Avodah Zarah 4:6-7

Avodah Zara 4:6

If an idol’s worshippers abandon it in times of peace, it is nullified and benefit is permitted; in times of war, it is not nullified and benefit remains prohibited. Stone pedestals on which idols are placed when the king passes by are permitted because they are only set up intermittently (so they are not designated as places of idolatry).

Avodah Zara 4:7

The Sages in Rome were asked, “If God hates idolatry, why doesn’t He just get rid of it?” The Sages answered, “If they only worshipped things we don’t need, He would, but they worship the sun, the moon, the stars and the constellations. Should God destroy the whole because of fools?” They said to the Sages, “So let Him destroy the things we don’t need and leave the things we do need!” The Sages responded, “That would only strengthen those who serve those latter things because they’ll just say that the fact that their deities weren’t destroyed proves their divinity.”