Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 9
Tertullian condemns Christian idol-makers who say, “I make, but I worship not,” because they still enable others’ worship. What current “respectable” Christian jobs, side-hustles, or partnerships might parallel this logic—profiting from something you wouldn’t personally do—while claiming moral distance?
Another way to ask: Tertullian criticized Christians who made idols and said, “I make them, but I don’t worship them,” because they still helped others sin. What jobs or business ties today look like that—making money from something you wouldn’t do yourself while claiming you’re not responsible?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript doesn’t list modern examples, but it clearly gives the principle: a Christian may still offend God by producing or enabling wrongdoing for others, even if he claims personal moral distance from the final act.
- The teacher highlights a real early problem: “there were Christians who were making idols not to worship themselves.”
- Tertullian quotes the excuse: “I make… but I worship not,” and rejects it.
- His logic: the offense against God applies “in either case”—making and worshiping—because you are creating what draws others into false worship.
- The teacher paraphrases: you’re making them “so that someone else is worshiping them,” acting “like a pagan priest.”
- Hippolytus is cited similarly: if someone became a Christian, “You need to stop creating idols.”