Where in the Bible did you find that?

The very power of [textbook writers] depends on the fact that they are dealing with a boy: a boy who thinks he is doing his English prep and has no notion that ethics, theology, and politics are all at stake. It is not a theory they put into his mind, but an assumption, which ten years hence, its origin forgotten and its presence unconscious, will condition him to take one side in a controversy which he has never recognized as a controversy at all.
— CS Lewis (The Abolition of Man)

Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.
— Paul (Romans 12:2)


Last week's blod got me thinking.

How many of the things I believe about life, myself, and reality are really the teaching of idols and not God?

And how many of those things am I entirely unconscious of, as in the kind of scenario described by CS Lewis above?

And even more frightening perhaps, how many things are inside my head that I would strongly deny if asked about openly, but by my words and actions prove daily that I do in fact believe them?

I doubt myself (and I encourage you to doubt yourself too) for several reasons:

1. I've had over 42 years of indoctrination into the faith of the false gods and philosophies, and only about half that much as a Christian learning the truth.

2. As stated last week, our culture is saturated with false and foolish teachings that are laid before us with absolute confidence. If you hear something often enough it begins to sink in, no matter how ridiculous, unlikely, or unreasonable it is.

3. My head is full of ideas, most of which I've never taken out and examined side-by-side with God's truth. There are so many things I take for granted. Although I'd love to wade in and start throwing ideas out like a recovered hoarder getting ready for a yard sale, it may be that the best I can do is root them out one-by-one as they appear.

And so, I decided to do just that - analyze and keep track of the things I discover lurking in my head that smack of false philosophy. When I find them I write them down along with the corresponding truth. Making them conscious and exposing them to the light seems like the only way combat these enemy thoughts.

Here are a few items from my list so far. I'll bet some of them would be on your list too.


Lie #1: I start with a lie that is so cliche and predictable that I almost blush to list it. But, it's become so abrasively prevalent in every facet of our society that I also hate to ignore it. The lie of which I speak is that sex outside of marriage is both fine and unavoidable - and, according to nearly every sitcom in existence, hilarious. The truth, however, runs from Genesis through Revelation. The truth is that this kind of relationship is never acceptable outside of a one-man-one-woman marriage. Saying otherwise has become trendy and the social norm, but it's false nonetheless.

Lie #2: Another lie is the key doctrine of the false god, Fate: Things just happen. If what we mean by "things just happen" is "things happen that we can't explain" or "things happen that are out of our control", then we're still okay. But I suspect that's rarely what we mean. I suspect what we really sincerely believe we mean is, "there's no rhyme, reason, or meaning behind much of what happens to us." And that is false. I posted a blod a while back ("Creator, savior & king" - June 5, 2010) on just this topic. In it I explained the "Trifecta of Faith" - that God is All-Knowing, All-Loving, and All-Powerful. Logically, if God is all three of these things, there is no way anything in His universe could ever be random or meaningless. And if you are in Him, if you love Him, and if you are called according to His purpose, then you can know that "all things work together for good" (Rom 8:28).

Lie #3: The next lie is one that's not quite so obviously dangerous - until you start thinking about where it leads. This lie comes in varying forms, usually couched in terms like, "You've got to follow your gut" or "Do what feels right". On the surface this seems like good advice. But I am personally convinced that much of the nastiness we treat each other with (if you're in customer service, you know what I mean!), the deadly self-indulgence & self-obsession of the "Me Generation", and the epidemic ruin of relationships ("I just don't 'love' her anymore. . . ") comes from making emotion/feeling the guiding force in our lives. In contrast, the Bible commands us to walk by our faith (by what we know to be right & true) instead of by our feelings. And while it's true that feelings were given to us by God to enhance the quality of our lives, it's also true that they are a type of appetite, which like all appetites can become tyrannical and gluttonous if not kept carefully in check. Emotions are meant to supplement, not reign.

Lie #4: "If it's not against the law it's okay." Our civil government has a responsibility to legislate for safety, not morality. Because of this, many things that God forbids to His followers will be allowed by the state. It's simply a matter that 1) God's laws are higher and more inclusive than the state's, and 2) not everyone who is a citizen of a certain government will also be a citizen of the kingdom of God. One example of this is that gossip is forbidden to the follower of Christ. But until it becomes slander, no one will ever be prosecuted for doing it. Here's another very current example: There's a big network-news-inspired debate going on in Iowa now about traffic cameras that automatically ticket speeders and red-light-runners. For the child of God this should be an absolute non-issue. The world may live by the rule that they can speed (i.e., break the law) as long as they don't get caught, but the Christian who is living by God's law of righteousness need not fear any traffic cam. He'll always be doing the right thing whether anyone's watching or not.


One of the easiest and most effective ways to combat false gods and their doctrines is to ask yourself (or someone else) this question of something you assume or believe to be true: Where in the Bible did you learn it? If you have no answer for that question, you'd be wise to reconsider how true it is in light of God's Word.

Remember, the goal of idols/gods/false philosophies is to define us in their terms. They exist to tell us who we are, where we came from, and what we need to do. As Christians, we must not allow them to succeed. The only one who has a right to define us is the One who made us and saved us

A statement in need of an explanation

Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves
any gods of cast metal: I am the LORD your God.
(Leviticus 19:4)

Those who worship idols are disgraced —
all who brag about their worthless gods.
(Psalm 97:7)

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


Here's my statement in need of an explanation:

Even as a modern and so-called Christian culture, it's possible that we worship idols more today than at anytime in the history of human existence.

And here's my explanation of that statement.

To most of us, the whole idea of idol worship is obscure and confusing. It makes us crinkle our brows and wonder how anyone could be so silly as to sincerely worship a piece of metal or wood. In fact, we probably wonder why God had to tell the Jews over and over to not do it. I mean, who would want to?

If you're like me, when you think about idol worship you picture an old woman bowing to a statue in a temple, or a group of painted savages dancing around a bonfire in honor of that fire. While that's all fine and accurate, it's also extremely superficial.

And it's precisely that superficiality that allows us to get away with idol worship ourselves.


Important Point #1: An idol is a material representation of an immaterial god.

One of the most insightful things I learned as a Comparative Religions student at university was that even in the most primitive religions, the idols themselves are not considered gods. I seriously doubt that anyone has ever worshiped a piece of wood because it was a piece of wood.

Instead, that little piece of whatever is worshiped so faithfully because it represents something more than itself. The statue or fire or picture acts merely as a visible, tangible, comfortingly present image of the invisible god they serve.

So, putting this point into context for today, what we are actually forbidden to do is worship any god except the LORD (that is, Yahweh**).

But unless I suspect we're all bunch of closet-pagans, why would I have made my original statement? (You know, the one that requires this explanation.)

The answer to that lies in the answer to this: What exactly is a god with a lower case "g"?

Well, for one thing, a god is not a god as we tend to think of "gods".

The Bible is absolutely clear that there is only one God. There are no gods other than Yahweh. There are many spirits, but there are no other gods. The idea that there are many gods (such as in Hinduism) is absolutely unacceptable if you accept the Bible as truth.

So, if there is no such thing as gods, what are these things that the true God warns us not to worship?


Important Point #2: Just as an idol is a material symbol of an immaterial god, a god is an immaterial symbol of a false philosophy.

It's a God substitute. It gives the believer what he desires - what we all desire: meaning, hope, comfort, joy, strength, explanations, identity, belonging, protection, guidance, boundaries, values. Etc, etc.

Every god ever created has stood for something, explained something, demanded something, promised something. That's what gods do.

When God warns us to not worship idols or gods, what He's really telling us is that we must not seek meaning, comfort, hope, etc anywhere other than from Him.

And that is where this whole thing gets sticky and way too close to home.


Important Point #3: Our idols today are much less obvious than those of the past, but we still face them.

We need to be aware that there are hundreds of gods out there that offer meaning, values and answers.

The fact is, we live in a culture saturated with false philosophies such as Humanism (the belief in human potential, values & worth as the greatest good), Materialism (the belief that nothing but matter exists), Rationalism (the belief that only things which can be explained logically can be true), All-Truism (the belief that everything/anything is true to the one who believes it), and No-Truism (the flip side of All-Truism, the belief that nothing at all is really true) - in addition to all the other overtly religious belief systems.

Almost everything we see on TV, read in magazines, or learn in universities takes these philosophies for granted and teaches them as truth.

And every one of them demands our attention and allegiance. Every one of them wants to give us answers to the big questions of life.
- Where did we come from and what is our purpose?
- What do we believe about the world, reality, human nature?
- What is right and wrong - and why?
- What kind of people should we be?
- What can we hope in when in trouble?

The sad thing is we all hold so many beliefs and opinions that we received directly from these idols, instead of from God. And even sadder, we are likely completely unaware of the fact. We just take them as obvious, natural, or common sense "facts". But they're not. They're taught. And we learned them.

That is why we have to be so careful to guard against allowing them to define our beliefs or character.

That is how we avoid worshiping idols in America today.

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** Yahweh is the "personal" name of the God of the Bible, of Hebrews and of Christians.