Mordecai's Stiff Backbone: The Cost of Refusing Constructive Idolatry

The gate of Ahasuerus's palace demanded an act of worship disguised as mere respect. When the king commanded his servants to show reverence to Haman, he required them to acknowledge the minister as a god-representative, reflecting divine honor upon the monarch himself. Eastern courts practiced such deification openly; Roman emperors later demanded it of Christians, many of whom perished rather than comply.…