Brief On Idolatry

Magdeburg, Germany Beautiful Earth, Google+

The sermon today at church was discussing Solomon and his quote 'seven hundred wives and concubines' and his great wealth.

In light of a comment...God does not have any ontological needs, that is not what the article is discussing. It is in context discussing God's needs for a person as in his purposes vs. natural human needs.

1 Kings 11:1-3

English Standard Version (ESV)

'11 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart.'

The theme of the sermon, in my opinion was King Solomon and his discussion of the vanities of life that were a prime example of making idols of 'things' other than God.

Therefore, the key to happiness it was indicated for a human being was to trust in God and in Jesus Christ, in other words, the triune God of the New Testament.

To trust of things of spirit and soul over temporal things for happiness.

Definitions of Idolatry

Browning writes that it is 'the cult surrounding a statue of a god or goddess'. Browning (1997: 181).

'Paul warns the Corinthian Christians about a kind of idolatry (I Cor. 10: 14) which might have been a form of civic ceremony'. Browning (1997: 181).

'Idolatry is also used metaphorically for evil desires (Col. 3:5)'. Browning (1997: 181).

This I reason is the primary use of terms idol, idols, and idolatry in the Western evangelical church today.

Colossians 3:5

'English Standard Version (ESV)

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:[a] sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Footnotes: Colossians 3:5 Greek therefore your members that are on the earth'

Evil desires are therefore the theological and philosophical opposite of good desires that would be based on a love for God and desires to serve God, in Christ; although admittedly human beings in a corrupted, sinful state are not perfectly good and holy.

Therefore desires are never perfectly good and holy.

P.C. Craigie defines idolatry as 'The worship of an idol or of a deity represented by an idol, usually as an image. Craigie (1997: 542).

He as did Browning acknowledges that the New Testament deals with idolatry in a more metaphorical context than the Hebrew Bible. Craigie (1996: 542).  As in one should not covet for example (Ephesians 5: 5 and Colossians 3: 5).

Ephesians 5:5

English Standard Version (ESV)

'5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.'

Again in context, this is evil desires, the opposite of good desires. Another way a stating this would be that the Holy Spirit is not being sought in these desires, but sinful human desires are being followed.

A theological key here is the idol becomes 'the immediate focus of a person's desires and 'worship' displacing the worship of God.' Craigie (1996: 543).

The sermon's assumption being, and I agree, that this type of metaphorical idolatry will ultimately in this realm lead to vanity and unhappiness.

However, where I take some issue is with what is lacking, in an admittedly non-theological lecture format of preaching, as the message, as are many evangelical presentations, is over-simplistic.

Clearly it is intellectually and theologically possible to desire things in Christ through the Holy Spirit and still not be happy. 

Personally, I do not even reason that happiness should be our goal in such a fallen realm, rather it should be peace, joy and fulfilment in Christ even while there are problems of evil and suffering.

I do think that lack of misery should be a goal, that is lack of extreme suffering for prolonged periods.

There are many things that could make a sincere Christian unhappy apart from being in a state of idolatry.

These include, non-exhaustively, starvation, physical injury such as a serious wound needing treatment, physical assault, rape, loneliness, poverty, amputation, blindness, deafness, physical deformity and social ramifications, diseases such as cancer, ALS, apparent lack of salvation for friends and family, death of friend or family member and so on.

To simply state that when Christians are suffering with unanswered prayer, that these are 'felt needs' as one pastor stated at another church, when God does not grant them, does not seem accurate.

That type of theology also plays philosophically, in my humble opinion, into the Christian critic's hands because a realistic apologetic of reason is not being used.

Some claim atheism or agnosticism in part I reason because seemingly like many evangelical Christians they expect more from God. But the Christian believes in faith and the critic does not.

But, there are true needs that in this realm of problems of evil and suffering are not always met by God.

I realize that this is very difficult for some evangelicals to accept, but examine the evidence.

As God meets the needs of his saints in order to accomplish his will.

1 John 5:14-15 English Standard Version (ESV)

'14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.'

This is my view is not stating that God will meet all needs, 'felt needs' or actual needs such as losing a leg due to amputation and needing a new one, in this realm.

Are we as an apologetic going to seriously state to the amputee that you really do not need that leg, or God would give it to you?

Or rather is the situation more accurately a reflection of God's sovereign will.

Suffering included.

R.W. Orr in regard to I John, notes that persons praying into the will of God are brought into the 'fellowship of divine life'. Orr (1986: 1584).

I do not find the idea from 1 John or the New Testament that God meets all of our needs in Christ in this realm, but rather his needs for us are met in prayer as in his purposes for persons.

Not ontological divine needs of God. There are none.

Therefore, this allows for the possibility for suffering, lack of fulfilment and misery to some extent for a person that has the Holy Spirit and the atoning and resurrection work of Christ applied to them by grace through faith alone, leading to good works.

This is not idolatry. This is not idolatry to desire for things to be better, to be fixed.

Although I can admit that where there is natural good desires, related evil desires can also exist which would be idolatry. Therefore idolatry remains a very significant issue.

BROWNING, W.R.F. (1997) Dictionary of the Bible, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

CRAIGIE, P.C. (1996) 'Idolatry', in Walter A. Elwell (ed.), Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Grand Rapids, Baker Books.

ORR, R.W. (1986) I John, in F.F. Bruce (ed.), The International Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids, Zondervan.

Too much time...Boom 99.7, Facebook