It's not that I think the offerings should stay there forever, since in real life (say, in cemeteries) such things get cleared away eventually, hopefully before they rot. But instant evaporation? I mean really!

I suspect this is a compromise between those on LDoW staff who like the idol and any there--and the many among the players--who are made uncomfortable by explicit paganism.

Me, as a convinced Catholic, I figure God can and does save hordes of good people by all sorts of dubious paths, so I'm NOT bothered! But evangelicals and those with Mel-Gibson mindsets can make cogent objections.