Lactantius: It’s Impossible To Worship God While Worshipping False Gods

Lactantius was a Church father and 4th-century apologist.  He is praised by various popes and even quoted specifically by Pope Pius XI in Mortalium Animos on the matter of worship.  He is therefore an authority on worship.  Lactantius directly addresses whether one can worship the true God while worshipping false gods.  He teaches that it’s impossible to worship God along with false gods, since the worship of the true God requires belief that He is the one and only God.  He also correctly understands that worship is intimately connected to faith. 

Lactantius, Institutes (4th Century), Book 1, Chap. 19: “First of all, it has never been the case that those who worshipped these [false deities] also worshipped God; nor could it be so, for if the same honor is paid to other gods, then He whose religion is that we believe that He is the one and only God is not worshipped at all.”

This passage is particularly relevant because various Vatican II heretics have argued that people can worship the true God while worshipping a false god or gods.  They are of course wrong.  We cited the aforementioned passage from Lactantius in this video that refuted a Novus Ordo heretic.