What does idolatry appeal to in human nature?
Idolatry appeals to the innate human desire to worship something. It operates in the spiritual realm, even its dark side, and pagan idolatry joined worship with gross immorality. Temples like Diana’s were glorified houses of prostitution, and priests conscripted young women into prostitution in the name of religion.
Les explains that even though idolatry is basically dealing in the spiritual realm—the dark side of the spiritual—it still deals with man's innate desire to worship something. In pagan worship, especially at the time of Paul and the New Testament, part and parcel of their worship was gross immorality. Almost every pagan temple, such as the temple to the goddess Diana mentioned in Acts, was nothing more than a glorified house of prostitution in the name of religion. Pagan priests would conscript young ladies from across the countryside and force them into prostitution, but in the name of religion.