False gods – Origins

As an African child, the prevalent image my mind would often bare when the word “idol” was mentioned were these eerie, rather unnatural carvings and images set up in spooky traditional houses dressed with way too much red. It went without saying that my understanding of idol worship, much like many people today, was limited to the action of bowing down to these graven images.

However, good biblical theology has expanded this scope and consequently, has gifted me with a rather eye-opening proposition. Here it is: There exists a very linear relationship between man’s evil and lustful desires and the creation of these idols/false gods. I know, it’s surprising, right?

Well, this article is an attempt to make that line bold by examining the origin of these idols. Travel with me😊

From Genesis, we conclude that the origin of all mankind’s consistent hedonistic tendencies stem from the moment the first man chose himself over God. Humankind became infected with a persistent proclivity to lawlessness and unrighteousness in the sight of His Maker, the thrice Holy God.

In simpler terms, we inherited a state of constant opposition to God. Man knew God was there, but gradually he began to reject Him and His government, which led to his desires straying further and further away from the true north(Godward) and toward his flesh. This is literally the summary of the course of human history.

The Apostle Paul helps us connect the dots in his letter to the Romans. He describes a sequence of events in human history that include man’s denial of God’s existence, the resultant tragic spiral into depravity and reprobacy, and then the creation and worship of false gods. Let’s see;

“But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.”

Romans 1:18 NLT

What truth does the Apostle speak of?

“They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused”

Romans 1:19-21 NLT

The context declares emphatically the truth the apostle speaks of. There is one God, Of whom the testimony of His divine presence is seen and heard in the physical creation. He amplifies the speakings of the prophet David;

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.”

Psalms 19:1-4 NLT

David says that creation assumes the role of a faithful evangelist every day. That by simply being and doing what they are created to do, they testify of the presence and existence of the One who made them without fail.

However, the Apostle Paul says humanity, in the course of their downward spiral toward anarchy, reached a point where they began to deny this God. They refused to worship Him as He is, but rather chose to think up gods for themselves. Why?

You see, there is an apparent axiomatic relationship between mankind’s hedonistic/ nihilistic tendencies and the creation of the false gods they bow to.

Borrowing and traveling along the apostle’s line of thought, we see that men denied the presence of God in their souls not because they could not see evidence of Him, but because they didn’t want to see Him. I’ll explain;

C. S. Lewis, a renowned theologian and Christian apologist, in his famous work titled the grand miracle, deconstructs the theory of belief down to a simple phrase;

“Volition precedes(comes before) cognition/intellection.”

He proposes that beyond the western post-enlightenment way of thinking that we’ve adopted, which hinges on the scientific method to draw conclusion( i.e demanding presentation of conclusive proof before belief), the volition(Will/desire) of the heart to ‘want’ to believe is a far greater factor in the system of belief.

Simply put, it is not merely the lack of evidence that is responsible for unbelief, but rather the resultant moral implications/consequences that comes on the soul from accepting such belief.

In other words, beyond asking men ‘how can you not believe?’ It goes further to, ‘why don’t you want to believe?’

Further questions;

“What is the implication of accepting that there is a God? What does it mean for your current lifestyle? What is the direct effect of such a belief on your everyday choices? Say the gospel is true(which it is), what does it mean for the current way you’re living? Could be that the reason you fight it isn’t necessarily because of the lack of evidence, but the implication that you now must be accountable to a God? That you are not a god to yourself?”

You see, the knowledge of the presence of a Holy God exerts a heavy toll on the conscience of men, demanding morality from a high and objective perspective. Automatically, that belief starts to fight self/flesh which is man’s primary desire and imposes on him some level of accountability/restriction. Man’s conscience comes alive with the knowledge of God, and so does the judgment that comes from it. Ergo, the more accurate knowledge you have of God, the more inherent restraint is placed against your evil desires.

And so, in order to be given fully to their evil self-serving desires without bearing the brunt of a guilty conscience, mankind opts to create an image of God that permits such atrocities, which in actuality doesn’t exist. They force their inbred intuitive knowledge of the sovereign God into a vile little box of their own understanding, a box that deceives them into creating a kind of ‘God’ that will permit their lustful desires.

“Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.”

Romans 1:21-22 NLT

Hold on, it gets worse. Mankind actually goes further down the road of depravity. In the pursuit for freedom into lustful desires, their imaginations kick in to give these false imaginations of God actual images.

W-I-L-D.

Their deceived minds began to churn with darkened inspiration, till they imagined the faces to give to these false gods, which we see as the graven images.

“And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.”

Romans 1:23-25 NLT

Summarily put, God exists and He is One, none other besides Him. He is Holy and True and demands Man to be same. But Sin is what man seeks/desires. Men then deny God and create an image of ‘God’ that permits the depravity they desire. New god.

The point to grab here is that the images are nothing in and of themselves, but are merely products of a far deeper problem. The images are of themselves lifeless and completely worthless, but are representations of strong and evil convictions men hold. Men kept telling themselves these lies about false gods(imaginations) because they wanted freedom to pursue their desires, until a time came when they eventually believed they were real! Now, people see them and fear them, ascribing human emotion to lifeless things carved out of things the Lord made.

Generations have now risen to reckon these carvings as true living entities, because they know of no other god but them. They are indoctrinated into cunningly devices fables from birth. This is humanity’s current plight. It’s heartbreaking.

The entirety of God’s warnings through the Prophets of Old against idol worship tells us repeatedly that they are nothing but worthless trinkets;

Jeremiah 10:14-15 Every man has become like a brute, irrational and stupid, without knowledge [of God]; every goldsmith is brought to shame by his graven idols; for his molten images are frauds and falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are devoid of worth, usefulness, or truth, a work of delusion and mockery; in their time of trial and punishment they shall [helplessly] perish.

Psalms 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are [lifeless] idols, but the Lord made the heavens.

“How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame. Who but a fool would make his own god— an idol that cannot help him one bit? All who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these craftsmen—mere humans— who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.”

Isaiah 44:9-11 NLT

“People who worship idols are stupid and foolish. The things they worship are made of wood! They bring beaten sheets of silver from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz, and they give these materials to skillful craftsmen who make their idols. Then they dress these gods in royal blue and purple robes made by expert tailors. But the Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King! The whole earth trembles at his anger. The nations cannot stand up to his wrath.”

Jeremiah 10:8-10 NLT

Again, the idols are merely a cover for the real problem, man’s lustful desires. The graven images simply represent the depth of man’s depravity and the strength of his conviction of this falsehood.

This reminds me of the German poet, Heinrich Heine. He was asked why men no longer built grand cathedrals anymore. He replied;

“People in those old times had convictions; we moderns only have opinions. And it needs more than a mere opinion to erect a Gothic cathedral.”

It takes a certain conviction of the existence of a sovereign God to erect a gigantic gothic cathedral, constantly pouring resources into it for years. For e.g the cologne cathedral took approximately 632 years to build. It takes conviction of the existence of God to dedicate that amount of time to a building. It takes strong conviction about God’s existence and what He told Noah for him to dedicate nearly a century of his life to build an Ark.

Similarly, it takes a certain depth of conviction of this falsehood, to carve out from mere wood, an imagination in your heart and bow to it. To give pure gold and mould it into a calf to bow to it. However, the root cause remains man’s desire for freedom to do as he pleases. So even if men see the Red Sea part, the plagues in Egypt, even if they see God descend on a mountain before their eyes, they will rather choose to believe a golden calf, because their volition precedes their cognition.

Think about it. Why do we have different graven images for the same lusts that men desire across different cultures? For instance

gods for sex/sensuality – Aphrodite, Eros, Venus, Astarte, Nanaya etc. The very same pattern goes for other lusts; money, fame, wine and debauchery, vengeance and murder. There are gods for them all. Erected simply for the expression of man’s hedonism.

The problem is universal. Different imaginations, different images and gods, different cultures, but same root cause. Man inherently wants to be free to live unto himself. He is blinded by his lusts, and wants a god that permits him. To this end, there continues to remain an avenue for fallen spirits that are of the same rebellion to come and deceive many even further with lying signs and lying wonders, hence substantiating their vain claims in order to keep many perpetually deceived.

“For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.”

Matthew 24:24 NLT

“This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them.”

2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 NLT

It’s a warning, that the true God has an accurate depiction. He is seen in scripture, primarily in the person of Jesus Christ, and in the light of His gospel. Any false image or idea about Him created is not Him. It is an idol. This is why error is fought in the church with tremendous might.

I said all of that to say this; the images don’t need to be physical. There need not be a physical bowing. You may not have an image of Eros in your closet that you bow to every morning, but whenever the lusts beckons on you and you choose it over God’s will, you bow. The idols are no longer on display, they are carried in the hearts of men e.g mammon.

This calls for some introspection. There may be things that hold more sway over your soul than the Lord your God. Many now worship things created rather than the Creator; Money, sex, pleasure, food, other men etc. And the Jealousy of the Lord is kindled against such.

What’s even more daunting, is that the love and pursuit for these fleshly desires can tip anyone into some partial agnosticism/atheism simply so they can heed to them every time. To escape the weight of conviction, many have even cooked up erroneous doctrines about God so as to permit the ease of conscience whilst performing such acts, dulling the sting of the Spirit’s conviction.

“For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.”

2 Timothy 4:3-4 NLT

Do not yield, child of God. You may travel into Babylon, but it is a choice to become a Babylonian. Our God is true, and He is Holy. Grow deeper in consecration to your God. Deny the flesh, that you may walk in the newness of Life. Love righteousness but hate wickedness and unrighteousness also. Purify your intentions by fire, God’s Holy fire that comes by the word and the Spirit. Preserve the image of the true God in your heart, the Lord our God and His Christ. Stand firm in the truth, lest you may be deceived by your own hidden desires and bow.

Lastly, go into the world. Preach Jesus. Set men free from the hold of these idols. You have the solution in your hands. It’s called the gospel. You’ve been empowered. You’ve been sent. Do this for your Lord. It is your responsibility as a Son of the One and True living God.

Till next time, my sibling. I hope this blessed you. Kindly leave a comment about the part that struck you most. God bless you. Shalom🤗❤️