I was reading an article that I somehow misplaced on the impact of the birth and growth of Islam on the medieval church. It frustrates me because I don't remember where I printed it up from and it seems to have disappeared from the black hole I call my apartment. I thought it was written by a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary but for the life of me I can't seem to be able to hunt it down in any periodicals or online. The article itself was a bit over simplistic but still very well written and researched.
Anyways, in my trying to dig up the article I got to thinking. In many ways, the impetus for the creation, and very rapid growth, of Islam was a knee jerk reaction to the idolatry of that time period. Without going into the details that are not the point of this blog, there was no truly legitimate monotheistic religion in that area at that time. Judaism was the closest option, but even they had idolized their scripture and the Mishnah and had a very unhealthy hero worship for their major rabbis both past and present. The Christianity prevalent in that area was little more than a paganized worship of saints and relics. The decaying Zoroastrianism out of Persia was overly shallow and ritualistic, and the worship of a local pantheon of regional gods in areas like Medina and Mecca was being maintained far more for political than religious reasons. Simply said, the time was ripe for one of the greatest statements history has ever heard: "There is no other God but God." ("Allah" is the Arabic word for God and actually used then and even often now in Arabic versions of the Bible)
The fact is, at all times in every culture there is a tendency to create idols. As man has become more sophisticated, those gods have become more complicated than the early images of wood or stone or gold that were put in a prominent place and under which people prostrated themselves. But that does not mean those gods do not exist. Every gas station, grocery, and bookstore will have a shrine filled with racks of magazines containing images of our culture's gods. Nearly every home contains in an equally prominent place a box out of which will flash images of our gods performing their magic leaving us mesmerized for hours.
Our society definitely has their gods, but so do our churches. It is easy for us to mock and look down on the medieval church for its worship of relics and icons and saints and the like, but do we not do the same thing simply in a more complicated way today? As my mind was wandering down this track I thought of four idols in the modern church that I have seen (and often lived) in my experience.
The first of those is our own body. In some circles the phrase "Your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost" has become a mantra defending and justifying the hours and dollars people spend maintaining, enhancing, and perfecting this temporal, decaying shell. Many within the church spend a ridiculous amount of their money from that section of WalMart (or Macy's or whatever) called cosmetics, but just as many do the same at GNC. This mantra has been used to condemn and denigrate those who have chosen to get tattoos, piercings, or do whacky things to their hair. Now, I am all for showering, brushing your teeth, and other aspects of basic health and hygiene. I think cigarette smoking is an unhealthy habit and using drugs will rot your body and your spirit. It is good to eat healthy and maintain some exercise regimen. But if I am spending three hours at the gym and ten minutes at the altar I have an idol worship problem. If I can spend ten dollars at the health store for a vitamin that will help me have healthy bones, but I can't drop five bones for a missionary raising money so a kid in a third world country can get a healthy meal and medicine I have an idol worship problem.
Along with the body we have the building. I remember all the time in high school people telling me to take off my hat because I'm in the house of God. I finally started answering, "I'm not in the house of God. I am the house of God." (Granted this is simply a spin off from the above mantra, but I have already admitted I am susceptible to these forms of idol worship myself.) Again, wouldn't you rather have little kids running in the church on Sunday morning than running at the playground while all of us old farts are in church? We make it so inhibitive and then wonder why they hate coming. Beyond that, how many churches have split over the color of the carpet. I remember being in a church that had an organ that didn't work and hadn't been played in decades, but nobody dared taking it out until after sister so and so died because her mother used to play it and there is a plaque on the thing commemorating the fact. Do you know if your church is spending more on maintenance and upkeep than they are on evangelism and outreach? Is more spent on the mortgage than on local and global community social programs? Is this not idol worship?
Beyond the building and body we have the book. This is where you start calling me a heretic and tuning me out. So let me say it bluntly: the Bible is not the Word of God. Did you hear that? The Bible is not the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God. The Bible is man's written understanding of God's revelation of Himself to us. When we take that written word and apply it to our lives, it becomes God's Word in our situation but that is a big difference. There are three words used about the Bible: authoritative, infallible, and inerrant. The first says that the Bible has the authority to be the guiding principle in my life. It has authority. This is true. Infallible means that, when the Bible in applied in my life it will not, it cannot fail. This is also true. Inerrant means that the Bible contains no errors. This is ridiculous. To make or defend this claim is to elevate the Bible to a level and standard it is not intended to have. It is raising the Bible to the level of the God it is only meant to reveal. The Bible is simply a tool that benefits us only when used. It has no mystic greatness in and of itself.
Along with the Bible another tool that has become an idol in the church is our belief. Our orthodoxy and all of its appendages have become both an idol and a hindrance to true worship. Among various denominations this pops us in different ways and often those different ways not only hinder us from drawing near to God but they often keep us from truly being the community of God as well. For example a Pentecostal church may elevate the baptism in the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues to a level of one of its fundamental truths putting it on a par with their understanding of God, sin, and the cross. Beyond that, many will even spend far more time talking about these "Pentecostal Distinctives" than they do about these other far more important matters. On the other hand the Baptist has TULIP. (At least tulip is at least the box they have put God sin and the cross in and not some peripheral hullabaloo.) The Pentecostal Christian, often unintentionally, will deem someone who doesn't speak in tongues as a lesser Christian. I know Baptist groups who will have in their constitution that they cannot fellowship with groups that do not believe TULIP. Why not use our beliefs as a ladder drawing us closer to God rather than a sledgehammer that tears down others. God is far more concerned with how we do what we believe than how we defend or define it. Let's tear down this idol.
I really liked this blog. First of all, what's your problem with baal and ashera??? lol j.k
But second. Christians have always been a little different from most religions when it comes to their preoccupation with the physical body. Most religions believe that you die and go to some kind of spiritual realm. But Christians (or at least, original christians) believe that you die, your body goes into the ground and you wait for judgement day when your body will be raised from the dead (scary) and if you're good you will live on earth in the new Jerusalem, in your actual body. People talk about how such and such loved one is in heaven. But from what I've read in the bible, no one is in heaven except for God, Jesus, some angels, the Jewish patriarchs, and the saints (depending on whether you're catholic or not). So your physical body is important to you. Hmm, I also read this book called "Running the Spiritual Path" which combines exercise and worshipping God, it was interesting.
Also, I too have a problem with some of the more 'mystic' sides of Christianity, like holding poisonous snakes and all that... I read a book called Misquoting Jesus and that part of the bible was actually added in much later. I don't think people should take the bible too literally, I think it should be a guide, but I get pissed when people quote the bible as some sort of way to pass definitive judgement. After all, I'm wearing a cotton/polyester blend shirt and that makes me unpure according to Leviticus.
more specifically about the bible as the Word of God--i do believe that it is infallible as a revelation of God's intention. the written form that we keep in our homes, that stocks stores, that is handed out by Gideons, is a printed document_ a printer can make mistakes. this does not affect the infallibility of the message and the words that God intended. but the content of each book, chapter, and verse reflects the will of God for His followers in the past, present, and future. i interpret inerrant to reflect more on the truth of the strictures of the bible, and less on typos or other human limitations in revealing the expression of God--the truth of the bible is in no way erroneous and i can trust living my life according to it. an institution of religion can be erroneous, an interpretation can be, but the core message cannot, which has no reflection on what it is used to accomplish, only that in and of itself, it will stand the test of time and truth.
Dude, if only all the churches, and people out there would see the real God, the real Jesus......we would all change. I mean even now, I have a little sight on God, yet that is nothing.....I know there is so muc more to him, I need him more then anything!! We all do!! If we just took out lifes and forgot about ourselfs....and everything else.....just to chase after him!
no other gods before me seems to be the point you're going for. Good job. My thought is that God is supposed to be first in our lives. Some would say that that belief limits one terribly--I wonder with not a small amount of sardonic amusement why they think I would want to take part in what I'm supposedly "limited" from doing.
I wonder if u have any idea what God is doing in your life for u to have such revelation! I say this in an extremely positive way! Check out my profile and go to my friend Robert (actually my dad:), Read some of his blogs and you'll see you are not alone! As a matter of fact, my dad, Vierra Ministries, myself, and some others are trying to find people just like you. We need to build a church of people who are willing to come out of the box to seek out the truth of God, apply it to our lives, and minister His truth to others. Vierra Ministries (Brother Rojer) has started a new group called, Preachers, Prophets, and Ministry Gifts. Look us up brother and join the revolution:)!!!!
