In Sunday's sermon on Luke 6:46-49 (which you can hear back on our
church website or on our podcast) about hearing
and doing what Jesus teaches us, Brian commented on how Santa Clarita (and more so suburbia in general) is "the hardest place, maybe in the world, to live out our Christianity." In explaining that, Brian reminded us that in a culture such as ours, we must constantly examine our hearts and tune them to worship God, not turning our eyes to the idols around us. That reminded me of an article written by a guy named Michael Horton called, "
Precious Moments in American Religion." It's pretty lengthy, but if you have time to read it, I'd really recommend it. If you don't have the time, here are some thought-provoking points that Horton brings up about American idolatry and the suffering of suburban Christians...
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...popular American religion in general has become increasingly captive to false gods."
"It is a tough lesson, and Israel had to learn it again and again.
To worship God - even the true God - according to our own imagination rather than according to his own self-revelation, is to discover 'the consuming fire' rather than the welcoming Presence."
"It was not enough to worship the correct God; they had to worship the correct God according to his own revelation, not their own wits. And why? Because one day, the true 'icon of the invisible God' would appear, the promised Redeemer (Col. 1:15). God himself would visit his people and save them from his just wrath. He would come not in the form of a golden calf (or a ceramic cherub), but 'though he was in the form of God,' he would come 'taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross' (Phil. 2:6-8).
To solve the problem of impatience with an icon of their own making, Israel was substituting the glorious hope of the Incarnation and redemption in Christ with a mute piece of precious metal. They had worshipped themselves instead of God, settling for a cheap imitation who would satisfy their 'felt needs' and momentary pleasures."
"...Much of that which we call 'religion' is indeed simply the illusory projection of our own felt needs, inner longings, and sinful demands. Israel projected her idolatrous longings for a user-friendly deity like that of her neighbors, and 'out came this calf.'
Likewise, we determine what is most important to us, shaped as we are by consumerism, popular entertainment, shallow conversation, and the torrent of trivial information, and out comes whatever image of God that happens to satisfy our momentary lusts."
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...Ours is among the most image-based and image-worshipping societies in human history. Like the golden calf, our images promise health, wealth, happiness, success, even intimacy, without any price. 'Don't worry be happy,' cry our gelded idols from the pages of slick magazines, billboards, TV and computer screens, and radio ads. 'Sure it costs more, but I'm worth it!' 'You deserve a break today!' 'You can have it all!' 'Just do it!' 'Screw guilt!'"
"And too often, the evangelical world simply shapes its own calf from the fool's gold of popular culture.
'God' is now worshipped as though he were a product, making promises not unlike those mentioned here in connection with other units of sales. Instead of being hidden in thick smoke, his voice shaking the earth as it sends terror into our sinful hearts, the images we market console us in our misery, enslaving us with bonds of addiction, at last leaving us to rot in a cell of consumption, self-deceit, and unfulfilled cravings.
Part of the problem is that we do not even really grasp our captivity; we are still in the phase of adoration, believing in the benevolence of the idols too much to reject them. When we hear stories of persecuted Christians in hostile lands, we cheer them on in their refusal to give in to the enormous pressures of compromise. As for the persecuted believers themselves - especially in Islamic states - they do not have the luxury of enjoying both the comfort of their cultural acceptability and the purity of faith.
At some point, they have to choose. After careful consideration, weighing the options, counting the cost, they finally agree courageously to be baptized, realizing that this will alienate them from their whole society. Now, of course, nothing like that confronts us in terms of degree; but we do face the same challenge in kind."
"The problem is,
we express alarm when it comes to the political and moral crisis of our time, while we often ignore the ways in which our culture is deeply corrosive of Christian faith and practice in deeper and broader ways. I am far more worried about the market-driven, therapeutic, narcissistic and entertainment-oriented culture of modern evangelicalism than I am about the second term of President Clinton."
"America's popular culture is every bit as dangerous (perhaps more so because of its pervasiveness) as these more obvious threats.
Popular culture, vast in its liturgical forms, is an ideology, perhaps even a religion."
"While there is undoubtedly a great deal more freedom and justice in America than in China or Iran, there is almost no discussion within evangelical circles about the enormously detrimental effects of free market capitalism and its mass popular culture on the family, vocation, local culture, language, and faith and practice. In a fallen world, free market capitalism may indeed prove the best system, but to suggest (even by implicit silence) that its effects are either entirely benevolent or neutral is, I think, precisely what makes it impossible for us to see ourselves as exiles.
While we are not persecuted, we are seduced. What we need to do at this moment in time is to repent: to say simply, like the Chinese or Iranian convert, 'By God's grace, we renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil.'"
"It may just be that, as the culture unravels at an increasingly rapid pace, large churches that want to be faithful will experience serious numerical loss over a short time. This, it seems, to me, is the price we may have to pay, and it is hardly to be compared to the price paid by our persecuted brothers and sisters.
The other option is to be increasingly seduced and to maintain our numbers or even increase the rolls, only to create a successful secularized congregation."
"If there were only one Word and one Mountain, we might all become existentialists and abandon ourselves to this nihilistic realm of self-destruction, where we consume and amuse ourselves to death. After all, if God is only wrath and power, justice and holiness, we too might as well call for the rocks to fall on us - or fill our days with frolic around the golden calf - rather than face the God who is there. But, as God revealed his goodness to Moses by proclaiming his mercy instead of showing his face, so now,
when God at last comes near to us in the flesh of Jesus Christ, we can finally see God and live to tell about it."
"Instead of Mount Sinai, burning with smoke, we have come to Mount Zion (Heb. 12:18-28).
In Christ, the Consuming Fire is hidden in the gentleness of the manger, turning water into wine, inviting sinners to his table. Clothed in him, we are protected like Moses in the cleft of the rock, and are able to stand in his Holy of Holies without fear of judgment. And yet, our worship must still be "with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is [still] a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29)."
*italics added for emphasis
Anyway, I just thought this was really interesting in light of what Brian taught us Sunday morning. And I would encourage us to not simply swallow popular culture (nor this article!) whole, but instead (with the discernment of the Holy Spirit that God has placed in our hearts), continue to examine the Scriptures to see who Jesus is and what He taught, and then consider how our lives hold up to that. Feel free to post your comments as well, they are gladly welcomed! As for now, "check yourself before you wreck yourself!"
ecently I heard someone say "If you want to see how a person has grown in the last year look at what they read last year. If you want to know where a person will grow next year look at what they will read next year." Though this statement does not take into account that we grow in amazing ways through trials it is definitely true that we grow as we read. My commitment is to read through the Bible each year and to read a minimum of 100 pages per week in books that will help me to grow. By simply reading 15-20 minutes per day a person can read 100 pages per week. Annually I make a plan of what I will read in the coming year to maximize my growth. So here are the approximately 5200 pages that I will be reading next year. Join me if you are interested! -- Brian Howard
