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Prayer wheels are also called Mani wheels. Most of them have a cylindrical shape and rotate horizontally around a vertical spindle. They can be made of stone, metal, wood, leather, or even cotton. The largest are more than twelve feet tall and have diameters up to six feet. At some shrines and monasteries, there is a row of prayer wheels which visitors can spin in sequence as they walk past.
Idol Worship
The term "idol worship" can have several different meanings. According to one definition, it is the worship of a physical idol itself, such as a statue, as if it were a real god or spirit. By another definition, it is the use of an idol to symbolically represent a god or spirit during an act of worship. And in a third possible case, a god or spirit is thought to be inside the idol at the time of worship. Thus, in the first case the worshipers believe that the idol is an actual god or spirit, whereas in the second case they regard it as a stand-in for a god or spirit, and in the third case they think that a god or spirit is inside it. Only in the first case is the physical idol itself worshiped.
One of the most famous idols is the Golden Calf described in the bible. According to the Book of Exodus, this idol was created when the ancient Israelites were camped at the base of Mount Sinai waiting for Moses to return from his climb up the mountain. The Israelites had expected Moses to return quickly, so when many days passed and he still didn't appear, they started to worry. Eventually they asked Aaron, the brother of Moses, to make them an image of the God of Israel so that they could make offerings to it. At first Aaron refused, but they continued to pressure him, and he finally decided to try to satisfy them by making something for them to worship. He collected a large quantity of gold from their jewelry, melted it with a fire, and ended up with the Golden Calf. He built an altar in front of the calf so that the Israelites could worship it and make offerings to it.
Eventually Moses came down from the mountain carrying two stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. When he saw the Golden Calf, he got so angry that he shattered the tablets on the ground. Then he
