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Idol worship |
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us."
All my life as we've read this passage - and others like it - we've always had to make associations for idols with Western substitutions. As I get more time on this side, we'll post video's that will honestly make you read this passage above with a new appreciation.
Here the Hindu's place tremendous influence on the Ganga river and the number of Gods that are worshiped daily reach into the millions. In the picture above there is a small God in the red box that people put grain offerings, money, and say prayers as they circle this tree. They wait in line to spend time at this idol and afterwards many paint their forehead as a note of their fulfilled obligation. They are everywhere here and throughout the post we'll provide more pictures.
The application for us - I think - is that God should be first in everything. Above all - in front of - with purpose, priority, and time and an abundance of evidence in our lives that this relationship is before all things. I remember Pastor Don's sermon as if it was yesterday. Do vs. Done.
Do - the checklist life. I've got to do this ... and this ... and this ... and I can't do that, or that, or that. And at the end as long as I'm a 'good' person having a proven performance based (and self-reliant) track record then heaven awaits. It's unfortunate that this is completely an anti-Biblical teaching.
Done? Yes, done. No trips to the idols. No baths in the Ganga. No checklists, no penance - just grace. When Christ died on the cross my payment was done. Over. el finito. There is an oppression in religious duty here and I hope that we take heed of the lessons that are spelled out in Scripture.
Thanks for sharing all of this Zack. I'm enjoying the blog and look forward to seeing more. Your description of this environment and the culture is very helpful.
ReplyDeleteRyan
Zack - What an encouragement your blog is this morning. I'm looking forward to sharing this with my kids. We continue to pray for you and your daughter and Lynn and Rahul. Safe travels, friend. Thanks for your ministry. Mike
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your blog, and am praying for you all and your objective on this trip.
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