It’s been a rough year for college football, as scandal after scandal has rocked many of the elite programs around the country. In 2011 alone, Ohio State’s football coach, Jim Tressel, resigned after he was found to have hidden violations from the NCAA, the University of Miami football team was found to have committed numerous violations so heinous that it could lead to the program being shut down, and this past week, Penn State has been under the microscope after it was discovered that one of its assistant coaches had been sexually molesting boys for years, often at the team practice facility, and that school officials, including the head coach Joe Paterno, had done very little to bring the abuse into the light. Now, the Miami scandals were not much of a surprise, given the tawdry history of the program, but the Ohio State and Penn State scandals were shocking precisely because the head coaches of both schools had been held up as models of integrity. Now, sadly, they find their reputations crumbling around them as it became clear that neither man was as he was portrayed to be.

I think my reaction to these scandals is best summed up by the writer of Ecclesiastes: “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). I share in the revulsion at the Penn State scandal, and shake my head sadly at the deception and greed found at Ohio State and Miami, but at the same time I am not shocked by any of it. The Bible tells us that “there is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10), and therefore despite the way people may put others on pedestals as models of integrity or righteousness, I know that there is none righteous except Jesus. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and that includes esteemed football coaches. All of us, though created in the image of God and capable of incredible acts of goodness and beauty, are also fallen beings capable of the worst kinds of evil, often restrained only by our fear of getting caught instead of a desire for righteousness. There is truly no “model of integrity” except for Jesus Christ.

These scandals also reveal the power of idolatry, the danger that comes from making something other than Jesus your God, turning a created thing into the thing that gives your life meaning, comfort, and security. In the Ohio State and Penn State scandals, the big trespass committed by head coaches Tressel and Paterno was that others in their program were acting in ways that, if brought to light, could have serious repercussions for both themselves and their program. In the case of Ohio State, key players would be suspended, likely leading to games lost. In the case of Penn State, a top assistant coach would lose his job, hurting the team’s chances for success and possibly opening the door to further revelations of wrongdoing within the program. Both head coaches, faced with the choice to either expose the sin and risk their own security and success, or to hide the sin and protect their security and success, chose to hide the sin. By doing so, each coach revealed who they were truly worshiping – not God, but the idol of success, upon which all other things – their integrity, and the safety of young men – would ultimately be sacrificed.

You or I may not have the status or the pressure of a big-time college football coach, but each of us is faced with similar situations all the time. We are often put in a position where we must choose to either honor God and do the right thing and risk losing other things that we hold dear – the approval of others, important relationships, financial security – or sacrifice everything, including God, upon the altar of our idol. We make others look bad so that people will think well of us. We compromise ethically in order to raise profits. We settle for less than the best because we are afraid of being alone. We give in to another’s demands because we are afraid of losing a relationship. The pull towards self-preservation can be strong, and we are often too willing to sacrifice Jesus all over again in order to preserve our idols and maintain those things which promise to give our life meaning, comfort, and security.

Do not put your hope in anyone or any thing of this world, but put it in Jesus. There is no one righteous, no true man of integrity apart from Jesus. And ask God to expose the idols in your life, those things which, if not destroyed, may one day destroy you the way they did Tressel and Paterno.

Believing that God is a God of judgment and wrath towards evil means that we do not have to take revenge on those who wrong us, but can leave them in the capable hands of our God. Consider Paul’s words in Romans 12:19-21:  “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord. On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Our job, Paul says, is to love even our enemies, overcoming them not by violent force but by unexpected kindness and love. The judgment and vengeance is to be left completely in the hands of our holy God.

I have found no better expression of this than the words of Miroslav Volf, a Yale theologian and Croatian who lived through the violence in the Balkans. In his book Exclusion and Embrace, Volf wrote: “If God were not angry at injustice and deception and did not make a final end to violence – that God would not be worthy of worship… The only means of prohibiting all recourse to violence by ourselves is to insist that violence is legitimate only when it comes from God… My thesis is that the practice of non-violence requires a belief in divine vengeance will be unpopular with many in the West… But it takes the quiet of a suburban home for the birth of the thesis that human non-violence (results from the belief in) God’s refusal to judge.  In a sun-scorched land, soaked in the blood of the innocent, it will invariably die… [with] other pleasant captivities of the liberal mind.” Volf’s insightful words remind us that unless we know that God is a God who will judge, we will take up the gun ourselves and go after those who have hurt us, exacting whatever “justice” we consider appropriate. And eventually an eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.

As we remember the horrific tragedy of 9/11, let us again remind ourselves that we serve a God who is the Judge of all the earth, who will make a final end of all evil. Let us remember as well that His refusal to exercise that judgment at this moment is not because he is incapable or impotent, but because in His grace and mercy He is giving all men and women more time to repent of their sin and turn to Him for forgiveness (read 2 Peter 3:1-14, especially v. 9: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” And let us commit ourselves again, as God’s people, to live lives of unexpected kindness and love towards all, especially those who do not deserve it, for that is the grace that our holy God has shown towards us.

 I have a few thoughts on this trend, but I would be interested in hearing your thoughts as well.  My first thought is that, even though I am firmly part of the machine that is “organized religion,” I came close to saying hearty Amen to the man who said “organized religion has no appeal.”  I think that I, along with many people, have an ideal of what Christian community can be like, only to find that the reality is that any community is made up of humans like ourselves: full of rough edges and immature areas and self-centered agendas.  Many of us have certainly said at one time or another, “wouldn’t it be better just to worship God on our own?”  You know – put on your favorite worship CD, listen to your favorite preacher on your iPod, and send off your tithe to a missions organization you would like to support?  Wouldn’t we all be happier that way? 

So what do you think?  We’ve all heard it said:  “You don’t have to go to church to be a spiritual person.”  So, why not become one of the “Nones” (not to be confused with the “nuns”) and just be spiritual while keeping your distance from “organized religion”? 

I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Leave a comment below if you have an opinion.

Matthew 6:5-6 – “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

This Thursday is the National Day of Prayer.  This event has a long history that goes all the way back to the founding of our country, although its official recognition happened more recently in a bill signed in 1952 by Harry Truman.  The White House had occasionally hosted prayer gatherings on this day up until our last President, George W. Bush, who hosted a gathering every year on the first Thursday of May.  These gatherings included the National Day of Prayer Task Force, chaired by Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. 

This past week, the National Day of Prayer has made news as many, including the Interfaith Alliance, have been clamoring for President Obama to support a “National Day of Prayer and Reflection” “that restores and respects our nation’s best values by explicitly inviting clergy from diverse faith traditions to participate equally and fully – especially in events held on government property.”  As they see it, the day had become hijacked by the Religious Right, and represented by Dobson and the Task Force, and the day should instead be more inclusive of other faith traditions.

On a local level, I will be joining with a few other clergy and Christians this Thursday on Hubbard Green from 11:45-12:45 in order to pray for our town and for our country.  As I perused the National Day of Prayer Task Force’s website, I could understand the concerns of the Interfaith Alliance and other faith leaders.  The Task Force publicizes a prayer guide for that day, and the focus is very much on the hot button Religious Right issues.  For example, the section on “National Repentance” calls for the country to repent for abortion, the acceptance of homosexuality and gay marriage, pornography, throwing God out of schools and government, the promotion of false gods, and the promotion of sexual freedom.  Other sections include statements like “Pray for the radical Islamic forces that are trying to turn the hearts of our youth to Islam, that they may be stopped,” “Pray for journalists to be fair and accurate, to not ‘spin’ the news to promote their liberal agenda,” and “Pray for America to always stand with Israel and for the protection and salvation of Israel.”  Even if all of the above are important issues to be praying about, I think we can all agree that the Prayer Guide certainly does not reflect the heart of many in our nation (or in the White House).  Nor it is inclusive of all the issues that grieve the heart of God (for example, I am pretty sure there are a few verses in the Bible about greed, the poor, and injustice that might be relevant to our wealthy nation).

Shirley Dobson responded to the lack of an invitation to the White House by saying “We are disappointed in the lack of participation by the Obama administration.  At this time in our country’s history, we would hope our president would recognize more fully the importance of prayer.”  The White House replied by assuring that prayer is important, but that they do not wish to endorse a particular religion to the exclusion of people from other faiths.

I know that politics and religion are incredibly hot button issues for many people, and that mixing the two is a recipe for all sorts of division.  I know that mentioning “Obama,” “abortion,” and “gay marriage” in the span of two paragraphs is enough to infuriate some people.  All I would say about this issue today is that, in the aforementioned words of Jesus in Matthew 6:5-6, prayer is not something we do in order to be seen by men.  Whether or not the White House invites you to pray is not the point.  The point is to cry out to God for our cities, for our nation, for our world, and for those who live in it.  You can do that from your closet just as well as you can do it from Hubbard Green or from the White House.  And, in fact, it may even have more effect if it is done in secret. 

In my opinion, if I were organizing a National Day of Prayer gathering, the worst thing I could do would be to make it interfaith and water it down to the lowest common denominator.  The only point in gathering in order to pray to a generic “god” that he would “bless us” and “protect us” is to show everyone that we are one big happy multi-faith family that really aren’t all that different, or because you truly believe that the same “god” wants some people to be Hindus, some to be Buddhists, and some to be Christians.  But that is not prayer as I understand prayer.  That is gathering in order to be seen by men. 

As I mentioned, I will be on Hubbard Green this Thursday with a few other clergy and Christians to pray.  I did not organize this event, but I am happy to participate as long as we are really going to pray to God through His Son Jesus Christ, really going to pray to God about the people of our town and country and the issues we are facing, and not make it so bland that in the end it is a waste of an hour.  And I would encourage Shirley Dobson to do the same.  If she is not welcome at the White House, recognize that it is better to pray as you feel God would have you pray than to be a part of an interfaith “prayer gathering” that in the end does not involve Jesus.

We live in a multi-faith nation, and I believe it is reasonable for our country’s leaders to respect that prayer means different things to different people and not give in to the agenda of the National Day of Prayer Task Force.  If our leaders decide that the best thing to do with the National Day of Prayer is to ensure that no person of faith or any atheist is offended, they have the right to do that.  And I would gladly allow for people from different faiths to pray as they see fit, or for the pro-interfaith crowd to gather and pray to their generic “god.”  But as for me, I will gather with like-minded people who believe that the only way we can approach God is through the blood of Jesus.  Some may call be narrow-minded, but I do not care.  I will not gather in prayer to be seen by men, but only because I believe that we all are in desperate need of God, and desperate need of people who will intercede for this town, nation, and world.

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”   (Hebrews 10:19-22) 

Shane Claiborne                           Jesus for President  

The second sign that this would be a different experience was parked outside Clark School:  a big veggie oil-powered school bus with “Jesus for President” painted on the side and back, their means of transportation around this land.  Having already read Claiborne’s first book, The Irresistible Revolution, I had come away impressed by how he and his community of Christ-followers in Philadelphia, called The Simple Way, had thought through every aspect of their lives, from money to clothes to health insurance to even how they fuel their cars (hence the veggie oil), in order to live as they believed Jesus would.  That book, as well as the Jesus for President book and tour, were the sort of experiences where the proper response was not “did I like it?” but “what am I going to do with this?”  And I freely admit being overwhelmed with trying to understand how a married father of two living in suburban Windsor could apply the things I had been reading and hearing in an attempt to live more like Jesus would.

The event at Clark School was a two-hour long mix of preaching and music, but definitely unlike your typical preaching and music event.  The music, by a duo who called themselves The Psalters,  was a hard-to-describe mix of Christ-focused songs influenced by slave spirituals, bedouin music, Orthodox chants, and punk rock.  The message, as tag-teamed by Claiborne and Haw, was essentially their take on the Biblical narrative, with the relationship of God and God’s people to the political environment in which they find themselves as the driving theme.  From the Israelites in Egypt to Jesus and the early church in the Roman Empire, they shared how God has called His people to be holy, to be different, to embody a different reality than the one being preached by those in power.  As the foreword to their book puts it, “Having power at its fingertips, the church often finds ‘guiding the course of history’ a more alluring goal than following the crucified Christ.  Too often the patriotic values of pride and strength triumph over the spiritual values of humility, gentleness, and sacrificial love.”  One of the last things Claiborne said on Sunday was, “we may live in the best Babylon in the world, but it is still Babylon, and we are called to come out from her and be separate from her.” 

The challenge for Claiborne, as well as for any Christian who wants to write or speak about politics, is that for many people there is only one question that matters:  Who are you voting for?  Are you a Republican or a Democrat?  Every time I hear the media try to categorize someone like Shane Claiborne, that always seems to be the question they are most interested in.  They love to do stories about how “younger evangelicals are no longer a lock to vote Republican.”  The implication heard by the media seems to be that by preaching the Biblical emphasis on the poor, the oppressed, and issues of social justice, Christians such as Claiborne are swinging voters to the Democratic party, even if they never come out and say it.  However, having listened to Claiborne and Haw for two hours, the clear message I heard was that “Jesus for President” is not about endorsing a candidate or a political party, but living your life with Jesus Christ as your Lord (or “president”) and putting your hope in the gospel instead of in politics or a nation (for a good example of what I’m talking about, check out this piece that aired Monday on CNN about Jesus for President.   

Not everyone will agree with Claiborne’s conclusions regarding non-violence or the relationship of the church to politics, nor the methods by which he gets there.  For example, I’m not convinced that the theme of empire is as prominent in the Bible as Claiborne and others seem to think, nor am I so convinced that Christians can not use political power redemptively.  But whether or not you agree with Claiborne, he is one of those Christian authors whose views and way of life deserve to be interacted with.  While his views on non-violence, the poor, and the call to define ourselves more by Christ than by our country are not new, they are well-articulated and creatively communicated, and may even be considered a prophetic voice in today’s church. 

“But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” (Acts 17:5-7)

And In This Corner:  Sam Harris, author of Letter to a Christian Nation, which I have been reading this week.  If Harris were to write a Psalm 14 of his own, it would likely read “The fool says in his heart, “There is a God, and I know what He/She/It is like.”  According to Harris’ book, those who believe in God are blinded by their narrow view of the world, have missed the obvious signs that there is no God, and are ultimately living with a false (and dangerous) view of reality.

And here comes the Referee:  The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released a study this Monday that detailed the religious affiliations of Americans today, based on a 2007 study of over 35,000 Americans (shown below).  As you can see, 78% of Americans consider themselves some sort of Christian, while 4% consider themselves atheist or agnostic, and another 12% consider themselves unaffiliated with any particular religion. 

So what does this mean?  Well, if Sam Harris is correct, we’ve got a nation full of idiots.

Certainly the fact that 78% of Americans consider themselves Christians doesn’t prove the existence of God (especially since the staggering number of denominations shows how much disagreement there is on how to best worship Him).  But it does prove that the notion of faith in God is worthy of some serious consideration.  I know that religious affiliation is not the same as belief in God, but assuming the number of people who believe in God is somewhere near that 78%, is it really likely that that many million people are emotionally stunted, truth-repressing, simple-minded people with serious wish-fulfillment issues?  Is it more likely that the 4% who have looked at the evidence and concluded that there is no God have realized the obvious while the other 78% have chosen to repress it out of fear for their mortality or their inability to think for themselves?

Now, as I said, the fact that 78% of Americans consider themselves Christians does not prove the existence of God.  Nor does it prove that the Christian version of God is the correct one, since a similar poll taken in Afghanistan or India would surely reveal a high number of religious people, but adhering to religions other than Christianity.  But I find it interesting that no matter how many times people have predicted that our increasing understanding of science and technology would eliminate our need for religion, here we are in 2008 with an overwhelming percentage of these scientific and technological minds still convinced that there is a God.  Apparently we didn’t get the memo…

Beginning on Easter Sunday, I will be preaching a series that will entertain some of the most common objections to faith in the God of the Bible.  I will be dealing with questions about the problem of evil, the legitimacy of the Bible, the issue of Hell, and the exclusivity of Jesus.  I will also be spending some time blogging about some of the more personal and relational reasons people reject Christianity, such as the hypocrisy and judgmentalism of believers and the atrocities found in church history.  And hopefully, along the way, I’ll convince some people that not all of the 78% are idiots, but that there is good reason to believe in God.
 
Let me share just a few other quick observations from the Pew Forum’s study:

 25% of young adults 18-29 say they are not affiliated with any particular religion.  This could mean that younger generations are more skeptical about religion, or that that stage of life is marked by less religious affiliation regardless of the generation.  It’s probably a little of both; many people drop out of church only to return once they have children out of a desire to give their children some “moral guidance.”  But it is probably also a sign that younger generations in America, who are more aware of different cultures, faiths, and ways of life, as well as more aware of the failings of religious leaders and people, have grown more skeptical of organized religion.  Either way, I’m thankful that our church has found a way to reach a disproportionate number of people in this age group.

 Nearly 20% of men say they have no formal religious affiliation, compared with roughly 13% of women.  No surprise there.  Churches often do a poor job capturing the mind and spirit of the active, adventure-seeking American male.

 The Northeast has the greatest concentration of Catholics.  I’m pretty sure you’ve all noticed that.  Probably half of our church grew up Catholic.  It’s also interesting to see how 26% of Americans consider themselves evangelical Christians, seeing as how the percentage of people in Glastonbury who would say that is probably closer to 1% (and even that number might be too high).

 Jehovah’s Witnesses have the lowest retention rate of any religious tradition. Only 37% of all those who say they were raised as Jehovah’s Witnesses still identify themselves as Jehovah’s Witnesses.  Very interesting – they are out witnessing so much that their faith is growing, yet almost two-thirds of those raised as JW’s drop out.

Finally, before any believers in God walk away thinking that they can boast of the fact that they believe, let them be reminded that if it were not for the Lord’s intervention, they would still be in their ignorance.  Even David understood this, as he wrote in the next two verses of the Psalm I quoted in the beginning:  “The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.  All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Psalm 14:2-3).  Let us thank God from the depths of our heart for the grace He has given us that has allowed us to not only believe in Him but to know Him and to have experienced His salvation.

What I find amazing is that this story is the beginning of a dramatic shift in the history of salvation.  Throughout the Book of Acts, God continues to expand of the people of God, from the Jewish people of Israel to a multi-national, multi-ethnic group of both Jews and Gentiles that will come to be known as the church.  From Peter’s experience with Cornelius in Acts 10-11, where the disciples marvel “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life” (Acts 11:18) to Saul’s commissioning to bring the gospel to the Gentiles in Acts 9:15, God demonstrates to His people that the people of God are not to be defined by national or ethnic boundaries – a truth that was not easy for the early Jewish Christians to accept.

Consider one more Scriptural reality, from the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:48-50, when he is told that his mother and brothers are outside waiting to speak with him.  Jesus responds, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (how is that for family values???).  Add these two realities together and what do you get?  A people of God that is not divided by national or ethnic boundaries, but is instead a huge family made up of everyone under heaven who does the will of God, regardless of where they live.

All of which leads me to American Idol #5:  the Idol of Patriotism.  Lift high its banner, the American flag, and sing proudly its proudest hymn, “God Bless America.”

 Now, of course, I am not saying that it is wrong to love your country or to pray for God’s blessing on it.  What I am saying is that patriotism, and specifically identifying yourself as an American first and a citizen of the Kingdom of God second, can easily become an idol, especially in America.  One theme that is being brought out by many Biblical scholars and teachers today is how subversive the early Christian community was in the Roman Empire.  They lived in a culture that taught that Caesar was Lord, that through the Pax Romana, Rome was the bearer of cosmic peace and prosperity, and that by conquering other nations Rome was bringing true peace to them.  Into this milieu comes a movement of people who refuse to bow down to Caesar as Lord, but proclaim Jesus as the true King over all principalities and powers, who proclaim His gospel as the only way to true peace and prosperity, and who demonstrate that salvation and peace are spread not by the sword but by sacrificial love.  And, as time would prove, the gospel of the Roman Empire turns out to be a false gospel, while the gospel of that tiny minority of Jews and Gentiles who proclaimed their allegiance to King Jesus has transformed the world.

The gospel of Jesus Christ was not the same as the Roman gospel, nor is it the same as the American gospel.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is not about democracy, capitalism, military supremacy, and technological progress.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is about the Kingdom of God, about life and community under the reign of a holy and sovereign God, about a community of people who love God with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love their neighbor as themselves – wherever that neighbor may live and whatever that neighbor may look like.  And that gospel can be very subversive in a country built on the American way of life.

The false gospel of the Idol of Patriotism is that America is God’s favored nation, that we embody all that is good in the world and that it is with divine blessing that we bring forth the American way to the nations.   The truth underneath this false gospel is that God has only had one favored people in His history, the people of Israel, and that now his people are made up of all who do the will of God, Jew or Gentile, regardless of nation or ethnicity.  God has chosen this people, who we call the church, and charged them with embodying what is good and bringing forth the kingdom of God to all the nations (Matthew 28:18-20).

So what does this mean?  If you believe Jesus’ words about who your true family is, this means that you have more in common with people in other countries who love Jesus than you do with an American who doesn’t do the will of God.  It means you have brothers and sisters who are being killed in Iraq in the name of the American way.  It means that you have younger siblings working in sweatshops in China because of the American gospel of capitalism.  It means you have family members being killed in Kenya, raped in Sudan, and mistreated around the globe.  You may be American by birth, but you are a citizen of the Kingdom of God by the new birth.  To bow down to the Idol of Patriotism instead of proclaiming your allegiance to Jesus and His kingdom is not what we have been called to do as followers of Jesus.       

Let me end with the words of Gordon Lawrence, a member of our church who was born and lived much of his life overseas:

When I first came to the USA, I traveled in and out of the country many times a year; each time I joined the immigration line that said “aliens”.  I used to find that beneficial in reminding me that even though I had a house here, I was an alien in a foreign land.  I no longer have to join the line that says “aliens”, but I need to remind myself, as all believers must, that we are “aliens” and America is not “home”, we do not fit here or belong here, and we must not try to make the nation fit with us.  I feel that we walk a narrow line, but we must never hold our country so close that we fail to realize that our real “culture” is being drawn from every tribe and every nation, and our allegiance to Christ and his world-wide people is above our allegiance to our nation.

May we give our primary allegiance to Jesus and His kingdom, remembering that our people, our family, is scattered all over the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Idol #4 – the Idol of Personal Pleasure.  Let us all stand for its anthem, as sung by Sheryl Crow:  “If it makes you happy, it can’t be that bad.”

Now, before you accuse me of being just another wet blanket Christian who can’t stand people having fun, hear me out.  I believe in the pursuit of happiness.  I believe God wants us to pursue happiness with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind.  I just strongly disagree with our culture’s definition of happiness.  The way I see it, our culture teaches us that the happiest person is rich, good-looking, comfortable, a success in all they do, with all the pleasures of the world at their disposal.  They have got all the latest toys, they are enjoying great food, great drink, and great sex, and they’ve got all the free time they could want to do all of the things they’ve always wanted to do.  In short, they’ve got everything they could ever want right at their fingertips.

Everything except (as most of them ironically discover) true happiness. 

The false gospel of the Idol of Personal Pleasure is that true happiness is found in living the American “good life” of comfort, freedom, and pleasure.  Our American landscape is littered with temples that have been erected in service to this Idol – from spas to casinos, all-inclusive resorts to cruise ships.  And millions of pilgrims make the trip every year to that Mecca of Personal Pleasure, Las Vegas, where for a few days you can try to be rich, successful, and experience as much pleasure as possible.

The Entertainment Capital of the World

But the real truth underneath this false gospel is that true happiness isn’t tied to what we own, or how much free time we have, or how easy we have it.  There are plenty of miserable rich people and happy poor people, lots of depressed people living the “good life” and lots of people living with deep joy in the projects.  True happiness isn’t found in the American “good life” of comfort, freedom, and pleasure; no, there is something much deeper, much more fulfilling than that.

Once again, I believe in the pursuit of happiness.  I just think American is looking in the wrong place.  Consider what C.S. Lewis wrote in his book The Weight of Glory:

Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.  We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.  We are far too easily pleased.

John Piper, a pastor and writer from Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, wrote an incredible book a few years ago called Desiring God, where he used the provocative term “Christian hedonism” to describe how we are called by God to pursue pleasure, but that the deepest and most enduring happiness is found not in the things of this world but in God.  You may be familiar with the Westminster Catechism, which states that “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”  Piper argues that a better way to word it is that “The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.”  We are given the opportunity to enjoy the creator and giver of all beauty and joy – as the Psalmist writes, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).  The Christian hedonist pursues God with all of his heart, soul, strength, and mind, knowing that nothing will satisfy the void in the human heart more than a deep, intimate relationship with God.  Unfortunately, most of us are instead scrambling around trying to fill that void with the ephemeral pleasures of the world.

Now, this is a difficult thing to understand for anyone who has never really experienced God, never really enjoyed him, so to speak.  For most people, the only experience of God is a boring church service, which is hardly more exciting than watching a favorite football team on TV or shopping for a new pair of shoes.  Don’t make the mistake of believing that a relationship with God can be reduced to attending a weekly church service.  A relationship with God is meant to be a dynamic interaction where we become part of God’s mission to take back this world, to bring life where there is death, justice where there is injustice, hope where there is despair, love where there is hatred, salvation where there is slavery.  A relationship with God means being “seized by the power of a great affection,” experiencing a love that reaches to the core of who we are and empowers us to transform the world by that very love.  It is joining the God of the universe in giving and serving and sacrificing until lives are transformed and the world is made right again.  It is coming to the end of one’s life and realizing that God has given you the privilege of joining Him in changing the world, and that you are about to spend eternity praising and enjoying the very One who has loved and changed you.  This is the happiness that we were created to enjoy.

The Founding Fathers were right that God has created us to pursue happiness.  Unfortunately, most of America is looking in the wrong place.  Jesus once said that “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” (Matthew 13:44).  May you discover that same joy, a joy that would cause you to give up all the ephemeral pleasures of this world and pursue the only happiness that will ever really fulfill you.  

(Intolerance Alert!!!  Intolerance Alert!!!)

There are approximately one billion Hindus in the world today.
I believe that there are many good and beautiful things in the religion of Hinduism.
I believe that there are a lot of good people who are Hindus.
I also believe that Hindus are wrong in their belief that there are many gods and that we will be reincarnated when we die.

(Intolerance Alert!!!  Intolerance Alert!!!)

Let’s be honest – you can believe just about anything in the philosophical and religious marketplace that is America today.  You can believe that God is a male or a female, that everyone is God, that this rock is God, or that there is no God.  You can believe in heaven and hell, or annihilation, or reincarnation when we die.

Just don’t say that someone else’s belief is wrong.

Intolerant.  Is there any question that this is one of the most negative labels that can be given to a person or a religious group in America today?  Woe to you if you fail to bow before the Idol of Tolerance that has been erected in contemporary America.  Woe to you if you do not believe its Gospel, that “all beliefs are equally valid,” or disregard its cardinal teaching – “Who are you to say that someone else’s belief is wrong?”

Ladies and gentleman, I give you American Idol #3:  The Idol of Tolerance.

Now, did anyone else squirm a little when I said that Muslims, while they may be good and sincere (and numerous), are ultimately wrong?  Or when I proclaimed the same about Hindus?  Did anyone fear that I was being a little too arrogant, a little judgmental, a little too sure about my own beliefs and narrow-minded concerning how things REALLY are?  To be honest, I know that I squirmed a little, because as I wrote it I knew I was breaking the cardinal teaching of the Gospel of Tolerance, outing myself as a non-believer in the American Idol of Tolerance.  It would certainly be much safer to just play along and proclaim that all beliefs are equally valid and true in their own way (and God forbid if I ever committed the unforgivable sin of trying to convert a Muslim or Hindu into a Christian).

Of course, nobody is tolerant about everything.  No matter how sincerely someone believes that 3+3=5, any respectable math teacher is going to say “your belief is wrong.”  No matter how badly I want to believe that John Kerry won the last election, sincerity of belief isn’t going to kick Dubya out of the White House.  And no matter how sincerely I believe that there is no such thing as the Law of Gravity, if I step out of my office window, I’m going to fall to the pavement.  Some things are just true, and sincerity of belief isn’t going to change anything.  Sometimes you have to be intolerant.

Listen – you have every right to believe that 3+3=5, and I will not stop you from believing that there is no such thing as the Law of Gravity.  But I’m also not going to pretend you are right when I believe you are wrong.  In fact, because I want you to get an A in math and not break your leg, I may even try to convince you that my belief is actually right, even if that seems intolerant.  In the same way, I am tolerant in that I believe a Muslim or Hindu has every right to their belief, and I have no right to stop them from practicing their faith.  But I’m not going to pretend their belief is correct when I believe it is wrong (nor would I expect them to pretend my belief is correct when they believe it is wrong), nor will I pretend that all religions say essentially the same thing when they don’t.  In fact, I may even try to convince them that my belief is actually right, even if that seems intolerant (and I would not be offended if they tried to convince me that their belief is right).

So what is really behind the Idol of Tolerance?  On the surface, it seems to be a desire to be educated and respectful, to not offend anyone or come across as narrow-minded and arrogant.  But I think there is something deeper going on.  I believe the Idol of Tolerance is in reality a very close relative to the first Idol, the Idol of Consumerism.  Could it be that the American aversion to absolutes (this is right, that is wrong) when it comes to religion is little more than a resistance to anything that might limit our consumer choice in the marketplace of ideas, beliefs, and worldviews?  We are a nation that celebrates freedom of choice, from the democratic process to our capitalist economy.  Might it be that the Idol of Tolerance is just the Idol of Consumerism in disguise, that we want everyone to be able to shop at the Mall of Religious Worldviews and choose the god of his or her own liking, without anyone saying that what someone else believes or practices is wrong?  Can’t you just see it now:

“Hmm… I like all that Christian stuff about love your neighbors, doing good, but I can’t stand all that talk about sin and hell and judgment, so let’s leave that part out and replace it with a God who does not punish anyone.  And while we’re at it, there are a few things I really like in Buddhism and some Muslim practices I think are cool, so let’s mix those in.  Ooh – and I really like that karma thing from My Name is Earl, so let’s add that too.”

Congratulations:  here is your god!

“Oh, I’m sorry – I was looking for the Build-a-God workshop”

Here’s the result of the consumer approach to religion – the god you construct becomes just another product, a god made in your image, bowing to the Idol of Consumerism.  In your desire to have a god who you’re comfortable with, you end up creating a god who will never confront you in a voice that is radically other than your own voice, will never really challenge you in a way that makes you made, will never call you to account.  The consumer approach means you don’t have to fear a God who might tell you to sell all you have and give to the poor, or stop sleeping with your girlfriend, or forgive your enemies, and might hold you accountable if you disobey.  You end up not with a living God, but an Idol of your own creation. 

 To smash the Idol of Tolerance is to dare to pursue Truth, wherever it may lead.  It is to talk with people of different faiths not just for the sake of understanding but for the goal of pursuing the truth.  It is to recognize that every religion can not be equally valid – either they are all manmade attempts to answer the big questions of life, or one of them accurately reflects the truth.  And it means taking seriously the words of Jesus when he said “I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6), and deciding whether he is as true as 3+3=6 and the Law of Gravity or just severely misguided. 

For the Christian, smashing the Idol of Tolerance means allowing the God revealed in the Bible to be Himself, whether or not you like it or understand it.  It means resisting the urge to be a religious consumer, to build a comfortable god in your own image.  Ultimately, it means allowing the Truth to confront you, no matter where it may lead.

We’re in the third week of series I’m calling “American Idols,” where I’m attempting to unmask the idols in our culture – things other than God that we are tempted to worship, emulate, or believe will save us – and discuss how they have distorted our understanding of the gospel and what it means to follow Jesus.  Idol #1 was the Idol of consumerism, with the Temple of the Mall as its place of worship.  This week’s Idol is the Idol of celebrity, and here is one of its many sacred texts:

You know you want to look inside…

I mean seriously – if tomorrow we ceased to hear another word about Britney Spears or Paris Hilton, would anyone’s life be negatively affected?  If we could no longer hear about where Lindsay Lohan was doing rehab or what parties the Olsen twins were attending, would we even notice?  So what is the attraction to this Idol?  Why do millions of people crave the latest scoop on what American celebrities are up to?

Let me speak in generals that obviously do not apply to everyone but may help us understand this Idol.  Part of the attraction to the Idol of celebrity is likely envy – we think it must be great to be universally known and loved by millions, to be rich and beautiful and powerful and seemingly have the world at our command.  We wish it could be that way in our lives, and following the lives of celebrities allows us to live vicariously through them, to pretend we know them.  But the dark side of envy is often hatred – as much as we adore and worship them, we also want to see them fall and be ruined.  We want to laugh at their failures so that we can console ourselves that ultimately our lives are better than their lives.

The false gospel preached by the Idol of celebrity is this:  you are not important until you are famous.  As soon as you are on TV, in the papers or magazines, however, you become Important with a capital I.  All of a sudden you matter, and what you have to say is worth listening to.  And in a world where reality shows are a dime a dozen and websites like MySpace and YouTube have opened new avenues to fame, the temptation to worship the Idol of celebrity is a big one.

But here is the real truth underneath the false gospel of the Idol of celebrity – fame and celebrity have nothing to do with how important you are.  Just because someone has had a book published does not mean they are wiser than your 80 year-old grandfather who has no books to his name.  Just because someone is being followed by the paparazzi does not mean they are happier, a better person, or worthier of more respect than your teacher, your mailman, or even you.  And if you were to someday reach celebrity status and have your name included in the celebrity Bible known as People magazine, your life would not have any more value than it did when you were flipping burgers at McDonald’s.  Because according to the real Gospel, value has nothing to do with our celebrity status, but with this reality:  “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

So how has the Idol of celebrity corrupted the gospel and our discipleship to Jesus in 21st century America?  I think this Idol can cause us to believe that the more well-known a pastor, teacher, or writer is, the more spiritual they are and the wiser they are.  As for pastors, we may also think that the bigger the church is, the more we should listen to what the pastor has to say, because he or she must be more spiritual and have more wisdom.  Like our culture, we can falsely equate fame with importance.  But this is not so in the Kingdom of God – just because a preacher is on TV does not mean they are preaching the true Gospel, and just because someone has not written a book does not mean they do not have wisdom in every word they speak.  In fact, just because someone is a pastor or missionary does not mean that they are more spiritual or have more wisdom than anyone else in the church. 

The second way the Idol of celebrity has invaded our church is in how the church can sometimes pin its self-worth on celebrities who begin to proclaim their faith in Christ.  Two of the most recent examples in the world of music were Brian “Head” Welch, former guitarist for the nu-metal band Korn, who left the band in 2005 after coming to faith in Jesus, and the rapper Mase, who “retired” from rap in 1999 after turning to Jesus, and returned in 2004 with a rap album without the cursing and derogatory references to women.  I have noticed how sometimes Christians (especially younger Christians) are less ashamed of their faith because there are respected celebrities who are also believers, as if somehow image is more important than whether or not the Gospel is true (and being associated with Mase is more worthy of respect than being associated with Jesus).  The disproportionate honor given to athletes, entertainers, and other celebrities who are Christian is an example of how the Idol of celebrity has corrupted our view of the Gospel.

The truth of the Gospel is that it was a baby born in a nowhere village called Bethlehem, who grew up in a nowhere town called Nazareth (as Nathanael put it in John 1:46:  “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there? “), who called together twelve nobodies who were working as fishermen, tax collectors, and the like, who never wrote a book or held political office, and who was crucified between two criminals by the Roman Empire, who has sparked a revolution that forever changed the world.  The kingdom of heaven, the reign of God, is not about celebrity and status but is a movement that starts small but ultimately transforms everything.  As Jesus put it in Matthew 13:31-34: 

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.  Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.” He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

Destroy the Idol of celebrity, in your life and in the church.  Do not seek to be famous or to be seen by men, for true spirituality according to Jesus is done with God as the only audience (Matthew 6:1 – “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”)  Do not believe the lie that just because a Christian is on TV or in the magazines, that somehow they are more spiritual or have more wisdom than one who is not famous. 

And for God’s sake, put down People magazine and get to know your neighbors instead.

Come let us worship and bow down…

Is there any doubt that one of the greatest American Idols that we are tempted to worship, emulate, or believe will save us is the idol of consumerism?  Unless you live under a rock, it is impossible to ignore the constant stream of advertisements crying out for your attention and your money every hour of the day.  And is it not true that the mall is the temple of this idol of consumerism, the place that promises to fulfill your every need and wants to sell you more than you could ever afford or find a place for? 

This is the false gospel of the idol of consumerism:  The more you have, the happier you will be.  This idol is calling to you that if you could only own all of the latest and coolest clothes, gadgets, music, and whatever else you could get your hands on, you would become the envy of all you meet and the happiest person around.  This is the message emanating from the temple known as the Mall.

When I was a child, I used to love calling in for contests on the radio.  I still remember that no prize captivated by attention like the shopping spree.  Just imagine – five minutes in Toys R Us with $1000 to spend on anything you like!  In my mind, that would have been the most thrilling time imaginable.  Even though I am older now, there is still something captivating about having money to spend on the latest fashions, or the cool new CD’s or gadgets.  There is something about walking out of the Temple of the Mall with the latest and greatest stuff that makes me come alive, builds up my confidence, and makes me walk with my head a little higher.

Until the next great thing comes along…

Have you ever reached the point with music, or gadgets, or clothes, where you recognized the futility of keeping up with the latest and greatest?  Where you realized that if you bought all the CD’s or downloaded all the songs you like, that you’d go bankrupt?  Or if you kept updating your computer and cell phone and mp3 player and everything else that you soon would have no money left for food?  Have you ever checked out the back to school fashions, only to groan as you realize that once again the manufacturers have decided to change what is “in” – from wide legs to tapered legs to skinny legged-jeans, from plaid to solids to stripes, and so on?  At what point did you throw your hands up in the air and decide that you’d rather commit the sin of being unfashionable and outdated than try to keep up with every new trend?

Because here is the real truth underneath the false gospel of the mall:  the more you have, the more of a slave you become.  You may experience the thrill that comes from having the latest and greatest, and you may indeed become the envy of everyone for a short time, but before long you will have lost your freedom and become a slave to the idol of consumerism.  Because when the latest and greatest becomes last year’s style, you have to run out and buy more or risk losing your favored status.  And the more you own, the more you have to take care of, and the more time you spend on all your stuff (amen, anyone?).  The more you own, the more things end up owning you; and the more you care about what others think of you, the more you become a slave to their opinions.

Remember that one of the problems the people of God had in the Old Testament was that they were continually trying to merge worship of the one true God with the worship of idols from the surrounding cultures.  So what happens when you try to merge the worship of the one true God with our consumer culture?  You get a God who wants to bless us with good things, material things, who wants us to have nice houses and cars and stuff.  You skip past all of those pesky Bible verses about selling all you have and giving it to the poor (Matthew 19:21), or all of Jesus’ warnings about money and greed (Matthew 6:24).  You turn the page quickly after reading how Ananias and Sapphira, two early Christians, fell down dead because they kept money for themselves instead of giving it for the care of other Christians (Acts 5:3-4).  You skip the Prophetical books entirely and all of their warnings about what would happen to those who neglected those in need.  You turn a blind eye to the poor and suffering and convince yourself that God wants you to relax and enjoy your stuff.

Beware of merging worship of God with the Idol of consumerism.  Before you know it you will be worshiping at the Temple of the Mall on Sundays instead of in the house of God.

Remember that in First and Second Chronicles, one of the first things all of the good kings did was to smash down the idols that had been erected by the previous kings.  So how do we smash down the Idol of consumerism in our lives?  Give away instead of hoarding more; as Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).  Jesus tells us to store up treasure in heaven instead of treasures on earth (Matthew 6:20), to give in such a secretive fashion that even your left hand does not know what your right hand is doing (Matthew 6:3), to trust in Him to provide all we need (Matthew 6:25). 

Jesus came to set us free from slavery to the idol of consumerism, to rescue us from the Temple of the Mall.  He came to set us free from the constant need for more so that instead we might be content with what we have.  He came to free us from the need to be worshiped and envied by others so that we might receive all of our self-worth from the God who loves us enough to die for us.  As Paul writes in Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” 

The gospel is about freedom.  Expose the idol of consumerism, the Temple of the Mall.  Resist the urge to see God as an American God who wants to bless us by giving us more and bigger and better.  That new pair of pants won’t save you, and that new computer won’t make your life complete.  Remember instead the words of Jonah:  “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs… Salvation comes from the LORD” (Jonah 2:8). 

These days, we aren’t as likely to construct manmade idols to worship, but we are hardly less idolatrous.  I want to spend some time over the next few weeks on the blog looking at “American Idols,” with idol defined as “something other than God that we are tempted to worship, emulate, or believe will save us.”  As fish living in the “American sea,” we can easily grow oblivious to the voices and images that are beckoning us to forsake God and worship them.  And just like the Israelites would try to allow worship of God to coexist with idols, we can allow our worship to be corrupted by our 20th century American idols and worldview.  I believe it is time to name those idols and expose the spiritual forces that are trying to lead us to worship gods who can not save us.  There is a great passage in Isaiah 44 where the prophet talks about those who make wooden idols, their own gods to bow down to and worship, saying to them “save me; you are my god,” as if a piece of wood could do anything.  But this is exactly what is being promoted all over America, from commercials to the bookstore, from Washington D.C. to Wall Street, and even in many houses of worship:  things and people other than God are raised up for worship, emulation, or even with the promise of saving us from our problems and issues and giving us all that our hearts desire.

There is an amazing poem spoken by Jonah from the belly of the big fish in Jonah 2, and verses 8-9 have always resonated deeply with me.  Jonah says, “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.”  I love the way he puts it – those who stubbornly hang on to worthless idols forfeit, miss out on, the grace that could be theirs.  As we begin our look at American idols, meditate on that image, of a people stubbornly clinging to idols that ultimately can not save, all the while missing out on the true grace, the free salvation, the incredible life that is being offered.  May we truly come to realize through this study that, as Jonah concluded in verse 9, “Salvation comes from the Lord.”

I have a good idea of where I am headed with this series, but I would love to hear from you (especially if you are not or have not always been an “American fish”).  What do you think are the biggest “American idols”?  What do you see being raised up in our culture that is tempting us to worship, emulate or believe in it for our salvation?  If you have any thoughts or insights, please post a comment.