I think idolatry is a broad enough category that it should regularly be applied to politics. I think Brad East only focused on a narrow aspect of idolatry (what idols promises) and you relate this to gratefully receiving blessings from the idol. But idolatry is much more.
I agree with your concern about "idol" language being used in cheap ways that stifle discussion and make something a binary "yes or no" question. I just think the solution to this is to better define idolatry rather than neglect so many biblical teachings which relate to idolatry.
For example, the bronze snake was made to be be looked at (Num 21:8-9) and yet in 2 Kings 18:1-4 we learn that it become an idol for the people. I just raise this as one example of an object that can be categorized in different ways in different contexts. It's not "take it or leave it" but rather a helpful call to reflect on if our hearts are more geared toward materiality or God.
You distinguish between idolatry and neuroticism, and idolatry and pathological boredom. But I'd argue that the bible connects these concepts. In Deuteronomy 4, Moses tells the people that once they start serving other gods and practicing idolatry (4:25-27) that they will realize the futility and impotence of the gods (4:28) and therefore they will seek after the Lord in their searching for true life (4:29-30). This passages corresponds with Deut 30 ("choose life... for the Lord your God is your life") but also with Deut 28, where after serving idols, Moses tells them they will have "a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul.... Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life." According to Scripture, idols don't fulfil people emotionally, they don't "make them confident" nor the ability to get on with their lives. Just the opposite!
A primary point of the OT's teaching on idolatry is that they do not deliver on their promises, that the anxiety that causes one to build and worship an idol is just another expansion of that anxiety. 2 Kings 17:15 - "they went after worthless idols and themselves became worthless."
I'm working on this for my PhD so I couldn't help but add some thoughts. I actually think your final chapter in Digital Liturgies relates to idolatry too.
Cavanaugh's The Uses of Idolatry is helpful for seeing idolatry in all of life (similar to Keller's book on the same subject). Beale gets into the negative effects of idols in We Become What We Worship. Wright's 5th chapter in The Mission of God is a good summary of the different facets of idolatry, and while I don't agree with him everywhere, I think he does bring some helpful connections between idolatry and politics in "Here Are Your Gods".
Also, I think Ellul's unpacking of Propaganda, especially in how he talks about human insecurity and our yearing for someone to "make sense of things" gets at what you're talking about. Here's how he puts it:
"... all propaganda develops the cult of personality. This is particularly true in a democracy. There one exalts the individual, who refuses to be anonymous, rejects the ‘mass,” and eschews mechanization. He wants a human regime where men are human beings. He needs a government whose leaders are human beings. And propaganda must show them to him as such. It must create these personalities. To be sure, the object at this level is not idolatry, but idolatry cannot fail to follow if the propaganda is done well. Whether such idolatry is given to a man in uniform bursting with decorations, or a man in work shirt and cap, or a man wearing a business suit and soft hat makes no difference; those are simple adaptations of propaganda to the feelings of the masses. The democratic masses will reject the uniform, but idolize the soft hat if it is well presented."
I think the way in which some people regard certain soft red hats is idolatry. It is idolatry *because* it is a product of a bored, listless life, rather then the product of someone who finds their life and rest in God.
"If you want to see someone mildly provoked, tell them to stop worshiping politics. If you want to see them legitimately furious, tell them to get married and have babies." ...probably the greatest sentence I've read this year! It's become fashionable in the last 100 years or so to view the calling of Genesis ("get married, have kids, tend your gardens") as optional. It isn't...its repeated to the people in exile (Jeremiah 29) and then throughout the New Testament. But this doesn't elevate marriage over singleness...the mistake moderns have made is to view either marriage or singleness as options rather than callings. God doesn't give us a choice, as if we get to pick off the menu. As Christians, our lives do not belong to us...they have been bought at a price. But in an era of rights, choices and freedoms (as defined by me, myself and I), the idea that I don't get to pick my own story is anathema to my modern sensibilities. And I will stubbornly go on choosing my own destiny, furious with anyone who suggests otherwise, and baptising the whole lot in a lukewarm, modern, western, evangelical bathwater.
I don't know if you know what sort of sacred rake you may have stepped on, and if you did by mistake on purpose, kudos! We entitled, comfort seeking, ducks in a row, on the right side of history, winsome, evangelical Christians don't like any applications that point our way. A pox on you...I guess? I need to go and take a shower to scrub off some of the conviction...
I hear you, but I'm not sure that "boredom" is the best term. I think "emptiness" is more apt. People have empty lives because they don't have friends, children, serious hobbies, etc.
I also think an obsession with the kingdoms of the world reflects a lack of connection with or commitment to the Kingdom of God. When people lack a grand vision of the Kingdom and their place in it, they overvalue politics and turn there for meaning and purpose.
“Worship doesn’t usually look like this. Neuroticism looks like this. Addiction looks like this. Boredom looks like this.”
Idol worship does look like this, especially the more it progresses. The early stages of a sin habit might be marked by pleasure or triumphalism, but when it becomes idolatry/addiction, it becomes a morose and joyless thing. I remember Screwtape telling Wormwood something to the effect of, “We would destroy the pleasure if we could, but the trick is to get him ever deeper into his sin with ever diminishing amounts of pleasure. That way, he gives you his soul and gets nothing in return.” That line gave me chills. Seems like the essence of idolatry. Whereas worship of Christ is profoundly restful, attentive and (in the true sense of the word) hedonic, because you’re not seeking a quick fix to distract yourself from the unsatisfying circumstances of the present, but finding true fulfilment in the God Who made you for relationship with Him.
This was a thought provoking piece-thanks for writing it! I do want to push back a little on the idea that worshipping idols would theoretically involve having a confidence that they will respond to our requests. Quite the contrary, as Andy Crouch has pointed out: idols demand more and more of us while delivering less and less, until we are like the prophets of Baal frantically running around, screaming, and hurting ourselves trying to make them bend to our will. Neuroticism, addiction, and perpetual fear certainly can be a result of trying to cope with boredom , but I think they can be a result of idolatry too. I personally think they’re distinct but overlapping concepts.
Though I would differ about the note to American singles as far as it affects the local church - I don't believe there is a marital mandate for believers in Scripture - being a Christian doesn't also mean being married and having children. Part of the cool thing about the local church over the centuries and in the present is that there is a welcome space for singles to join and engage, without having to pay the entrance price with a marriage ring. This reality stands in stark contrast with our society which shoots everything through the sex, family and marriage prism!
No doubt being married and having children are great blessings when blessed by God, but sadly for many have become traps...! The Church is the new spiritual family and doesn't always include every physical member of an earthly family. Jesus redefined familial relations based on obedience to God, not on bloodlines...
I think idolatry is a broad enough category that it should regularly be applied to politics. I think Brad East only focused on a narrow aspect of idolatry (what idols promises) and you relate this to gratefully receiving blessings from the idol. But idolatry is much more.
I agree with your concern about "idol" language being used in cheap ways that stifle discussion and make something a binary "yes or no" question. I just think the solution to this is to better define idolatry rather than neglect so many biblical teachings which relate to idolatry.
For example, the bronze snake was made to be be looked at (Num 21:8-9) and yet in 2 Kings 18:1-4 we learn that it become an idol for the people. I just raise this as one example of an object that can be categorized in different ways in different contexts. It's not "take it or leave it" but rather a helpful call to reflect on if our hearts are more geared toward materiality or God.
You distinguish between idolatry and neuroticism, and idolatry and pathological boredom. But I'd argue that the bible connects these concepts. In Deuteronomy 4, Moses tells the people that once they start serving other gods and practicing idolatry (4:25-27) that they will realize the futility and impotence of the gods (4:28) and therefore they will seek after the Lord in their searching for true life (4:29-30). This passages corresponds with Deut 30 ("choose life... for the Lord your God is your life") but also with Deut 28, where after serving idols, Moses tells them they will have "a trembling heart and failing eyes and a languishing soul.... Night and day you shall be in dread and have no assurance of your life." According to Scripture, idols don't fulfil people emotionally, they don't "make them confident" nor the ability to get on with their lives. Just the opposite!
A primary point of the OT's teaching on idolatry is that they do not deliver on their promises, that the anxiety that causes one to build and worship an idol is just another expansion of that anxiety. 2 Kings 17:15 - "they went after worthless idols and themselves became worthless."
I'm working on this for my PhD so I couldn't help but add some thoughts. I actually think your final chapter in Digital Liturgies relates to idolatry too.
Cavanaugh's The Uses of Idolatry is helpful for seeing idolatry in all of life (similar to Keller's book on the same subject). Beale gets into the negative effects of idols in We Become What We Worship. Wright's 5th chapter in The Mission of God is a good summary of the different facets of idolatry, and while I don't agree with him everywhere, I think he does bring some helpful connections between idolatry and politics in "Here Are Your Gods".
Also, I think Ellul's unpacking of Propaganda, especially in how he talks about human insecurity and our yearing for someone to "make sense of things" gets at what you're talking about. Here's how he puts it:
"... all propaganda develops the cult of personality. This is particularly true in a democracy. There one exalts the individual, who refuses to be anonymous, rejects the ‘mass,” and eschews mechanization. He wants a human regime where men are human beings. He needs a government whose leaders are human beings. And propaganda must show them to him as such. It must create these personalities. To be sure, the object at this level is not idolatry, but idolatry cannot fail to follow if the propaganda is done well. Whether such idolatry is given to a man in uniform bursting with decorations, or a man in work shirt and cap, or a man wearing a business suit and soft hat makes no difference; those are simple adaptations of propaganda to the feelings of the masses. The democratic masses will reject the uniform, but idolize the soft hat if it is well presented."
I think the way in which some people regard certain soft red hats is idolatry. It is idolatry *because* it is a product of a bored, listless life, rather then the product of someone who finds their life and rest in God.
"If you want to see someone mildly provoked, tell them to stop worshiping politics. If you want to see them legitimately furious, tell them to get married and have babies." ...probably the greatest sentence I've read this year! It's become fashionable in the last 100 years or so to view the calling of Genesis ("get married, have kids, tend your gardens") as optional. It isn't...its repeated to the people in exile (Jeremiah 29) and then throughout the New Testament. But this doesn't elevate marriage over singleness...the mistake moderns have made is to view either marriage or singleness as options rather than callings. God doesn't give us a choice, as if we get to pick off the menu. As Christians, our lives do not belong to us...they have been bought at a price. But in an era of rights, choices and freedoms (as defined by me, myself and I), the idea that I don't get to pick my own story is anathema to my modern sensibilities. And I will stubbornly go on choosing my own destiny, furious with anyone who suggests otherwise, and baptising the whole lot in a lukewarm, modern, western, evangelical bathwater.
I don't know if you know what sort of sacred rake you may have stepped on, and if you did by mistake on purpose, kudos! We entitled, comfort seeking, ducks in a row, on the right side of history, winsome, evangelical Christians don't like any applications that point our way. A pox on you...I guess? I need to go and take a shower to scrub off some of the conviction...
So incisive and well-stated, as usual, Samuel. This is so perceptive and needed. Thankful for your work.
I hear you, but I'm not sure that "boredom" is the best term. I think "emptiness" is more apt. People have empty lives because they don't have friends, children, serious hobbies, etc.
I also think an obsession with the kingdoms of the world reflects a lack of connection with or commitment to the Kingdom of God. When people lack a grand vision of the Kingdom and their place in it, they overvalue politics and turn there for meaning and purpose.
“Worship doesn’t usually look like this. Neuroticism looks like this. Addiction looks like this. Boredom looks like this.”
Idol worship does look like this, especially the more it progresses. The early stages of a sin habit might be marked by pleasure or triumphalism, but when it becomes idolatry/addiction, it becomes a morose and joyless thing. I remember Screwtape telling Wormwood something to the effect of, “We would destroy the pleasure if we could, but the trick is to get him ever deeper into his sin with ever diminishing amounts of pleasure. That way, he gives you his soul and gets nothing in return.” That line gave me chills. Seems like the essence of idolatry. Whereas worship of Christ is profoundly restful, attentive and (in the true sense of the word) hedonic, because you’re not seeking a quick fix to distract yourself from the unsatisfying circumstances of the present, but finding true fulfilment in the God Who made you for relationship with Him.
This was a thought provoking piece-thanks for writing it! I do want to push back a little on the idea that worshipping idols would theoretically involve having a confidence that they will respond to our requests. Quite the contrary, as Andy Crouch has pointed out: idols demand more and more of us while delivering less and less, until we are like the prophets of Baal frantically running around, screaming, and hurting ourselves trying to make them bend to our will. Neuroticism, addiction, and perpetual fear certainly can be a result of trying to cope with boredom , but I think they can be a result of idolatry too. I personally think they’re distinct but overlapping concepts.
Insightful as always - thanks!
Though I would differ about the note to American singles as far as it affects the local church - I don't believe there is a marital mandate for believers in Scripture - being a Christian doesn't also mean being married and having children. Part of the cool thing about the local church over the centuries and in the present is that there is a welcome space for singles to join and engage, without having to pay the entrance price with a marriage ring. This reality stands in stark contrast with our society which shoots everything through the sex, family and marriage prism!
No doubt being married and having children are great blessings when blessed by God, but sadly for many have become traps...! The Church is the new spiritual family and doesn't always include every physical member of an earthly family. Jesus redefined familial relations based on obedience to God, not on bloodlines...
I would love to know what’s on your reading list right now!
Wonderful insight as always and all so true! The literacy figures are scary but not surprising...