Idolatry and Insanity

The prophet Jeremiah made an interesting statement concerning God's judgments against Babylon for their idolatry in Jeremiah 50:38:  "A drought is against her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is the land of carved images, and they are insane with their idols."  The Babylonians were well-known for their prognosticators, astrologers and diviners.  Idolatry led to beliefs and practices which God described as insanity.  Webster defined "insane" as: "unsound in mind or intellect; mad; deranged in mind."  While their ideas and behaviour were unsound and deranged from a biblical perspective, there was an set of beliefs--an ideology--that guided their actions.

The Babylonians used divination and sought omens for guidance as it is written in Ezekiel 21:21:  "For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination: he shakes the arrows, he consults the images, he looks at the liver."  There are people today who put stock in what astrological "sign" they are and consult their horoscope, and the king of Babylon did something similar.  He employed rituals to discern if he had the favour of the gods he worshipped because he desired success in his pursuits.  The king looked at the random way arrows fell, inquired with images and examined the liver (often of a sacrificed sheep) to determine the right way to go.  The reason the king did these things is because he believed it would help guide him to victory and prosperity.

While most people are not in the habit of killing sheep to look at the liver when we arrive at a fork in the road, there is always the potential we will place our trust and seek guidance in what is not God.  In an illuminating article, Domonic Purviance wrote an article in Christianity Today titled, "Ideologies Don't Save, But We Act Like They Do."  He made an excellent observation in the article which explores the intersection between idolatry and ideology from a Christian perspective:  "We can affirm the genuine moral insights embedded in ideological traditions--freedom, equality, tradition, and national sovereignty--while refusing to make any of them ultimate."  This sheds light on why people do things which seem crazy to us--like gluing themselves to the road in peak-hour traffic, throwing paint in museums, or living for years in trees.  When people make things like freedom, equality or nature conservation their ultimate, they are willing to sacrifice their lives in to follow the ideology they believe in.

In contrast to those who are insane with their idols, Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:7 that God has not given Christians a spirit of fear but of power, and love and a sound mind.  Fear of what could happen is a large component in idolatry and ideology.  Instead of being driven by fear, Christians are called to be led by the Holy Spirit and to have the mind of Christ.  This does not mean all believers think the same or share identical convictions, but we are to follow the example of Christ who humbled Himself to do the will of the Father, and He loved and served others rather than lording His authority over them--though He has all authority.  Paul exhorted Christians in Philippians 2:3-4:  "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. ⁴ Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."  Rather than telling us what to do, the point of emphasis in the Bible is who Jesus is and our identity in Him as new creations.  By surrendering our hearts to Jesus and submitting to His word, we find He is the Way who never leads us wrong.