Tag Archives: idolatry

Sep 3 2013

Children: Between Life and Death

Moloch With Child

As a father of three young children I shutter when I read things like this in the Bible.

“They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.”  Jer 7:31

“And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them?”  Ez 16:20-21

“And they burned their sons and their daughters as offerings and used divination and omens and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.”  2 Kings 17:17

So great was the idolatry of Israel that they have resorted to child sacrifices to appease Molek and other gods of the nations surrounding Israel. How can a parent bring themselves to the point of placing their small child on the outstretched arms of a white-hot bronze statue of Molek that has been pre-heated in fire?  The child would be roasted alive, perhaps catching fire immediately upon contact with the white-hot metal.

Some say these claim are an invention of Jewish and Christian imagination and that there is no concrete evidence for child sacrifice in the ancient Middle East.

Wrong!

Archeological discoveries of cremated bodies of hundreds of children, baby lambs and goats at a Carthaginian burial site provides substantial evidence for child sacrifice by fire.  The Phoenicians have been known to worship deities who demanded child sacrifice in exchange for future fertility.

Dear readers, Molek continues to demand payment even today.  The US has aborted in excess of 50 million unborn babies since 1973 and just last week, Iowa Democrats lifted up prayers to Molek in this video:

The abomination of abominations is continuing today in the slaughter of the unborn.  They are a helpless third-party with no representation as two other parties (mother and abortionist) independently make a decision for their demise.

As Christians, we must continue to point to this injustice and pray that the Holy Spirit would open eyes and minds to see the priceless beauty of life.

Jul 27 2013

Yoga is not for Christians

If you are an average secular person, you probably never heard anything negative about yoga.

If you are a Christian, you probably heard more positive than negative things about yoga.

Let us be clear from the beginning.

The practice of yoga is grounded in idolatrous and demonic aspects of eastern religions, and Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit should not partake in it.

As a physician anesthesiologist I regularly ask  patients about their level of physical activity in order to assess their cardiopulmonary status before surgery.  More than half of them claim they practice some form of Pilates exercise mixed with elements of yoga.  This led me to research yoga, and the results I came across were astonishing.

Not only is yoga tremendously popular, but there are many Christians who practice it and there is even “christian yoga” out there.

What is yoga? It literally means “union” or “to yoke” with the universe and the Hindu gods.

Yoga is a school of Hindu philosophy defined as “the stilling of the changing states of the mind.”  Mumbo-Jumbo that makes you smile… But in reality it addresses physical, mental and spiritual techniques geared toward attaining permanent peace.  In the western world we tend to associate yoga with stretching, body posture, breathing exercises and meditation, but these are grounded in a practice meant to unite the individual with the universe and ultimately with the Hindu supreme god.

The Bible strictly forbids Christians from engaging in elements of other religions, in this case Hinduism.  We are called to avoid pagan methods of attaining peace and tranquility, and instead undergo the new birth which will give us a completely new outlook on life:

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Rom 12:2 ESV

Attaining a nirvana state of peacefulness via physical posturing and meditation should never be our goal.  By hiding ourselves in Christ we will attain the “peace that surpasses all understanding” which Paul talks about in Philippians 4:7.

What about the so-called benefits of deep breathing and stretching?

Instead of the physical aspects of yoga, I highly recommend traditional exercise like running, biking and swimming which raise the heart rate for sustained periods of time and have been definitively shown to increase the HDL (good cholesterol) and lower the LDL (bad cholesterol).

Incorporating yoga elements in your life will lead to spiritual downfall because of disobedience to God’s Word which is explicit about detesting other gods and worship related to them.

If you are a Christian, you belong to Jesus who paid the ultimate price for you, and therefore yoga and any practice associated with other religions is not for you. 

May 29 2013

LeBron James Compared to… God

LEBRON JAMES

Huh?

The judgement and theological statements coming out of the NBA these days must be exposed in order to see the kind of concept folks have about God.

Indiana Pacers point guard George Hill compared LeBron James to God:

“It’s only like one person that’s more scarier than that and that’s God,” Hill said after Pacer’s 97-93 Game 2 win last week against James’ team.

The Miami Heat star responded by saying he is  “nowhere near close” to being God because “I made two mistakes tonight that hurt our team…”

The funny thing here is not the comparison to the Divine.

The funny, ridiculous, crazy, and blasphemous development is that LeBron James actually entertained the concept of being compared to the Great I AM.

This guy might be capable of really thinking he might achieve divinity if he had a perfect game or season.

Being a physical specimen that drives down the lane like a locomotive and having more money than all my readers put together multiplied by 1,000 can certainly awaken the idolatry of Romans 1.

Idolatry of self is at the core of our fallen race.  The idea of being like God put us in our current trouble when two less than content people in Eden decided it would be cool to be like God.

Even the statement “nowhere near close” to being God is irrelevant in this context because it raises the possibility of actually arriving at divinity.

So for now we will just enjoy watching the Bron play (also pray?) above the rim.

Because if we could see God play, we would die in less than an instant.

image Corey Sipkin

Jan 16 2013

Euthanasia is not the Answer in Affliction

image

Deaf Belgian brothers Marc and Eddy Verbessem underwent doctor assisted suicide at age 45 after they were told they were going to be blind as a result of a progressive eye disease called glaucoma.

Belgium legalized euthanasia in 2002 and the number of cases has risen every year since. In 2011, 1,133 were granted the right to die, of which 86 percent were at least 60 years old and 72 percent suffering from cancer.

What makes this case even more appalling to Christians who value the life that our Creator put in us, is that it was approved under the requirement of “unbearable pain.” The news that blindness would be the end-stage of their illness in the future was described as too much to bear.

The brothers enjoyed a cup of coffee together, and reportedly had a rich conversation right before they received the lethal injection. These are important details to note because they show that the brothers were not depressed, in fact they had fought to earn the right to die for much of the previous two years!

Where is the hope, the joy, the expectation of salvation that is associated with life? The one who came into this world to kill and destroy, the ancient serpent who initiated the fall of man has blinded them into believing that death is the answer. There is nothing more untrue than that.

The life we have been given is not our own, and born-again Christians understand this fundamental truth. Our life and even our bodies are not our own.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 that “… your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God. You are not your own.” What right do we have to kill our body?

Even our life is not our own. Again Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:15 that “those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.”

Romans 8 names the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of life.  And it is by the Holy Spirit that life is continually sustained:  “If it were [God’s] intention and he withdrew his spirit and breath, all humanity would perish together and mankind would return to the dust.” Job 34:14-15

These are just a few of the reasons why we believe that euthanasia is a sin against God.  He alone in His manifold wisdom and purpose can give and take life as He pleases.

These two brothers made a sane, calculated decision in their actions.

By taking their life into their own hands they made themselves the gods of their life, and they sacrificed their life unto themselves, like the Canaanites sacrificed their own to Molech.  This was their final deed… their final idolatrous act of self-worship.

We know that death by suicide or euthanasia is not the answer when difficulties arise in this fallen world.  Jesus is the ultimate solution because only He can restore hope in affliction and eternal life after our passing.

image: lifesitenews.com

Jan 2 2013

Femicide: A Rising Global Crisis

DSC_0452-300x199
photo by CindyDuCheney @whispersngiggles.com

The systematic killing of unborn baby girls via sex selective abortion is reaching unprecedented levels in China, India, and other Asian and Eastern European countries.  The ungodly practice of aborting a baby for the simple fact that she is a girl is one of the most abhorring things this planet has seen, and I wonder how long before God’s patience runs out and His wrath will be served for this evil.

The implementation of the One Child Policy in China in 1978, and the availability of ultrasound technology in the recent past in rural areas of Asia have led to the realization of a staggering statistic: 163 million unborn baby girls were aborted simply because it was inconvenient that they were female (1).

In countries such as China and India the male to female ratio is as least 120 men for every 100 women (2). Just to compare, the normal and healthy gender ratio at birth is approximately 106 boys to 100 girls (3). That WAS the ratio in China in 1979.   By 2020, the Chinese government estimates that there will be at least 30 million men of marriageable age that may be unable to find a spouse (4).

There are many reasons that sociologists and anthropologists will give for this wicked phenomenon, but frankly these are very secondary when you consider the murderous act itself.  How are we to consider cultural, religious and economic factors when the blood of these innocent lives is crying out to their Creator for justice?

You make think this is shocking and that it could never happen in the US?

The PRENDA Act introduced in Congress in 2012 would have made it a crime for anyone attempting to coerce or solicit a woman to abort based on the race or sex of her unborn child.  The people introducing the bill thought it would be a no-brain-er to pass and the vote was taken under a fast-track procedure called “suspension” which requires 2/3 of the House vote.  Guess what?! It failed!  Here in the US where half the people claim to be evangelicals! Look up here to see how your congress representative voted.

Not only do women have many things set against them in this world as adults, but now the fight for their life begins in the womb. A $12 ultrasound readily available in Asia makes this all possible.  It is in fact human evil and wickedness that makes this happen, and it is directly related to idolatry.

Religious beliefs often bolster the preference for male offspring.  Some Asian communities persist in the deep-seated belief that ancestors are worshiped in the afterlife through the male line (1).  Add to that the high importance of the family name, and the fact that boys become the family retirement account… and the idolatrous picture begins to take shape.  Everything in these mostly Hindu and Buddhist regions is geared toward self-improvement and self-worship, and it so happens that a baby girl will get in the way of it!

Experts on this phenomenon are currently predicting and in India sex selective abortion will get MUCH worse. We are only seeing the beginning stages.

How much worse than that 163 million girls already murdered?  How much more shedding of the innocent blood of unborn children?

The words of the wise man in Proverbs 6:17-18 reminds us that among the seven things that God finds abominable are

“…hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil…”

How long, God, before human wickedness reaches its full measure?

—————————————————————————————————————–

1. Christianity Today. Genocide in Shades of Pink. 28 December 2012
2. The Economist. The War on Baby Girls: Gendercide. 4 March 2010
3. United Nations Population Fund
4.  http://www.allgirlsallowed.org/category/topics/gendercide

Nov 23 2012

Black Friday: When Materialism Turns Into Idolatry

Black Friday is the culmination of idolatrous consumerism.  Not because someone wants to shop for a discounted item, but because of the underlying demeanor in the build-up and unraveling of Black Friday.

I confess, I do not have much Black Friday experience…  Last year we made the mistake of going to the local mall on Friday after Thanksgiving sometime in the mid morning, only to turn back home because we could not find parking.   Apparently you had to be there before dawn to get in line.  There are places where lines form days in advance!  These people sacrifice the Thanksgiving holiday and a night in a warm bed for a terribly unpleasant shopping experience.

Why?  Because they will save $200 dollars on a deal?   The average amount spent by the average Black Friday shopper is less than $400, so will a $200 saving really make that much difference in their lives?  In order to answer this question lets look at the things that happen during shopping on Black Friday because they help elucidate who we are as humans.

Shoppers get into a mindless and manic frenzy to the point where an apparel store can look like a category 4 hurricane just went through it.  In the busy stores one can see anger, greed and self elevation at the worst.  It starts with shoving, shouting, and it progresses to cursing, verbal fights, and fist fights.  In extreme cases there have been reports of shoppers and vendors being crushed, stepped on, and it seems like every year we hear reports of fatalities as a result of stampedes and lack of crowd control.  All for an average of $400 of merchandise!

At the core of the issue is human depravity and the worship of self.  The shopper is tricked into thinking it is all about “me, myself and I.”  The goal of the entire Black Friday exercise becomes less about buying a certain item, but beating out your competition to that item!  In some situations, pushing and stepping on another human being becomes part of the process… but it matters not, the depraved shopper must beat his competitor at all cost.

Greed coupled with anger is one of the most potent evil combinations of all human emotions and we see it on display during Black Friday Idolatry.  I call it idolatry because it comes down to serving, satisfying and elevating the self.  It all started with the fall of man after he was created perfect in the image of God.  Man was tempted with becoming just like the One who deserves to receive all worship, and the temptation proved too much.  And on Black Friday we are still dealing with the consequences of appeasing, elevating, and worshiping the self as exemplified by the demeanor and actions of the shoppers.

So, should Christians go and compete in the long lines and spend their $400 today?  If you do, just remember that you do not belong to this world and you must act that way.  Remember that lost people will act lost no matter what the situation, so do not be surprised when you see individuals fighting over that $199 “complete” home theater system, or that discounted video game.  You will see human depravity on display which will remind you where you once were before the Holy Spirit led you to the new birth.

Think of Black Friday as an opportunity to see how God has rescued you from this materialistic and idolatrous world, and how He made you realize that all glory and worship belongs to Him.

“whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1Cor 10:31