Post Christian Neo-Paganism

While the many of the symptoms of a devalued and marginal church can be readily recognized, and are examined elsewhere in this essay, the cause is less obvious. This is because the root of the problem is a particularly subtle, convoluted form of idolatry. It is a paganism forged of a perverse mixture of new age philosophy, which in reality is nothing more than a new expression of the age-old sins of narcissism and hedonism, superabundant wealth, which is the distinctive contribution of American society, and a relativistic view of Christianity. It is this unique combination which persuades us to identify this idolatry as neo-pagan. While it is true that the same old carnal lusts are at work, they are camouflaged in the trendiest, most palatable fads of self-indulgence that wealth and religious relativism can serve up.

THE POST-CHRISTIAN AGE

We are obliged to characterize this age as post-Christian when it is understood that the religious relativism produced by pragmatics has caused many who call themselves Christians to lose their comprehension of true Christianity. Christian values such as chastity, generosity, liberality, humility, and brotherly kindness are trivialized by the relativism of pragmatic philosophy. Taking their place is a transient moral code of situational ethics that ignores the necessity of penitence and forgiveness. Rather, it devises means by which different contingents of American Christianity can excuse, if not altogether justify, virtually any errant behavior. The result is that the influence of a fixed, Christ-centered value system on American society is declining while the relativism of pragmatic thinking gains momentum by producing ever fluctuating situationally defined values.

This pseudo-Christian idolatry is characterized by narcissistic (self-love) cultural attitudes that find expression in the tactics of hedonism (love and pursuit of pleasure). The combination of self-indulgence, superabundant wealth and religious relativism produces a set of sins which may be described as "Hezekiah Syndrome." Many American Christians have fallen into the same snare of the devil which trapped King Hezekiah of the Old Testament.

HEZEKIAH’S INDULGENCE

The reader may recall that Hezekiah abolished the worship of Baalim and other false gods and reestablished Mosaic Law and worship of Jehovah. God blest him with great wealth as a result of his obedience. However, the king loved his wealth more than he loved God. This shift in thinking was predicated upon inordinate self-love (narcissism). King Hezekiah loved himself more than he loved God. Thus, he indulged himself with temporal pleasures (hedonism) while giving lip service to obeying God. This is depicted by an account of Hezekiah displaying the contents of his treasury to visiting Babylonian ambassadors. He did so to gain their admiration and envy. When confronted with his sin Hezekiah shrugged off Isaiah's prophesy; that, because of his idolatry the children of Israel would become the slaves of the Babylonians. In a purely narcissistic (self-loving) expression of pleasure focused hedonism Hezekiah replied; "Is it not good that peace and truth be in my days?" (2 Kings 20:19)

Despite Hezekiah's idolatry the Lord was merciful to the king and allowed him to live out the remainder of his life in ease. After his death his son Manasseh continued the downward spiral of idolatry. He reinstated the formal worship of Baalim and other false gods. No doubt, Manasseh could see little difference between formal worship of idols carved from wood and stone and his father's idolatrous worship of wealth and power. The outcome of the materialism driven idolatry of her leadership is that God allowed Israel to be enslaved to Babylon.(2 Chronicles 32-33)

AMERICAN RELATIVISM

Like Hezekiah many American Christians have a relativistic attitude toward worshiping God. They are the wealthiest group ever to be called Christians, yet deny the power behind the blessings and ignore its responsibilities. They forget the warning God issued to his people regarding material blessings." "But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth....... And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish." (Deuteronomy 8:18-19). By ignoring the responsibilities of faithful stewardship, God's material blessings become means to selfishly pursue the idolatry of sensual pleasures. However, the outcome of Hezekiah and Manasseh's idolatry demonstrates God's willingness to render judgment. As paganism continues to spread with each successive generation building upon the idolatry of the previous generation, a continuing removal of God's providential mercies may reasonably be expected, ending with destruction.

TRUE COMFORT VS VAIN HEDONISM

This shift from Christ centered religion to narcissistic pleasure driven idolatry is at the heart of the phenomenon of the devalued church. As self-important church goers embrace the hedonist values of American culture by placing a higher premium on material wealth and pleasure than on following Christ the cycle of devaluation and marginalizing of churches continues. Fellowship with Christ is lost; including the fellowship of his suffering and power of his resurrection. Thus, those who continue to attend church see little relationship between Christ's suffering and victory at Calvary and the day-to-day tribulations of their own lives. No longer understanding that true comforting is produced by the assurance of the hope of eternal life, which is in Christ Jesus, pursuit of pleasure is the pragmatic behavior of choice to attempt to escape the pain of tribulations and afflictions.

- Elder Michael Ivey