Our Flirtation with Paganism

            Over the past fifty years we have been sliding down a slope into paganism.  Over time the slope has appeared to become steeper, the slide more rapid, and the descent more difficult to halt and reverse.  Its cessation requires a robust faith, concentrated effort, and a strong voice countering evil.  Whether as a society we any longer have the will and the strength to reverse the slide is questionable. 

            The sad fact is that we do not even know that we have adopted various forms of paganism.  But like the wolf in sheep’s clothing we have too often become pagans in religious garb, namely by embracing one of paganism’s most cherished tenets – fatalism.

            Fatalism holds to the belief that the God who created and sustains the universe has become impotent, unable to contend against the societal forces arrayed against him.  As his power lessens, that of paganism ascends.  Our slide into paganism is illustrative of the problem facing Christianity today.  As mankind has become more self centered, as we surrender ourselves to the way things are, as we become less shocked and more complacent concerning the many facets of evil around us, our view of God as active in all parts of the universe and particularly in the affairs of history, diminishes.  We become accustomed to evil.  When we lose our moral outrage towards evil, believing that its practice in society is inevitable, we fall prey to helplessness and despair.  When we abandon the crime infested areas of our inner cities as irredeemable places we conclude that God has limited power to change things.  The fatalistic viewpoint that this is just the way things now are, and that we must learn to live with it, comes straight out of paganism. 

            The biblical picture is vastly different.  Nowhere in the pages of Scripture do we find fatalism advocated.  We are constantly told that we have a choice: “Choose life, not death!”  “Choose whom you will serve”.  Instead of callousness towards evil, which paganism embraces, we are called to moral indignation.  But unless we have an all encompassing belief in a God who acts, in a God who controls the affairs of history, we will find ourselves grasping hold of paganism more than of God.

            The early church father, Tertullian, living in the days of pagan Rome, called for Christians to become the “soul” of the culture in which they lived.  He believed that the Church could transform society in this way.  He was well aware that in so doing, he was calling Christians to a life of sacrifice, even to the point of death.  The Church heeded his exhortation.  It was a mere century after his death that the Roman emperor Constantine converted to Christianity.

            The culture in which we live is quite similar to that of Tertullian.  Both cultures have experienced wide-spread corruption and disregard for the sanctity of life.  The early Christians, rejecting fatalism, believed that God was calling them to redeem their culture.  They took a stand for God, willing to risk everything.  Choosing God’s way always requires risk, and it is in the area of risk where we often will discover where our true allegiance lies.  The acceptance of risk requires faith.  The question before all of us is this: “Am I willing to step out in faith, much as Abraham did when he left Ur of the Chaldees for an unknown land, risking everything to stand against the evil in the society around me?”  To answer “No” suggests we have transferred our allegiance to paganism, believing that it is more powerful than God.

The Cost of the Loss of Dignity

 The Jewish rabbi and moral philosopher, Abraham Heschel, speaking of mankind notes that

 “The cardinal problem is not the survival of religion, but the survival of man.  What is required is a continuous effort to overcome hardness of heart, callousness, and above all to inspire the world with the biblical image of man, not to forget that man without God is a torso, to prevent the dehumanization of man.  For the opposite of human is not the animal.  The opposite of human is the demonic.” 

Having escaped Warsaw, Poland just six weeks before the Nazis began their extermination of the European Jews, he mused that “I am a brand plucked from the fire of an altar of Satan on which millions of human lives were exterminated to evil’s greater glory…”  Nazism continued the process begun with the Enlightenment to exterminate Judaism, Christianity and the Bible from society.  Although it ultimately failed, the process continues today in academia’s, the media’s and Hollywood’s portrayal of Christianity as laughable, something to be scorned and done away with.  The derision and scorn heaped upon Tim Tebow during the Denver Bronco’s somewhat miraculous 2011 season point to how much Christianity is despised in media circles.  Bill Maher was quoted in Newsweek stating “Plain fact is, religion must die for mankind to live. The hour is getting very late to be able to indulge in having key decisions made by religious people.”  He likens the decisions made by religious people to the reading of entrails.

The loss of religion in decision making inevitably leads to depersonalization.  Mankind is seen as merely a cog in a great social machine.  His value is tied to his worth.  People without worth, such as the elderly, those with special needs, etc. have no value and can be cast aside.

Those who discount Christianity, have also done away with the Christian worldview of the nature of man.  Though fallen, there still remains in mankind the vestigial image of God.  Though a poor reflection of what was originally intended, it still remains.  This gives all people, whatever their race, creed, status, age or condition, dignity which must be affirmed and preserved.  One of the churches’ Mission should be to see that everyone’s dignity is affirmed.  As our modern world turns away from human dignity, this may prove to be the place where Christianity will see its greatest opportunity for advance in the twenty-first century.

 Heschel’s assertion that the loss of human dignity ushers in the demonic is worthy of consideration.  Satan’s goal is to destroy the image which God has placed in us.  His continual attempts to persuade us that we are mere animals through the view that we are merely an evolutionary by-product, through the callousness of abortion, through the utilitarian viewpoint that the aged and disabled are expendable, causes modern man’s view of dignity to fade over time.  Dignity is further lessened as relationships are destroyed, for dignity requires being in relationship with both God and our fellow man.  This loss of relationship is seen in the tragedies of divorce, particularly when women and their children are left destitute, and in spousal abandonment.  In each case relationships are destroyed and the persons cast off are left questioning their own worth.

     

God desires that we be in relationship with Him and each other.  He created us for that purpose, giving us dignity.  But for many, living in this disruptive, squalid world, dignity has been lost.  Part of the restoration with God involves the restoration of the  human person.  Are you willing to fight for human dignity?

Picking up the gauntlet

The recent edict by the Health and Human Services Department regarding the effects of the health care law on religious organizations should be of great concern to all Christians.  It narrowly interprets which religious institutions can avoid having to include services such as sterilization, contraceptives and abortion causing drugs at no cost in the health care plans offered to their employees.  Only those religious institutions (i.e. churches) whose purpose is to inculcate their moral values to their own members and primarily only employ and serve their members can quality for an exemption to the law.  The schools, hospitals and social programs run by religious organizations are not exempt and must follow the ruling.  While its provisions are most onerous to and have the greatest impact on Catholic churches and institutions who prohibit such practices in their moral teaching, the mandate has the great potential of negatively impacting all Christian organizations, Catholic and Protestant who serve the public.  This has dire consequences particularly on those who minister to others though social programs, such as food and clothing banks, homeless shelters, tutoring or counseling programs, etc. and who desire to avoid providing such health care benefits as a matter or conscience.  In effect, any church which has any type of outreach program which employs people for that purpose could come under the hegemony of the federal health care law and be forced to either drop their health care plans and pay hefty fines to the government, or provide for these health care services.  The administration’s opposition to the recent Supreme Court decision which guaranteed that church organizations alone can decide whom to hire and fire raises further questions as to how the government will further interpret the HHS ruling.  This matter is of grave concern since at its heart, Christianity is concerned with evangelism and missions. The Benedictine Belmont Abbey College has already indicated that it may close its doors rather than comply with the law if it doesn’t receive a waiver.  Several religious adoption agencies have closed their doors rather than adopt to same sex couples.   How many religious hospitals and schools will follow suit?  It has been noted that under these narrow guidelines for exemptions not even the ministry of Jesus and his disciples would qualify for an exemption of the law.

The administration’s decision to deny the constitutional rights of deeply held convictions and religious liberty requires one of two responses.  We can acquiesce to the new mandate, deciding to do nothing.  But if we do so, we must ask ourselves the disturbing questions “What’s next?  Where do I draw the line, if not here?”  For it is likely that we will soon face another challenge to our faith.  Or we can join those who for reasons of conscience are fighting the effects of the edict, taking a firm stand of solidarity with them in their efforts to overturn this attack upon religious institutions.  The Lutheran theologian Martin Niemöller, reflecting on the Nazi purging of various groups within Germany spoke the following:

First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out -- 
Because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out -- 
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out -- 
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I did not speak out –

Because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.

The gauntlet has been thrown down.  Who will pick it up?

Spiritual Tranquilizer

Thomas Merton, reflecting on the 1958 Christmas Address of Pope John XXIII noted that

 “Christ our Lord did not come to bring peace to the world as a kind of spiritual tranquilizer.  He brought to His disciples a vocation and a task, to struggle in the world of violence to establish His peace, not only in their own hearts but in society itself.  This was to be done not by wishing and fair words but by a total interior revolution in which we abandoned the human prudence that is subordinated to the quest for power, and followed the higher wisdom of love and of the Cross.” 

Although his words were written during the height of the Cold War, they are as relevant today as they were then.  We are still living in a world of violence.  We see the effects of terrorism all around the world.  We still seek to obtain power, whether as religious right or left, as conservative or liberal, or Republican or Democrat.  We still find comfort in pursuing a tranquilizing peace that never quite solves the problems we face.  It doesn’t appear that much has changed in the past fifty years.

            The role of a tranquilizer is to soothe over issues and reduce tension.  While it covers over problems, it never solves the basic issues.  Merton’s statement leads us to a probing question. To what extent do we seek peace as a spiritual tranquilizer?  If we do, we will find ourselves eventually willing to accept “peace at any price”.  And this leads us down the slippery slope which ends up in a compromise with error and evil.  Unfortunately it is all too easy to justify this in the name of peace.  The Old Testament prophets excoriated the religious leaders who preached “peace, peace when there was no peace”.  We saw what occurred when world leaders sought to appease Hitler during the 1930s.  Many church leaders of his day also fell under his charismatic leadership, refusing to take a stand against the Third Reich as it became more and more evil.

            But true Christianity never makes compromise with evil in order to achieve peace.  We see this in the life of Jesus.  Many of the teachings of the religious leaders of his day had distorted God’s intent.  Even though it eventually cost him his life, Jesus refused to go along with them in order to have peace.  We see the same in the lives of his disciples when they declared “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.” (Acts 4:19).  And we also see it in the lives of the Christian martyrs as they faced the wild animals and gladiators in the arenas before the taunting on-looking crowds   Refusing to worship the emperor and live in peace, they gladly accepted death. 

            In the spiritual realm, peaceful coexistence never seems to work.  Those on the side of evil will almost always come out ahead in the exchange.  Despite our vain attempts to coexist with the world, Satan will never play fair, always manipulating things to his advantage.  He simply cannot be trusted.

            As Merton eloquently notes, God requires an interior revolution or transformation that totally changes our character and our lives. This alone brings true peace, for it is an interior peace that only comes from a total allegiance to and complete trust in God.  It relies upon complete dependence on him.  It requires us to be Christians in action, not just in name.  What kind of peace are you willing to live with?

The Battle with Idols

Our post-modern world has much in common with the ancient world, going back even to pre-historic times; namely that both worlds, modern and ancient, have always fought a battle with idolatry. While the ancient world, with its plethora of gods and goddesses was more overt in its struggle with idolatry, the struggle in our modern world is more covert and insidious, even disavowing the very existence of the one true God while worshipping as many, if not more, idols than did the men and women of ancient times. While the ancients thought of their deities in more physical terms, depicting them with human qualities, we tend to idolize individuals, institutions and concepts. If the assertion by Owen Barfield in his book Saving the Appearances: a Study in Idolatry that “when the nature and limitations of artificial images are forgotten, they become idols” is correct, we have a very serious problem indeed.

Exhibiting a “more is better” ideology, we project upon our images excessive qualities which by far exceed their natural limitations. Consumed by a thirst for power, our government confers upon itself salvific status, enticing us to look to it for solutions to all our problems. Seeking prosperity we become consumed with the acquisition of wealth, forgetting that wealth is transitory, as those who experienced the stock market crash of 1929 or the aftermath of the recent mortgage meltdown quickly discovered. Consumed with status we strive to obtain degrees from the prestigious centers of academia; the mere physical piece of paper showing our degree having more value to us than the actual knowledge we have supposedly acquired in the process. Forgetting that the original purpose of the institutions of higher learning was to impart wisdom and knowledge, along with the tools necessary to acquire them, thus enabling people to live moral and spiritual lives in society, we have idolized academia.

Our flirtation with idols does not end there. Barfield defines idolatry “as the valuing of images or representations in the wrong way and for the wrong reasons”, thus an idol is “an image so valued.” In this light, our idolatrous worship can extent to anything, even to good things. As soon as an admired image becomes a desired object it is in danger of becoming an idol we worship. The acquisition of a beautiful wife (or successful husband), a coveted job, social status, the latest technological toys, etc. can all become sources of idolatry. For that matter, even our church can become an idol if we value it more than we do God.

Just as he refused to do in the Old Testament times, God refuses to play second fiddle today. If we are to follow him, he must be number one in our lives. If we desire anything more than him, we have already succumbed to idol worship and come under his condemnation, needing to repent and seek his forgiveness. There is not other way.

Because the temptations are often strong, it is important to do a reality check from time to time, examining whether or not we are in danger of creating idols. If we find that there are certain things that we dwell upon more than God, we may be guilty of idol worship. If the trust we place in things far surpasses their limitations or we glamorize them, we are likely idolizing them. If we look to society or government for all the answers to our problems, we will find that we are guilty. Ask yourself the question: Who do I really worship – God or something else?

The Allure of Temptation

In Jesus’ first temptation he is tempted to turn stones into bread at the end of his forty day fast in the wilderness. Satan tries to get him to miraculously satisfy his hunger. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, in his book On The Way To Christ says the following about this temptation. “Where God is viewed as something secondary, which can be set aside temporarily or altogether for the sake of more important things, then precisely these supposedly more important things fail.” He goes on to say “In this world we must oppose the deception of false philosophies and recognize that we do not live on bread alone but, first and foremost, on obedience to God’s Word. And only when this obedience is put into practice does the attitude develop that is also capable of providing bread for all.”

In our daily lives we face the same temptations that Jesus did. How often do we temporarily set God aside when critical issues face us? How many times do we set aside our moral and ethical principles in our business lives? How many times do we compromise and rationalize “just this once.” This was the major temptation Jesus faced. “Just this one time turn stones into bread to satisfy your hunger. One time won’t hurt you at all.” But such bread would have left a hollow emptiness inside. Satan then tells him “Worship me just this once and I will give you the entire world. One time won’t hurt you. You will then have the power to do whatever you want.” But the quick fix Satan offered to rule the world would have ultimately been a hollow victory. Again Satan tells Jesus to throw himself off the temple wall so that everyone can see God’s angels protecting him. He asks Jesus to become part of the “now” generation. “Do it now! Take matters into your own hand!” But God had a different plan, so that for Jesus to have declared himself early would have placed him outside of God’s will for his life. In each of these three temptations Satan focuses upon the glamour of selfish desire.

Satan uses the same allures with us. He tells us that it won’t hurt for us to take one look at pornography, or cheat on our taxes one time. He entices us to compromise our morals to get ahead. He tells us to do what it takes because we deserve power and status. He encourages us to seek the quick fix. He attempts to persuade us that one little lie won’t hurt anyone. But when we take a hard look, we see that in each of his attempts, he seeks for us to put something else ahead of God. Like his attempts with Jesus, many times the allure he offers us is for our own self gratification. Grab what we want, when we want it, and don’t worry that God’s plan may be different. But he conveniently ignores telling us that the one time event he often glamorously dangles in front of us has a barbed hook that will ultimately snag us in his clutches. Once he has us hooked, we will find it extremely difficult to become untangled from his hold upon us. We will have placed ourselves above God.

As Ratzinger states, it is essential for us to be listening to and obeying the voice of God found in his word. We must actively resist setting God off to the side. Otherwise we may easily succumb to Satan’s temptations. Whose voice are you listening to, God’s or Satan’s?

Freedom of Conscience

We live in interesting times. More and more we are being told what we can or cannot believe and practice. Much of this is being done through legislation. In Great Britain, Christian adoption agencies can no longer refuse to place children with gay couples. Some agencies have closed their doors rather than comply with the new law. Others have conformed, feeling that it is better to help some children than none at all. The archbishop of York stated that "The freedom of conscience cannot be made subject to legislation however well-meaning." The Freedom of Choice Act and the Hate Crimes Act, if they are passed in our country, could have similar effects upon us. Those in the medical field might be required to perform or assist in abortions in both their training and practices, no matter what their conscience dictates. Unless they acquiesce, they might lose their license to practice medicine. Pastors and priests might be arrested and charged with violating the Hate Crimes Act if they preach a sermon against homosexuality. The question has been raised, in semi seriousness, how long before they have to run their sermons by their church’s legal team before delivering them to their congregation? In addition, faith based ministries that accept federal funds may be prohibited from evangelizing or refusing to hire people who have differing religious beliefs.

The Freedom of Choice Act is, by its very nature, hypocritical. It implies that some people have the freedom to choose while others do not. Thus it makes a mockery of both “freedom” and “choice”. The Hate Crimes Act is full of political correctness. It only protects those individuals and organizations that are considered politically correct. Those not politically correct bear the brunt of the law, but are not protected if someone speaks against them. The Act is really not needed since there are already laws on the books that protect all citizens and institutions against personal attacks.

These potential laws open up Pandora’s Box. In many ways they are only the beginning. How long before other controversial things come under attack? How long before doctors are required to assist in suicides? How long before religious adoption agencies are required to place children for adoption with unmarried or gay couples? Will ministers and priests be forced to marry same sex couples even though it offends their conscience? Will parents be forced to put their children in state run schools even though they prefer other alternatives? Where will it all stop? How long before we find that we have lost the freedom of conscience?

If and when these things happen, we will find ourselves facing intense pressure to conform. Careers will be at stake, loss of licenses a reality, incarceration and huge fines a likely possibility, and the continuation of good work done by numerous organizations threatened. Our economic livelihood will be jeopardized – all in the name of “choice”. We need to always remember that without freedom of conscience there is no freedom. Without freedom of conscience we are all slaves to whoever is in control. We are bound to his or her whim, required to obey his commands. We become merely a puppet on a string, only doing exactly as the puppeteer wishes. Without freedom of conscience we will find ourselves again and again in the position of Peter and John before the Sanhedrin. When commanded to stop preaching in Jesus’ name, they responded “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God.” (Acts 4:19). Will we, at that time, also resist the pressure to conform? Or will we accept the security of servitude?

The Tempter's Snare

In C. S. Lewis’s Screwtape Proposes a Toast the senior devil Screwtape speaks to the junior devils regarding the tempter’s relationship with his prey: Screwtape describes the task of the junior devils in influencing their assigned humans. He says “The job of their Tempters was first, of course, to harden these choices of Hell-ward roads into a habit by steady repetition. But then (and this was all-important) to burn the habit into a principle – a principle the creature is prepared to defend. After that all will do well. Conformity to the social environment, at first merely instinctive or even mechanical – how should a jelly not conform? – now becomes an unacknowledged creed…”.

Lewis’s fanciful account contains some insightful observations. As Screwtape suggests, succumbing to the first temptation makes it easier to succumb to the second, and so on until we become hardened in our choices. At that point we are caught in the tempter’s snare. It will impact all of our relationships. We see this principle at work all around us. The embezzler doesn’t usually begin with a large embezzlement. Most news accounts refer to a series of embezzlements over several months or years. The initial ones are likely small and insignificant. But over time and repetition they become larger and larger. Likewise, most people who become caught up in extra-marital affairs don’t wake up one morning and state “I am going to have an affair today.” The process begins with an attraction between two people which grows over time, finally resulting in the affair. Along the way there are many little things that contribute to it. The continual thoughts and actions become a habit. These habits in turn become a principle that we are willing to defend. We then rationalize our decisions and conduct.

Screwtape also suggests that conformity plays an instrumental role in these temptations. We only need to look at history to see that most societies have gone through periods of moral decay. Their lack of morality becomes habitual. We face this problem in our society today as well. When we take the attitude “Everyone is doing it” we start down Screwtape’s Hell-ward road. Joining in only hastens the downward slide. Ultimately it will negatively affect all of our relationships – with each other and with our God.

How do we avoid succumbing to this process? Just as habits are created by continual repetition, so also is their avoidance. We have to consciously say “No”. Successfully rejecting the first temptation makes it easier to resist the next one. We must remember that temptations often come upon us in areas where we are the weakest. For this reason it is important for us to understand where we are most likely to be caught off guard. We need to examine our lives to avoid being caught in the tempter’s snare. We need to understand what are the insignificant little areas where temptations can start that will build up into habits. We need to understand that we can choose to accept or reject these temptations. We need to acknowledge our weaknesses and ask God for help to avoid the temptations that will come. As we examine our lives, three questions come to mind. What are the small areas Satan is trying to drive a wedge in our relationship with God? What detrimental habits is he trying to build in our lives? How can we successfully resist them? As James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Know Thyself

The dictum “know thyself” has been attributed to Socrates. He held this as one of the two guiding principles of life. His statement alludes to a life of examination. But his statement misses one vital aspect of life. In his novel "Father Elijah: an Apocalypse", Michael D. O’Brien states “No man knows his own soul so well that he is invincible to the tactics of the enemy, no man.” Not only must we know our strengths and our gifts, but we especially must know our own weaknesses. In warfare, it is important to know the weakness of the enemy. That weak spot becomes the focal point of the attack, for it is there that the enemy can best be defeated. Likewise, if an attack can be launched at a point where the enemy least expects it, the likelihood of success is greater. This was an important aspect in the success of the “D” Day invasion at Normandy.

The devil is at warfare with the church. He knows our weaknesses, often better than we know them ourselves. He exploits these points of weakness in order to strike out against us and defeat us. These are the places where we are most vulnerable. They are the places where we are most likely to fail. He also knows the areas where we think we are invincible. In those areas he can also catch us off guard. When we think we are safe we can easily succumb to the danger of pride. This became a vulnerable point for many of the high profile church leaders who have fallen over the past few decades. They forgot to examine their weaknesses. The results were tragic for their ministries. Jesus told the disciples that they would all abandon him. Peter’s denial of Jesus a short while after his declaration that even if everyone else left, he, Peter, would never leave shows how little he knew himself. The statement “pride goes before a fall” is poignantly true.

Unfortunately, we are not invincible and we often fail. For this reason it is especially important for us to know the areas where we are most likely to succumb to temptations. By knowing them, we are less likely to be caught off guard when temptations do come our way. Knowledge of our weaknesses will provide a hedge of protection around us. Having that knowledge in front of us when the temptations come helps us to reject the temptation. If we then succumb to it, it is because it is an intentional act. We must also understand the areas in our lives where we can become prideful. This helps us to maintain a humble attitude.

In order to avoid the twin dangers of being caught up either in temptation or pride we must truly know ourselves. We have to examine the areas of our lives were we are most likely to fail. This isn’t always easy. We don’t like to admit that we are not perfect. But when we really look at ourselves, we are forced to admit that we are far from perfect. We must acknowledge that we are vulnerable to sin. We have to understand the grace of God at work in our lives to protect us. And this process begins with the clear understanding that we are truly sinners in need of a forgiving God. It starts with our taking a hard look at who we really are. And this begins by asking how well do I really know myself?