Exodus 20:3; Judges 2:11-15; Acts 17:22-30

There are a number of titles that would fit the subject matter of this chapter. The concern has to do with the god(s) we serve, i.e. to which we are devoted. This is not a discussion about the functional displacement of any God in our value system by secular concerns such as money, social status, or power. It is a specifically religious discussion about one's perception of the (God)(god) to which one is devoted. In other words, whatever it is that we suppose we mean when we use the term "God" falls under the umbrella of this part of the discussion concerning "A Common Sense Approach to Religion for the 21st Century."

Although the two examples of reasons which follow, and which emphasize the importance of examining our "Objects of Devotion," are very contemporary with this writing, similar examples are available on a historical basis at any point in time. Hopefully they will not be as pronounced once we have passed the "magical" transition from one century to another, but whenever they occur will be too often.

At the time of this writing, Israel is in the process of deporting Americans who, as part of a cult, went to Jerusalem with their leader to initiate a shoot-out with Israeli police, expecting to be killed and thus fulfilling their hope for an apocalyptic transition to eternity at the turn of the century. Their leader professes to believe that God gives him messages and directs his behavior in a manner that provides direct mind and behavioral control over his followers. This kind of brainwashing and senseless religious expression is not unusual but it is alarming. To what kind of God are these persons devoted? The objects of our religious devotion for human beings are very important and make a major difference in the expression of human life!

"Dateline NBC" recently had a story in which they examined the behavior of one religious group in relation to medical/health care for their children. A number of cases were exhibited in which children died because the families insisted on depending on prayer alone rather than medical treatment. A clear mind, free to use the best of human common sense, recognizes such behavior as abusive to children and an insane expression of parental love and religious faith.

These kinds of examples, when placed beside historical examples of the foolishness exhibited in our religious tradition, such as the crusades, cause one to weigh the relative assets and liabilities of religion to human progress.

The objects of devotion, i.e. gods, which influence human behavior and attitude, have always been very important in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Moses was very careful, as he assumed responsibility as a mouthpiece for Yahweh, to insist that no god would take precedence over the God to whom he re-introduced them. This was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the God who would communicate to the Jews how they should express their lives in relation to every aspect of human concern. The very first commandment of the Ten is "Thou shalt have no other gods before me!"

The Jews had problems maintaining devotion to this God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because it was a God whose face they could not see and whose voice came in indirect ways. Even at the time that Moses was presumed to be on top of Mt. Sinai in communication with Yahweh, the people pressed Aaron, the brother of Moses, to permit and join them in the fabrication of an idol, i.e. a golden calf made from the jewelry they had brought with them from Egypt. This idol gave them something they could see and touch. It provided something to which they could psychologically impart a power which they could in turn believe would help them in their times of trouble and need. It was the spectacle of the people dancing around this golden calf to which Moses returned from the mountaintop where he had put together the Ten Commandments, i.e. the basic common denominator of human behavior, which must guide any society if it is to survive.

As the Jews settled in what they believed to be the land promised to them by this God, they had difficulty in not diverting their devotion from this God to gods of their neighbors in this new land. The worship of Baal, a Canaanite god which was depicted as a mighty warrior with a spear in one hand and a club in the other and whose special animal was the bull, was especially troublesome to the Jews according to much Old Testament historical and prophetic literature.

Paul, in promoting Jesus as a representative of the Hebrew God to the Greeks and Romans, chided them for their many gods, including one known as "the unknown god." At the same time he attempted to introduce them to the Hebrew God who could not be seen and whose voice was heard only in indirect and unusual ways.

There is a major difference, which ought to occur in our understanding of God as compared to that of our "biblical ancestors." The general world view which prevailed during the evolution of all biblical literature was such that unusual ways of hearing from God, and a belief in unusual births for certain special people, made perfect sense. What they could not understand about their environment they tended to credit to some kind of spiritual force, which was believed to be more powerful than they and to which was given the status of a god.

In a scientific age which is characterized by an explosion of knowledge, we have much less need for the "unusual" as a means of explaining God and faith in God than has been true in past human history. Ancients explained natural phenomena, which they did not understand with "god(s)." Granted that human knowledge today is "only a drop in the bucket" compared to what there is to know. We have learned enough, however, to know that certain things are dependable and that many things have erroneously been credited to the expression of spiritual forces in the past, which now have a very logical and understandable explanation. The work of God among us is natural, and the "usual" explains the work of God.

In the kind of age in which we now find ourselves, and in the kind of age which will undoubtedly unfold in the future, it is imperative that we return to the Hebrew concept of an "Object of Devotion," i.e. a concept of God, which is unseen and unimagined.

This means several important things. First, it indicates that a point at which our God-concept needs to diverge from that of our biblical ancestors is in relation to the need for the voice of God to be heard in unusual ways. Contemporary knowledge of our marvelous universe is such that our ears need to be tuned to the voice of God as heard from that which is dependable, natural, and always about and within us.

Second, we need to examine the ways in which we have fallen into kinds of idolatry, which are specifically different from, but functionally similar to, that which so often plagued our biblical ancestors.

Third, we must come to see ourselves as human beings, not in opposition to God, but as growing in our ability to experience and express life in a way which is increasingly harmonious with the nature and expressions of this unseen but very evident God.

The end result of a positive and effective response to each of these challenges will be a kind of spirit and meaning that will continually nudge us into a harmonious relationship with this unseen God, whose loving generosity makes it possible for us to live and to appreciate an environment which sustains us.

In the "old" days it was reasonable for persons with little knowledge of how the natural world functions to suppose that God either spoke through natural expressions that came only occasionally and were not understood, or through some kind of expression which seemed to go against what one typically observes in nature. We, for example, often see flash lightning in the clouds, which makes it appear that the clouds are momentarily on fire. We understand the need for, and source of, lightning well enough to know that this is not God providing leadership in a supernatural way. The children of Israel, on the other hand, "were led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night."

Unusual births were not uncommon in biblical interpretations of how special people had their beginning. Abraham was a special person. His son, Isaac, was reported to have been born to Sarah long after her days of child-bearing had passed. Jesus was a special person. Some biblical writers, and especially the early church, felt it important to view his birth as unusual, i.e. born of a virgin.

Our understanding of conception, gestation, and birth is such today that the beginning of life is so awesome, and the wonderful opportunity to participate in it both spiritually and physically is so wonderful, that we have little need for unusual birth as an evidence of God's voice and work.

Exploration of space has enhanced the marvel that human beings have traditionally had of the universe, and the ability to learn about both micro and macro universes has taught us that the voice of God is all about us. We just need to tune in with the expectation that some special message is coming our way!

There are those faculties within us that are related to mind, emotions, and spirit that are beyond our full understanding, yet are indispensable in helping us grow more nearly toward our capacity for being human, i.e. a human child of God. Consider the conscience! Consider moral sensitivity! Consider the desire for strength to overcome in the areas where we know we fall short!

The voice of God is all about us and within us in ways that are not at all unusual, but are very natural and very wonderful. There is no longer a need for us to speak or think of God as "Supernatural." God speaks through creative expressions and natural phenomena. It is true that God transcends "nature" but is not uninvolved in it. Inasmuch as human beings are part of the natural expression, we need to be tuned in to God through the medium of which we are part and in which we can grow in understanding.

Sunsets, sunrises, the majesty of the mountains, the power of the sea, the wonder of plants that mysteriously come from a small seed and grow into valuable and sometimes monstrous plants, the curious twinkle in the eye of the small child, and the love of kin and friend--all these and much more speak of the presence and work of God. God speaks to us through them of his power and love. It is as though they are all encapsulated in a mystery about which we are curious and from and about which we can persistently learn. The awe and splendor of the presence of this unseen God is too marvelous for us to comprehend. Wow!

Given a tradition that has placed such an emphasis the avoidance of anything that smacks of idolatry, it is interesting that we have not become more curious about the wisdom of the status we have given to Jesus and the Bible. Let's examine both of these from the perspective of idolatry and how this came to be!

I wish to make clear at the outset, however, that it is not my intent or wish to destroy the importance of either Jesus or the Bible to the nurturing and nudging of our faith. It is my intent to suggest that "we" have gone too far in attributing qualities of deity to both. They have become objects of devotion to an extreme that tends to limit important growth in our understanding of, and connecting with, the ways of this "unseen God," i.e. "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

We need to reconsider the ways in which both are important to our religious experience in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Although I will not address the common supposition in the Christian church and tradition that "Jesus became the sacrifice demanded by God to save us from our sins" until a later chapter, it is important to point out here that our devotion to the memory and knowledge of Jesus should be considerable, but much less than that given to this "unseen God." The only source we have for knowledge about Jesus comes from the writings of those who wrote about him after his death and who, at the time of their writing, had already formulated their idea of him as "the only begotten Son of God." Just as it requires a "leap of faith" to accept their premise, it also requires some extrapolation to reach the conclusion which I share with you.

I strongly suspect that if Jesus could know that status he has achieved across the centuries in the minds of millions of Christians, he would be greatly embarrassed. I suspect that he would exclaim in disbelief something like, "How in the world could they have arrived at that conclusion given the fact of my humble intentions?"

A parenthetical reminder! Why do you suppose that idolatry was such a major matter in both Old and New Testament biblical literature? The simple and most obvious answer is three-fold. First, anything, which detracts from total devotion to the unseen God "in whom we live and move and have our being" diminishes our ability to harmonize our religious and spiritual life with the reality of "things as they are." We are unable to reach our full potential as human beings who are children of God, when we persist in idolatry. Idolatry misdirects our attention!

Second, there is a tendency in human nature to desire something to which our physical senses can respond, as objects of devotion.

Third, if human beings are to harmonize with the objectives of God and thus enable God to achieve evolving goals that are harmonious with his nature, it is important to the ultimate purposes of God that human beings not be misdirected but that they be focused on that which "God is about." It is this kind of focus which fulfills the goals of God and brings the greatest meaning to human experience, both on the individual and corporate level.

Notwithstanding the multitude of analogous lessons that can be learned from the life and teachings of Jesus as we understand them, his greatest contributions through his life include the following: (1) He understood God to be more involved in love than in retributional judgment; (2) He felt a relationship with God which was akin to, but surpassed that of, parent and child; (3) He viewed religious law as helpful but as inferior to behavior motivated by love; (4) He wanted to share the wonders of his faith with all who were interested in taking a major step forward in religion and life; (5) He was so "sold" on his experience and the need to share it that he was willing to die in an ignominious manner rather than be silent about the principles which guided his life; and (6) The impact of his experience and commitment was so great on those close to him that the inspiration of his life and teachings transcended his death and became the basis of a new and powerful religion.

Not only has devotion to Jesus become a kind of idolatry within the Christian movement, but the Bible has achieved the same level in the contemporary Christian scene. Again, I wish to emphasize that it is neither my desire nor intent to destroy the importance of the Bible. The idea that the Bible is a voice-piece for God in which all truth is contained and which contains nothing but truth is fallacious. The Bible contains a wonderful record of the search for religious truth by certain individuals and groups of people. It shares many insights into human behavior and is a wonderful instructive resource in the "art of living."

In the minds of too many it has become a fetish to which power has been imparted which is both false and misleading. It is not holy. It is not God's pride and joy. It is a wonderful resource and should be used in conjunction with other resources to determine how life should be lived and how the future can be more nearly what it ought to be. It is not a book of prophecy except as it is permitted to facilitate self-fulfilling prophecy. Interpretations of the Bible that result in cult groups that place a major emphasis on the end of the world and result in individual or mass suicides is clearly biblical nonsense.

The Bible should never become an object of devotion to anyone. As is true with Jesus, the Bible should be viewed as a resource from which to draw in our quest for harmonious living with the nature and purposes of God. Those who utilize the Bible as a valuable resource of instruction and inspiration for living do well.

Finally, it is important that no human being, not even ourselves, is given a role which commands or receives our ultimate attention as an object of devotion. It is important that we neither diminish nor exalt ourselves or other human beings beyond or beneath a healthy understanding of who we are. Our importance to God is evident for it is God who gives us life and provides the resources with which we are sustained.

There is a common perception among many "religious" people that "man" and God are in conflict with one another. If this is so, it is a one-sided battle which "man" will lose. One often hears about what "man" does, as being in contrast to what God either does or wishes to have done. We are not in conflict with God when we do good things that either accomplish something positive or satisfy our curiosity in a positive manner. Man works with God when he invents the fire, the wheel, the steam engine, the automobile, the airplane, and all the devices we use in the exploration of space. Man is working with God in endeavors to promote health and healing. Man is working with God when he nurtures the human mind with that which is helpful and honorable and does not diminish others.

The idea that God and human beings are in automatic conflict with one another should be discarded. Instead we should view ourselves as creatures with potential. We are potential partners with God. We can do nothing apart from the provisions of God. God elects to delegate many awesome and wonderful responsibilities to us, provides the resources with which we can meet these responsibilities, and then continues to broaden our vision to the challenge of accomplishments beyond our wildest dreams at any given time.

It is important for human beings, because of their nature, to have an object of devotion that is above all else. It should be above self, other human beings, or any thing. This is what Moses had in mind when he made the first of the ten commandments, " Have no other god beside me." It is what Jesus had in mind when he indicated the first command as loving God with our whole heart, soul, and mind.

In view of human nature and our growing understanding of how things are in the environment which creates and supports human life, a common sense approach to religion demands that our object of highest devotion be the unseen God who is responsible for creation and all that supports it.

The life that is lived in awe of its source and in harmony with its resources is the life that experiences the most meaning and gives back the greatest gifts.

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