The gold-leaf "Don Colossus" statue, unveiled May 6, has reignited debate over modern idolatry. (AI Image)
With a Subtitle: Comparing Trump to Nebuchadnezzar's statue and the golden calf at Sinai
A brief Excerpt: Donald Trump's gold-leaf 'Don Colossus' statue has revived charges of idolatry. We weigh it against Nebuchadnezzar's golden image and Israel's golden calf to ask what Scripture really says about worship.
The Author is: Zack Duncan
Donald Trump has a new statue.
The gold leaf-covered statue named “Don Colossus” had its unveiling ceremony on May 6.
Does this rightly bring on accusations of idolatry for the president’s fiercest supporters? Or is it an overreaction driven by partisan hostility?
Mark Burns, the pastor who led the unveiling ceremony, thinks it’s the latter.
Here’s a portion of his post on X, where he directly addresses the statue’s critics.
“What amazes me is how quickly some people have compared this beautiful statue, created, and made possible by more than 6,000 patriots, to a golden calf or idol worship…”
In the same post, he goes on to say the following:
Honor is not worship. Respect is not idolatry. Celebration is not bowing down to a false god…
This statue was not created for worship. It was created as a symbol of resilience, patriotism, courage, and gratitude. It was created to honor a man whom many may disagree with, but millions of Americans believe has done extraordinary things to make this nation stronger…
Is he right? Is Don Colossus fundamentally different than memorable moments of Biblical idolatry?
Let’s look at one example that supports at least some of Pastor Burns’ claim.
Don Colossus vs. Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden Statue
Nebuchadnezzar commissioned a giant golden statue in the year 587 or 586 BC.¹
very different statues (AI)
The statue was likely tied to his imperial authority and was a tool for unification in the religiously diverse Neo-Babylonian Empire.
A dedicated polytheist, Nebuchadnezzar allowed the peoples in the lands he had conquered to worship their own gods…as long as they also worshipped the statue of Nebuchadnezzar.
His statue, set up in the plain of Dura — just outside the city of Babylon — ² consolidated religious and political power under his authority.
The statue was hard to miss. At 90′ tall it dwarfed Don Colossus which checks in at “only” 22′.
There are other, more obvious differences, besides the scale alone.
Nebuchadnezzar demanded that everyone come to the dedication ceremony of his statue.³ Donald Trump did not.
Nebuchadnezzar mandated that viewing his statue required falling down in worship of it.⁴ Donald Trump has not.
Nebuchadnezzar decreed the death penalty for any who refused to honor his statue.⁵ Any viewing or honoring of Don Colossus is entirely optional, and declining to do so won’t get you killed.
Yet even with these differences, there are strong parallels between the President’s golden statue and another famous idol.
The Making of the Golden Calf
The Israelites arrived at Mt. Sinai 3 months to the day after leaving Egypt.⁶
They had just been through a series of high-stakes crises. They likely would have felt a mixture of anxiety and a measure of relief after escaping Pharaoh.
But when the Israelites heard the voice of Yahweh speaking the 10 Commandments from Sinai, the relief was replaced by fear.⁷
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” [Exodus 20: 18–19]
The Israelites can’t handle the direct access to God’s voice. It is overwhelming to them. They want to hear from Moses speaking on God’s behalf.
Moses goes up to the top of Mt. Sinai to speak with God directly and get further instruction for the Israelites.
But there’s a problem that arises almost immediately for the Israelites after he departs.
Moses, their intercessor before this powerful God, seems to have gone missing.
Where Did Moses Go?
Moses goes up to meet with Yahweh on Mt. Sinai. And then he stays there.
For forty days.
The top of the mountain is consumed by the fire of Yahweh’s divine Presence.
Their leader must be dead. This is what the Israelites think. And not unreasonably.
They don’t know that Moses is alive and well. They don’t know the finger of God is writing the 10 commandments that they had already heard spoken aloud.
They don’t know Yahweh is reiterating the importance of the first two commandments that expressly forbid any worship of other gods and any manufactured idols.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites this: ‘You have seen for yourselves that I have spoken to you from heaven: 23 Do not make any gods to be alongside me; do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold. [Exodus 20: 22]
They just know they are afraid and need a leader. They need another way to access spiritual power since their intercessor seems to be dead.
They go to Aaron, the brother of Moses, to ask for a replacement.
When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us elohim who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.” [Exodus 32:1]
Elohim can be translated as god, or gods, or God (Yahweh). It’s a generic term for a spiritual being that can be applied to Yahweh, the sole Creator God, or a lesser spiritual being created by Yahweh.
Because of the translation difficulties it’s not immediately clear if the Israelites think they are worshipping new gods or worshipping their own God in a new way.
The Tree of Life translation (for Messianic Jews and based on the original Hebrew) for Aaron’s response suggests the Israelites thought they were worshipping Yahweh but in a new way.
2 So Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden rings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden rings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 He received them from their hand, and made a molten calf, fashioned with a chiseling tool.
Then they said, “This is your god [elohim], Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt! [Exodus 32: 2–4, Tree of Life Version]
Aaron seizes an opportunity to bring the focus back solely to Yahweh in the verse that immediately follows.
He proclaims the following day to be a feast day dedicated to Yahweh alone.
5 When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, “Tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord [Yahweh].” 6 So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry. [Exodus 32: 5–6]
Are they worshipping the golden calf or Yahweh? It appears they think they are doing both at once.
Syncretism at Sinai
This is something called religious syncretism: the fusion of multiple religious traditions into a new, modified system.⁸
The golden calf is perhaps the defining early example of this.
The Israelites do not appear to have been looking for a new religion. They wanted a new mediator for the Presence of Yahweh. Many scholars argue the calf was not intended as an independent god for the Israelites, but a vessel or pedestal they intended for Yahweh.⁹
If true, this would bring Yahweh down into their midst. So they could have access to the same spiritual power that brought them out of Egypt, but through an intermediary they could understand.
Wrapping Up
So is Donald Trump’s statue modern day American idolatry?
Here are 5 things that the Bible indicates about the golden calf:
The Israelites were in a time of intense change and disruption and they were afraid.
Their entire identity seemed to be at risk. They thought they had lost Moses. Their leader. Their access to God’s divine provision.
They wanted a more tangible replacement for God instead of worshipping the invisible God. In the golden calf they found something that seemed close to God. A “God supplement” perhaps.
Aaron, their spiritual leader, seemed to realize that things were slightly amiss but thought it was close enough to still actually be worshipping God. He declares a festival to Yahweh after introducing the golden calf, in the earliest example of Israelite religious syncretism.
As the rest of the story in Exodus 32 reveals, it turns out they were not worshipping God at all. Their attempt to blend worship of the Lord with other elements defiled their faith and was resoundingly rejected by the Lord.
It’s also interesting to consider what the word worship truly means.
Our word comes from the Old English weorthscipe which means “worth-ship.” It’s what we esteem, value, and prioritize as the ultimate source of worth in our lives.
The essence of the first commandment is whether we value and prioritize God alone, or if there is anything else that might seem like a close substitute but is not God alone.
So is Don Colossus America’s golden calf?
While it’s not identical to Biblical idol worship, it reflects the same spiritual impulse of the Israelites at Sinai.
Scripture suggests idolatry begins long before bowing down to a golden statue.
