Tag Archives: idolatry

American idols

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02_Ex_32_02_RGOK, so let’s talk about idolatry. Not a common topic today. Not one that we feel that we know much about. When was the last time that you felt compelled to kneel down before a statue or a rock? (I need to acknowledge that there are many places in the world where that temptation would be much more real than it is in Abilene, Texas)

Most of us know that idolatry can take other forms. Paul reminds us of that in Colossians:

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” (Colossians 3:5)

We recognize that if greed is idolatry, then many other things can be idolatrous. Here in the United States, greed is a common form of idolatry. So can be nationalism.

In a recent Facebook discussion, someone asserted that as long as we consider being Christians more important than being Americans, then our nationalism isn’t idolatrous. But it’s not that simple.

In the Bible, we find that the Israelites struggled with polytheism throughout the Old Testament. It wasn’t so much an outright rejection of Yahweh; it was a desire to worship Yahweh along with other gods. Or to make images to worship and call them Yahweh. That’s what the golden calf was in Exodus 32.

There are all sorts of things in our lives that want to become idols:

  • Work
  • Relationships
  • Money
  • Our country
  • Political parties
  • Personal freedoms

What are your hopes and dreams built around? What values guide you when making decisions? What do you give your time and money to? What guides your behavior?

The answer to the above questions can help you spot idols in your life.

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
Do not have other gods besides Me.

Exodus 20:2-3 (HCSB)

Image courtesy Sweet Publishing

When does patriotism become idolatrous?

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I’m going to interrupt my series on Latin America for a few days. I want to talk about something that has surfaced recently in several arenas that I interact with.

In the comments section on something I posted on Facebook, one friend commented that he knew of no “conservative patriots” that approach their patriotism in an idolatrous way. I found that comment intriguing and have spent much time thinking about it.

I should say that there are some that are openly idolatrous in their worship of country. A good example is Mark Stevens’ article “I spell God with stars and stripes.” But I don’t know if idolatry is always as easily seen as in that case.

Think about when Paul said that greed is idolatry. Or when Jesus said that you can love God or love money, but that you can’t serve both, that you can’t serve two masters. Aren’t they addressing a form of false worship in which the idolater doesn’t even recognize his idolatry? Isn’t it possible to fall into the worship of something without realizing it?

Countries beg to be worshipped. They couch things in religious terms. Battlefields became “hallowed ground.” Deaths become “sacrifice.” To mistreat a flag is to “desecrate it.” Patriotic ceremonies are performed with silence and solemnity; placing your hand over your heart is common. All of this ritual is designed to instill feelings of devotion, to create a religious feel to what is done.

It becomes worse where religion and patriotism are easily mingled. “God and country.” Bibles wrapped in flags, or the text of the Bible included in a book called The Patriot’s Bible. It reaches a point to where many well-meaning Christians will assert that patriotism is a duty of the Christian.

In Peter Leithart’s book Between Babel and the Beast, he writes:

America became an agent not of God’s kingdom but an instrument for the spread of American institutions and American culture, and there was a tendency to see America ‘basking in [God’s] permanent favor.’ … Throughout American history, orthodoxy has been strong enough to check the danger of deifying America itself—check, but not eliminate. But the intellectual structure is in place for Americanists to think those who worship America are offering service to God.

Take some time to read Roger Olson’s review of Leithart’s book. And think about the question: when does patriotism become idolatrous?

Idolatry of religious freedom

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Brian Nicklaus mentioned a book to me yesterday, a book called Resident Aliens. Investigating the book, I read a review which mentioned the phrase “the idolatry of religious freedom.” That phrase jumped off the screen at me. I need no explanation of that; I’ve faced it time and again, just didn’t realize what it was.
It comes up in almost every discussion of Christians and politics. “If Christians aren’t involved in politics, we may lose the religious freedoms we have.” “We have to make sure that our children have the same freedoms we do.” (I could point out the fact that the religious right has been more visible and influential politically than ever the last few decades, yet most feel that we’ve made no progress in achieving more religious freedom. But that would distract from the main point.)
Dare we base our decisions about what is best on something that isn’t set out for us in the Bible? Surely the book of Revelation is pertinent here. When writing to an oppressed church, Jesus told them to be faithful. No words about religious tolerance or religious freedom. The Christian’s job is to be faithful.
Religious freedoms are wonderful. I admit it. I view them somewhat like riches; they make life easier, but they are also dangerous. The church that lives in a country that grants freedom tends to grow fat and lazy. The lack of resistance allows the church to grow soft. It also creates confusion between patriotism and holiness. Just as I won’t willingly seek poverty, I won’t willingly seek to lose my religious freedoms. But I can’t see making the preservation of those freedoms a principal goal in my life.
When Jesus talks about being willing to give up everything to follow him, he means everything. Would we be willing to give up our religious freedoms in order to be faithful? If not, then religious freedom has become an idol in our lives.
I can somewhat understand being involved in politics to help end war, to help protect the unborn, to fight for the environment, to work to bring about social justice. I think that’s the wrong way, and I think it’s the least effective way. But at least I can understand it. However, the fight to preserve religious freedom has no biblical base. And it borders on idolatry.
Or is there something I’m missing?