Judgment
The Gods of the Western World and Where They Are Leading Us
A few years ago I had the privilege of traveling around the USA speaking in Revive America Seminars as a part of the Impact World Tour.
One of my messages was on the subject of idolatry–something we don’t think much about in the Western World because we associate idols with altars and statues.
One Sunday in Hastings, Nebraska (it happened to be Super Bowl Sunday), I gave a message on idolatry which led to hours of repentance and confession. Many pastors even came forward to admit to their people that they’d gotten swept up in the sin of idolatry.
So what are the gods of the Western World and where are they leading us? How do I know if I’m personally involved in modern forms of idolatry?
Five thousand years of recorded human history reveal mankind’s penchant for worshipping idols or false gods:
- The Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia are the world’s first recorded civilization (at least 2800 B.C.). Each Sumerian city was ruled by local priests who sacrificed to the gods of nature (sun, moon, rivers) and also fertility (Ishtar).
- The Egyptians were famous for their statues to the sun god (Ra) and numerous other deities. In fact, nearly all of God’s judgments upon Egypt during the Exodus were judgments against their idolatrous worship of false gods (Exodus 8-14).
- The Greek and Roman Empires ruled the known world from the ninth century B.C. to the 5th century AD. The Greek historian Herodotus (c.484-425 BC) claimed that the gods of the Greeks had been adopted from Egypt, and many modern scholars agree. Classical scholar C. Kerenyi lists 370 Greek gods that might have gone by 646 names.
- During their zenith, the Romans accepted and expanded the Greek pantheon. This led the Apostle Paul, sharing the Good News of Jesus in Roman-occupied Athens around 60 AD, to remark: “I notice that you are very religious” (Acts 17: 22). He was talking about idol worship.
- The Mayas and Aztecs, as reported by Father Bernardino de Sanhagun in the Florentine Codex, worshipped the forces of nature and supernatural and human counterparts. What stunned the Spaniards upon their arrival in the New World were the immense ritual slaughters that were taking place—human sacrifice—at regular festivals averaging 2,000 victims a day, and on special occasions, exceeding 20,000.
Those are a few glimpses of ancient idol worship. Gods and idols everywhere and even gross human suicide/murders to the idols of the day.
There is still a plethora of ancient idol worship in the modern world, especially in Africa (animism) and Asia. “Folk Hinduism” lives up to its reputation as one of the world’s largest idol-worshipping religions involving possibly 330 million gods. (That’s nearly one for every three people in India.)
John Noss explains how it works in many parts of the sub-continent:
“The ordinary villager, who in his everyday life takes no thought for the morrow of a subsequent existence, is content to worship the village gods to whom he looks for rain, bountiful harvests, and escape from plague…There are, as it were, two religions: a work-a-day religion to meet the requirements of everyday existence and a higher religion…which the ordinary man does not attempt to understand.”
I’ve been to many Hindu and Buddhist temples in that part of the world. Hundreds of millions of people in the 21st century still bow before idols and offer incense and food offerings to the gods.
Idolatry is both ancient and modern.
Here’s an important point to ponder: Human beings are the only part of creation that worships or creates idols. Land animals don’t make idols. Sea creatures don’t worship idols. No other part of animate or inanimate creation give themselves in love and devotion to gods.
Only humans.
It’s as if we were uniquely made to worship someone or something.
The Bible tells us this Someone is not the sun, moon and stars, or any part of the created world. We were designed to worship the True God who made it all. He is our Creator and also our Savior (from sin).
This brings us to the fundamental definition of idolatry: Giving supreme time, attention and affection to anything that takes the place of God.
Human beings were created with a God-shaped vacuum inside. We can either give God his rightful place in our hearts and lives (Matthew 22:37-40) or we can fill that space with other things.
Idols.
In the Western World, under the guise of science and progress, most people do not worship ancient gods and idols. Most of us don’t frequent temples and burn incense nor do we bow to pieces of wood.
But because man will worship, we have our own set of gods or idols.
One New Testament verse is the key to understanding the idols of the Western world– 1 John 2:15-17:
“Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts. But the one who does the will of God abides forever.”
“Do not love…the things in the world.” In other words, worldly things. That’s the definition of secular–being worldly rather than spiritual minded.
Polytheistic religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and animism produce “spiritual” idols or false gods. The religion of atheism or secularism doesn’t tout spiritual things, but because of the God-shaped vaccuum in every human heart, worldly people are driven toward secular idols or gods.
Let’s call it secular idolatry. The West is full of it–and according to 1 John 2:15-17, I believe the secular idols of the West center around three (though there are many more).
1. The Idol of Sex (lust of the flesh)
Can anyone honestly deny that sex in all its forms is one of the supreme obsessions of worldly people? It is a multi-billion dollar industry on the Web and nearly half of American men admit to being addicted to pornography. What are the supermarket tabloids luring you towards? What is becoming increasingly mainstream on television and in the movies?
Sex. This secular idol’s primary “temple” is the movie theater with supermodels and movie stars being the temple prostitutes. Of course, it’s not a new form of idolatry. The Greek and Roman bathhouses were full of fornication, homosexuality and adultery during their day and a significant number of Roman citizens were bi-sexual. As pointed out by Bill O’Reilly in his best-selling book Killing Jesus, Julius Caesar was the poster child of sexual indulgence with homosexual escapades and numerous adulteries (e.g. Cleopatra).
Secularists fill their God-void by “lusting after the flesh.” Erotica is a primary god in current Western civilization.
2. The Idol of Entertainment (the lust of the eyes)
The second Western secular idol is the god of entertainment which primarily involves the eyes. We have gone from being a “giving” culture (Judeo-Christian) to a “getting” mentality which focuses on pleasure. 2 Timothy 3:1-14 says that worldly people are “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”
Pleasure comes in many forms, but entertainment is high on the list. People want to “feel good” and being entertained fits the bill in many forms including music, television, movies, and sports.
In fact, probably the most obvious temples to modern gods in the West are sports stadiums and rock concert halls.
I remember when Christians used to be called “fanatics” and sports people were “fans.” (Obviously, the first label is worse than the second.) Today, it’s reversed. Look at the people in most sports stadiums on Sundays and you will see people that really love their gods (fanatics). They wear special costumes, dye their hair, paint their faces, and shout their lungs out.
If only Western churchgoers (fans?) had such passion for the True God.
3. The Idol of Money (the boastful pride of life)
The final idol of the Secular Trinity is the one that makes everything possible–wealth or money. If personal pleasure rather than pleasing God is the emergent god of the West, then money is the ticket to its fulfillment.
Money is the substance which allows us to boast about our lives. We are keeping up with the Joneses! We have made it because we have a good job which makes us look good and provides wealth to purchase the “things” that make us happy.
Money is the new American Dream. Tony Campolo amplifies: “We want more and more of what we need less and less of.” It’s what most Westerners live for–a comfortable lifestyle fueled by wealth that allows them to pursue hedonistic pursuits.
Generations ago American towns and cities were built around churches i.e. the centrality of worship to God. The cathedrals of today are not churches (they’ve been buried by the skyscrapers). They are shopping malls, areas of commerce, and high-rise temples of Wall Street finance.
And you thought that Europe and America had become irreligious? Abandoned all gods?
Nope. People will worship. It’s just that the gods have changed. They’re not made of wood or stone. They’re made of flesh, celluloid and paper and we lust after them with our bodies, eyes, and bank accounts.
Of course, it their proper place, all these things are fine. Sex is wonderful in a godly marriage; We all need some restful entertainment at times; Money can be used to serve God and bless people. But when these things become supreme desires, affections, and time wasters, they turn from being tools into idols.
The Super Bowl is a great example of Western idol worship. You have great athleticism (entertainment), promoted by by scantily-clad cheerleaders (sex), raking in billions of dollars in advertising (money). No wonder it’s the most watched Western TV extravaganza each year.
All three Western idols are involved.
One of the clearest truths of the Bible is that God judges all false gods or idols. He doesn’t want people to hurt themselves by worshipping things that don’t satisfy them or bring Him glory.
And where are the idols of the Western World leading us?
- Consuming sexual lust is multiplying venereal diseases and destroying the family unit.
- The opiate of entertainment is making us fat, passive and uninformed.
- The love of money is leading us to a debt-laden financial collapse of biblical proportions.
What must we do?
The book of 1 John ends with these words (1 John 5:21): “Little children, guard yourselves from idols.”
That includes Western ones.
The Calm Before the Storm
As 2014 comes to an end, an interesting display of journalistic optimism is in the air. According to many sources, “Happy Days Are Here Again.”
On a personal level, I agree that hope is vital to life. As followers of Christ, we should always be focusing on the “half full cup” of blessings that God has given us instead of the half empty mug of disappointments because “we can do all things through Christ” and “the future is as bright as the promises of God.”
Yes, from an eternal perspective, the blessing of knowing Jesus far outweighs the daily pains of human existence.
But I believe there is a reason for the current global giddiness, and, in truth, another reality lies ahead.
We are simply experiencing the calm before the storm.
A number of positive articles about the state of the world have gotten my attention recently. One was an article in USA Today that touted the “good times” that the nation is experiencing. USA Today is America’s most widely read newspaper.
On December 23, the New York Times got into the act with an article called, “Economic Vital Signs in 3rd Quarter Were Strongest in a Decade.” The Times seemed practically delirious with excitement about the future. I will italicize some of the hyperbole that gushes forth from their commentary:
“The American economy grew last quarter at its fastest rate in over a decade, providing the strongest evidence to date that the recovery is finally gaining sustained power more than five years after it began.”
“Bolstered by robust spending among consumers and businesses alike, economic output rose at an annual rate of 5 percent during the summer months, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, a sharp revision from its earlier estimate of 3.9 percent. The advance followed a second quarter where growth reached a rate of 4.6 percent after a decline last winter that was exacerbated by particularly harsh weather.”
“The revision was led by an upswing in investment by businesses, a powerful force for growth in most economic recoveries but one that has lagged in the latest rebound. Higher consumer spending, including increased outlays on health care, and a narrower trade balance also contributed to the summer improvement. The gain makes the third quarter the strongest since the summer of 2003.”
I think you get the idea. Economic Nirvana has finally returned.
Then three days later, the UK Telegraph ran an article by Fraser Nelson entitled “Goodbye to One of the Best Years in History.” Its subtitle read “It Might Not Feel Like It, But We are Safer, Richer, and Healthier Than at Any Time on Record.”
At any time on record? Are things really looking up?
Here is Fraser’s British analysis of global goodness as seen from the view across the pond:
“Judging the world through headlines is like judging a city by spending a night in A&E – you only see the worst problems. This may have felt like the year of Ebola and ISIL but in fact, objectively, 2014 has probably been the best year in history.”
“Take war, for example – our lives now are more peaceful than at any time known to the human species. Archaeologists believe that 15 per cent of early mankind met a violent death, a ratio not even matched by the last two world wars. Since they ended, wars have become rarer and less deadly…The ISIL barbarity in the Middle East is so shocking, perhaps, because it comes against a backdrop of unprecedented world peace.”
“We have recently been celebrating a quarter-century since the collapse of the Berlin Wall, which kicked off a period of global calm. The Canadian academic Steven Pinker has called this era the “New Peace”, noting that conflicts of all kinds – genocide, autocracy and even terrorism – went on to decline sharply the world over.”
With peace comes trade and, ergo, prosperity. Global capitalism has transferred wealth faster than foreign aid ever could…Global life expectancy now stands at a new high of 71.5 years, up six years since 1990. In India, life expectancy is up seven years for men, and 10 for women. It’s rising faster in the impoverished east of Africa than anywhere else on the planet. In Rwanda and Ethiopia, life expectancy has risen by 15 years.”
The Ebola crisis has led to 7,000 deaths, each one a tragedy. But far more lives have been saved by the progress against malaria, HIV and diarrhea. The World Bank’s rate of extreme poverty (those living on less than $1.25 a day) has more than halved since 1990, mainly thanks to China – where economic growth and the assault on poverty are being unwittingly supported by any parent who put a plastic toy under the tree yesterday.”
“Prosperity is bringing benefits without trashing the planet. Since 1990, the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions are down, in spite of our economy being about 60 per cent larger – thanks to more efficient technology. Our roads are safer, as well as greener. Traffic deaths are down by two-thirds since 1990, and are lower now than when the Model T Ford was on the road.”
Nothing is irreversible. And there will be a great many people for whom life is tough, and looks set to remain so for some time. We still have a lamentably long list of problems to solve. But in the round, there’s no denying it: we are living in the Golden Era. There has never been a better reason for people the world over to wish each other a happy and prosperous new year.”
Greatest year in history. New Peace. Golden Era.
I think you get the idea, and I think I know, at least in America, why secular progressives are trumpeting this new message of happy times.
They are deliberately trying to set the stage for a Hillary Clinton presidency in 2016 to keep their hold on power.
Let’s set the record straight about what’s really happening in the world right now.
1. First of all, free enterprise and civic freedom in nations grows mostly through the biblical worldview and the liberty that is found in Jesus Christ. The growth of global capitalism, elevating people out of poverty, is primarily a result of the Christian faith. So is the progress of modern medicine, fueled by science that emerged out of Christian Europe. None of these good changes were produced by statism–my word of choice for secular progressivism or atheism. In fact, the intense regulations of Big Government worldwide are stifling creativity and freedom which could bless billions more people.
2. Does anybody really believe that world is more safe today? The orchestrated collapse of American influence around the globe has led to chaos in the Middle East and the rise of possibly the world’s most barbaric Islamic expression–ISIS. Tyranny is growing in many places including the United States, the social democracies of Europe, dictatorial Russia, Communist China, and fascist Islamic states. Nine nations have atomic bombs, and the world’s greatest exporter of terror–Iran–is about to become nuclear. Things are not “golden” in the world right now. They are downright scary. Exhibit one: The millions of Christians in Iraq and Syria being slaughtered and chased from the region of their birth. It might be one of the largest genocides in history.
3. Global debt–the product of a secular live-beyond-your-means mentality– is a potential time bomb that could reek as much havoc as nuclear fusion. Worldwide, global indebtedness stands at 55 trillion with hundreds of trillions of unfunded liabilities. In the United States, our national debt has passed 20 trillion dollars that must produce a day of reckoning in the not-so-distant future.
4. And here in America, poor leadership and race peddling for political gain have fueled weeks of rioting in major US cities including the death of two policemen in New York who were shot execution style. There is so much tension in USA’s largest city (New York) that the police have turned their backs to Mayor Bill de Blasio because he doesn’t have their back in maintaining order in the city. Many marches and protests are fueled by communist groups and anarchists. It seems like one little match could send American cities into a blaze of horrific violence.
The New York City killing of policeman Rafael Ramos really strikes home. Rafael was a distance-student of a seminary where I teach–Faith Evangelical College and Seminary in Tacoma, WA–and was only fifteen hours away from completing his degree. His goal was to do a Masters in chaplaincy and use his life to bless many others. (Faith Seminary will be awarding his degree posthumously.)
His future was halted by a cowardly bullet.
Here’s the truth about 2015: Major economic difficulties and collapse, maybe on a global scale, is more than likely in the next year or two. That will create distress, chaos and, possibly, a new world order might emerge out of the disruption of life as we know it.
Happy days are not here again. Don’t believe the secular Pied Pipers. It’s the calm before the storm–and this particular tsunami will not be pretty.
But God is in control. So prepare yourself. Get your money out of the fragile markets and into tangible investments and ministry. Watch and pray and serve the needs of those around you.
Tribulation is coming. So is Jesus Christ.
Fulfilling his commission and hastening his return are the best things we can do to to enter into the true golden era of His heavenly kingdom.
Why Our Government Isn’t Protecting Us From Ebola, ISIS, and Open Borders
Is it just me, or does it seem to you that a switch has been flipped in the past few years that the US government is no longer committed to protecting us?
I’ve assumed all my life, based on American history and biblical principles, that civil governments exist to protect peoples’ God-given rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
But now that Ebola has crossed our shores, ISIS is taking over city after city in Iraq and Syria, and the flood of illegals aliens is back page news but continuing to flood our nation, it appears that our leadership is abandoning its historic position as a protector.
Why are our current leaders not doing everything they can to protect us from these evils?
Three issues have really gotten my attention about the government’s failure to protect.
Illegal Immigration
Remember what a huge issue this was 6-12 months ago? Thousands of women, children, and who knows who else were pouring across the southern boundary into the United States. Among that spate of stories, we learned that the Obama administration had moved its security people away from the actual border, making it much easier for people to enter.
Instead of stopping and deporting illegals, they were changing diapers and running shelters for masses of humanity from Mexico and Central America.
Now months later, many towns and cities are struggling to cope with hundreds of kids who don’t speak English and need to assimilate into American society–while potential terrorists may still be coming across a border that is anything but safe and secure.
And President Obama seems intent during the looming lame-duck session to grant amnesty to millions more of them. Why in the world is this happening?
Back in the real world, I keep coming back to a simple analogy: I would never consider having open doors and windows on my house. If I did, my wife would kill me for not protecting our family. So how can our federal government keep rationalizing open, porous borders in a world rife with terrorism and WMDs?
Why is our government not sealing the border for safe and orderly immigration practices?
ISIS
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria–or whatever you want to call them–are the most zealous and brutal barbarians that the world has seen since the German Third Reich (Nazis). They have no conscience toward the sacredness of human life, but seem to revel (demoniacally) in kidnapping and raping women, crucifying, mutilating and beheading anyone who resists them, and are intent on setting up a religious theocracy based on murder and fear.
A case can be made that we never should have toppled Sadaam Hussein from power (Bush administration). An even better case can be made that the Obama administration made a tragic error in not achieving a Status of Forces of Agreement with Iraq (as we did in Germany, Japan, Korea etc.), leading to the vacuum that ISIS filled.
Everyone seems to know, except the present administration, that the air campaign is neither degrading not destroying ISIS–rather the new Nazis continue their march toward Baghdad and Kobani while the sixty nation coalition remains a farce (not a force).
In my lifetime, the cauldron of evil in the Middle East–centered in ISIS and Iran–has never been at such a high boil. And our leadership appears to either look away, wring their hands, or go back to the golf course–even as heads are chopped off in abject mockery of American impotence.
Why is the United States not willing to account for its mistake and use grounds troops and special forces to crush and remove ISIS?
Ebola
The disaster of the month is not a murderous army or an illegal invasion, but a deadly disease that stalks some West African nations that has now been imported to America.
In late September, Thomas Eric Duncan, 42, a resident of Liberia, entered the United States with symptoms of Ebola and died of the disease on October 8 in a Dallas, Texas hospital. Ebola is an infectious and generally fatal disease marked by fever and severe internal bleeding, spread through contact with infected body fluids by a filovirus.
Duncan potentially contaminated scores of people while in the US, and just this week, two of his nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, came down with the disease. Others may follow.
Why is our government not restricting all visas and travel from West Africa until the plague is checked?
In all three of these instances, I would have expected George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, even Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, even Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, John Kennedy, and Dwight Eisenhower (the presidents of my lifetime) to make a concerted effort to protect the American people from this deadly disease.
It’s called a quarantine. So why won’t the Obama administration do it?
I think there are a number of possible answers:
First, President Obama does not believe that the primary role of government is to protect its citizens. Yes, he wears the title of “Commander in Chief” and has read a copy of the US Constitution, but I believe he has accepted the premise that the primary purpose of government is to provide for the people–not protect them. Hence, his huge and undeterred efforts on building a vast and dependent welfare state where government regulations on health, education, welfare, worldview, and social mores is the preferred focus.
Barack Obama has set his heart on the “fundamental transformation of the United States” which includes the eroding of our Judeo-Christian heritage, work ethic, economic system, and military into a social/secular democracy like many European nations. He sees government primarily as a provider of human services, not a guardian of personal liberties.
Thus, it’s easy to understand why our president spent the first two years of his presidency focusing on taking government control of health care and gutting the military back to pre-World War II levels. The remainder of his six years have been spent championing secular values (e.g. the re-definition of marriage), building a massive bureaucracy of environmental and financial regulations, and doubling welfare dependency.
Barack Obama likes being Big Daddy–not Commander in Chief.
Second, President Obama’s strength lies in fund-raising and campaigning more than leading a nation. As Dick Morris points out in his new book Power Grab, the true priority of the Obama administration is building a permanent social-democratic majority in the US–not solving the nation’s problems. President Obama’s worldview actually determines that he can’t solve the problems we’re facing. Hence he stays in his comfort zone of raising money and giving speeches because he doesn’t know what to do.
Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States with the thinnest resume in history. When elected to the Oval Office due to his charisma and oratorical skills, he had served only as a community organizer, state senator, and undistinguished 2-year US Senator. He’d never served in the armed forces, been an executive, started or run a business, or even met a payroll.
America made a huge mistake when it twice chose an inexperienced and ideologically driven man to lead our nation. His election exposed our own ignorance, narcissistic tendencies, our propensity toward dependency, and our lack of courage in facing the great threats of our time.
We are Barack Obama–he is a reflection of our majority values. He isn’t protecting us because we, too, want things more than liberty.
I hope that during the elections of 2014 and 2016 we will take a look in the mirror, repent of our selfish ways, and again build the personal and national character that once made us great.
Third, Barack Obama and other leaders like him are committed to down-sizing America’s influence and presence internationally. They believe that America does more bad than good around the world—that, we, somehow, are the main reason for the suffering and anti-pathy everywhere.
They fail to understand, that despite America’s mistakes and failures, our nation has been the greatest source of inspiration, deliverance, and development for other countries than any other in history. We’ve also been the greatest exporter of the Good News of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth–with over 120,000 missionaries currently serving in other lands.
America has blessed the world through winning two World Wars, bringing down the Soviet Union, supplying the economic engine for global growth and free markets, guarding the skies and shores of major continents, and leading the world in philanthropic and emergency aid.
That record should not be ignored or misunderstood. It should be built on and treasured.
Fourth, President Obama is either consciously, unconsciously, or, as a subject of Providence, helping to prepare the world for a new order of global government. Bible-based nations must be secularized in order for that to happen. The United Nations or some other entity must rise as the guardian of the peace. There must also be an economic calamity world-wide to cause a realignment of peoples and nations.
This may be a moment in history where the sins and ignorance of the American people paved the way for the ascendance of a leader who would complete the weakening of the last remaining faith-based superpower so that the entire planet could be changed.
I don’t blame Barack Obama for that. I blame we, the people, who have allowed it to happen. In the bigger scheme of things, God is sovereignly directing history toward its ultimate goal in the fulfilling of the Great Commission and the Return of Jesus Christ. The rise and fall of nations are a part of that equation.
To sum up, our government and its leaders are not protecting us because they are inept and have a different vision and agenda for America’s future.
We need to repent, pray with passion, go to the polls and vote for godly leaders, and trust our future to the only One who can revive nations as well as save souls.
When human leaders fail us, we can take comfort in this truth: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble” (Psalms 46:1).
As fellow believers in Iraq, North Korea, and other nations are now being forced to learn, we must find our ultimate safety in God and God alone.
He will protect us from evil.