Do you think God loves pagan idols?
I am reading, and studying, Norman Geislers' book, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. It's an 800 page book addressing world views that deny Christ message of who He is:
John 6:51:"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever;"
John 8:23: And He said to them, "You are from beneath; I AM from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
John 8:12: Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I AM the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."
John 8:58 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."
John 10:9: "I AM the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture."
John 10:11: "I AM the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
John 10:36: "do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?
John 11:25: Jesus said to her, "I AM the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
John 14:6: Jesus said to him, "I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
John 15:1: "I AM the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
The goal of this investment of time, is to encourage the body of Christ to ask, "why."
In 2nd Kings 18:4, Hezekiah...."removed the high places and broke the wooded image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Isreal burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan."
And David, in 1st Chronicles 13 says, "...let us bring the ark of our God back to us,...." David had consulted with, " the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader."
The problem was either no one knew the word of God, or they chose to ignor it. For they used a cart to move the ark of God instead of what God had commanded in Numbers 4. Ironically, a cart was what the pagans had used to move it around after they had captured it.
In both these instances pagan traditions and practices were being used in the worship of God. If you are thinking, who cares, there lies the problem.
Peter warns us in 2nd Peter 2:1, "But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction."
1Jn 5:21 Little children,G5040 keepG5442 yourselvesG1438 fromG575 idols.G1497 Amen.G281
If you know in your heart that something has a pagan origin, why on earth would you want to "burn incense to it." Just like the days of Hezekiah, people have allowed traditions to become idols, and they defend them and curse those who would try to tear them down.
Here's a good example from Geisler's book: ( Neopagism p. 522 )
Occultism and Star Wars. George Lucas' Star War "religion of the Jedi" has roots in the Mexican sorcerer, Don Juan. Lucas biographer Dale Pollock notes that "Lucas' concept of the Force was heavily influenced by Carlos Castaneda's Tales of Power. This is an account of a supposed Mexican Indian sorcerer, Don Jaun, who uses the phrase 'life force". The director of Lucas' movie, The Empire Strikes Back, Irvin Kershner, is a Zen Buddhist. He admits of the film: " I want to introduce some Zen here because I don't want the kids to walk away just feeling that everything is shoot-em up, but there's also a little something to think about here in terms of yourself and your surroundings". Whatever the source of the Force of Star Wars, it clearly is similar to the Force believed in by neopagan witches. Lucas himself referred to the force as a religion in the first movie of his Star Wars triology. The character, Luke Skywalker, was engaging in white magic when he tapped into the "light side of the Force," the Force was "God." Lucas claimed in an interview with Time that "the world works better if you're on the good side" of this occult Force. Lucas' sorcery is even more evident in the hero of Lucas' subsequent film, Willow, whose life goal is to be a sorcerer.
Just something to think about.
Just like with Uzza ( 1st Chronicles 13 ), ignoring scripture will not keep Gods Word from being fulfilled.
Hold on strong to His Word and strengthen your faith in Christ, for the winds of neo-paganism are blowing at hurricane speeds on earth today and they are sweeping 7 out of 10 Christian children away into the cults of the world. ( According to Ken Hams book, Already Gone. )
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