart clings to collected treasure. Stored-up possessions get between me and God. Where my treasure is, there is my trust, my security, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/the-heart-clings-to-collected-treasure-stored-up-possessions-get/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [“The authors challenge that the marriage in which one cannot express disappointment has become an idol – The Thing that Cannot Be Questioned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-eldredge/the-authors-challenge-that-the-marriage-in-which-one-cannot-express/) [John Eldredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-eldredge/) > [Worship of society and popular opinion is idolatry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/worship-of-society-and-popular-opinion-is-idolatry/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The universe shudders in horror that we have this infinitely valuable, infinitely deep, infinitely rich, infinitely wise, infinitely loving God, and instead of pursuing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-chandler/the-universe-shudders-in-horror-that-we-have-this-infinitely-valuable/) [Matt Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-chandler/) > [“Idolatry is not the use of images, but confusing them with what they represent, and in this respect mental images and lofty abstractions can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-wilson-watts/idolatry-is-not-the-use-of-images-but-confusing-them-with-what-they/) [Alan Wilson Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-wilson-watts/) > [“When anything in life is an absolute requirement for your happiness and self-worth, it is essentially an ‘idol,’ something you are actually worshiping. 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Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-d-moore/) > [And your Highnesses, as Catholic Christians and Princes, devoted to the holy Christian faith and the propagation thereof - and enemies of the sect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/and-your-highnesses-as-catholic-christians-and-princes-devoted-to-the/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) > [“‎A careful reading of the Old and New Testaments shows that idolatry is nothing like the crude picture that springs to mind of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-keyes/a-careful-reading-of-the-old-and-new-testaments-shows-that-idolatry/) Richard Keyes > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) ## More by John D. Caputo > [“Too often, contemporary continental philosophers take the “other” of philosophy to mean literature, but not religion, which is for them just a little too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-caputo/too-often-contemporary-continental-philosophers-take-the-other-of/) [John D. 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It must be either new in itself or invested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/for-successful-education-there-must-always-be-a-certain-freshness-in/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [People don't always realize that a record is forever. It'll always be there under your name. You've got to be certain that it's right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-iero/people-don-t-always-realize-that-a-record-is-forever-it-ll-always-be/) [Frank Iero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-iero/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) Riffat Hassan > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I mean those people who are interested in good government will certainly contribute in order to make certain there's some counter-balance to those whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/i-mean-those-people-who-are-interested-in-good-government-will/) [Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/) > [Why do we love certain homes, and why do they seem to love us? It is the warmth of our individual hearts reflected in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-robsjohn-gibbings/why-do-we-love-certain-homes-and-why-do-they-seem-to-love-us-it-is/) T. H. 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