How was Idolatry Possible

Adapted from Rambam's Mishneh Torah,

"Laws Concerning Idolatry," Chapter 1
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Near the very beginning of time, in the third generation of the history of mankind, in the days of Enosh, the grandson of Adam: the descendents of Adam - and even the wisest among them - made a big mistake:

"Since the Alm-ghty created the stars and constellations, to govern the world, and the forces of nature," they reasoned: "since He exalted them, by placing them in the heavens, surely it is the will of G-d, that we should also praise and glorify them."

The descendants of Adam, followed through on their faulty reasoning. They built shrines in honor of the heavenly bodies, and they offered sacrifices to them, and praised them - all in an attempt, to fulfill what they deemed, to be the will of G-d.
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Although the people knew, that there is none other than G-d; that no other being exists in its own right, besides the Creator Himself; Who continually sustains the existence of the whole world, and every single creature within it:

they mistakenly believed, the glorification of the stars and the constellations, to be the will of G-d.
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After many, many years, false prophets began to arise, among the the descendants of Adam.

They claimed, that G-d was commanding mankind to serve the stars, and to sacrifice to them; and to fashion their forms as idols, in order to bow before them, and so on.

They would depict a form they had fabricated in their minds, and say, "this is the form of the deity, that I was shown in prophecy. "Idols were placed in the palaces, and under the trees, and on the mountaintops, and on the hills; and the people would gather together, to worship them.

The priests would say to the descendents of Adam: "This is the image of a god, who bestows benevolence to those who do such and such; and wields the power, to cause harm to those who do such and such.

Surely, this god is worthy to be worshipped and feared. "Others would stand up and tell a different story, describing a different practice of worship, for a different idol. In this way, idolatry, in its many forms, spread throughout the world.
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With the passage of time, the most holy and true G-d, was forgotten. With the exception of a just a few special individuals, [such as, Chanoch, Methuselah and Noah], no one recognized their Creator.

Everyone else believed, that there was no G-d other than the idols they worshipped. The entire world was mistaken, and the thing that had caused them to err in the first place, until the truth was completely foreign to them, was their worship of the stars.

The big mistake of the descendents of Adam, the faulty reasoning that eventually evolved, into full-fledged idolatry, and the denial of the existence of G-d; began with the careless deduction, that it was G-d's will, that they praise the stars and the constellations.
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In truth, however, their reasoning was as foolish as, "praising the ax, in the hand of the woodchopper."

It is not fitting to "praise the ax," for the tremendous feat of leveling a forest, to build a settlement, for example, when it is "in the hands of the woodchopper," the one who actually did the work.

So too, it is not fitting to praise the heavenly bodies, as if they were forces in their own right, for the tremendous feat of ministering over the world; when it is really the power of the Alm-ghty, Who animates them.
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Noah knew, that there is one G-d; it is He who animates the entire universe; it is He who created everything; and that in all of existence, there is no G-d besides Him.
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Excerpts from a discourse by the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, on this chapter.
(Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. 20, pg. 13-21) :

In writing the first chapter of "Laws Concerning Idolatry," the Rambam [Maimonides] in no way set out to teach us a history lesson, and certainly he did not intend, to tell us an entertaining story.

Rather, this is part of a book, whose sole purpose is to codify
Torah law; as the author himself writes in his Preface.

Therefore, it is a great wonder, that the Rambam goes to such trouble, to detail such a lengthy account of the history of idolatry; for how does this story relate to Torah law?!

The answer to this question is, that this first chapter serves as a general introduction, to the entire section of "Laws Concerning Idolatry," as it forewarns us, of the original mistake of foreign worship.

The sin of idolatry, is connected primarily with the faulty thinking of man, the false belief, that a created being, an angel, or a constellation, etc., is a deity - a being that exists in its own right - or an agent, between man and G-d.

In order to properly fulfill the prohibition of foreign worship, it is not enough to know, which acts are prohibited and considered idolatrous, but we must - first and foremost - safeguard our thoughts, to the utmost extreme.

It must also be firmly established in our minds, that all created beings in the world, have no existence in and of themselves; and thus, there is no rational grounds to suppose, that any created being, should be worshipped.

To this end, the Rambam illustrates the central role, that faulty thinking played in the history of idolatry, as a preface to the particular laws and prohibitions, concerning idolatry.

He first tells us about the original faulty thinking of mankind: "Near the very beginning of time, the children of man - and even the wisest among them - made a big mistake."

They reasoned that "it is the will of G-d," that they should praise and glorify His most exalted creations, the heavenly bodies.

Next, he writes about the further descent of the children of man, until their thinking process became totally incongruent with reason: "false prophets...claimed that G-d was commanding mankind to serve the stars...

Everyone believed, that there was no G-d, other than the idols they worshipped."

This is a lesson to us also.