http://tinyurl.com/k375q8f I felt there was much more to say on the subject.
Post-Modern Pagans in the American Church
The first Century church went into the world to preach the good news to a pagan world. Not too long afterwards, the pagan world fought back by requiring every good citizen to show their allegiance to Caesar. A true Roman citizen would bow before the statue of Caesar and pay homage to him as “ Dominus et Deus” (master and god) . Some Christians attempted to please both Christ and man by stopping at the foot of the statue to tie their shoe laces.
After reading the article “How to Raise a Pagan Kid in a Christian Home” by Barrett Johnson, it dawned on me that this problem maybe much larger than just with our kids. This next statement here may be the most critical one you read in this article. I believe many well-meaning Bible-believing churches are mentoring seekers into becoming post-modern pagans. The basis of this statement is purely founded on my own experiences and observations—purely anecdotal in nature. But don’t dismiss these observations without examining your own personal experiences because we all have pagan tendencies.
So what is a post-modern pagan? This is not someone who carves an idol out of wood and then worships it, prays to it or gives it sacrifices. A post-modern pagan is one who often looks the part of a true Christian believer, but whose life is so wrapped up in worldly pursuits, hobbies, and consumption of entertainment, that there is no real dimension or depth to their professed faith. If we are one of these pagans then we are shallow when it comes to a sacrificial relationship with God and yet, very deep when it comes to football statistics, social events, latest movies and entertainment groups. We are stoic and sullen in a post-Constantine worship service and hysterically over-joyed at a rock concert or sporting event.
We have barely any memory for Scripture but have memorized every song on the country & western radio. If we know Scripture, it has not turned our lives upside down. It has not motivated us to continually communicate in love the joy of our salvation. Our brains freeze up trying to tell the gospel story or when attempting a testimony of praise but we can rattle off detailed critiques on political issues, current events, or the Friday night playoffs.
Christ knew folks like us well and often rendered His harshest judgments to them. "You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But these testify of me.” He wasn’t looking for people with all the right answers, He was looking for people who wanted to build a close covenant relationship with HIM.
What is a post-modern pagan? Well, it’s quite simple. We all have a bit of pagan in us. Praise be to God we can learn to give over our pagan lives and worship the Creator instead of ourselves. We have been taught to show up and shut up for corporate non-interactive worship. There is no room for emotion or unfettered praise. But we are all pleased to demonstrate our joyous exaltation in seeing someone run across a one-yard line, shoot a monumental deer, catch a fairly decent fish or twirl two batons at one time.
We have misplaced our glory in the cross of Christ and given it to praising narcissistic children or selfish interests. We hear from our own lips a continuous stream of praise for everything but how Christ has transformed the ones we love, “he/she is so smart, so talented, so beautiful, so accomplished.” How does this make us pagan? We have made this life and personal accomplishments our gods.
We worship the created and have not given our lives over to the Creator of the Universe. Our goals and those we have set for our children are devoid of the sacrificial calling we have in Christ Jesus, love for the lost and those in need.
Being good and moral is the fruit of a moral pagan. As Johnson states, “The gospel is not about making bad people moral, but about making dead people alive. If we teach morality without the transforming power of the gospel and the necessity of a life fully surrendered to God's will, then we are raising moral pagans. “
I would add that if we teach morality without sacrificial transformation, we are merely placing a band aid over cancer. It may look good, but the result is certain death. The wearer of such a band aid eventually abandons it, like so many of folks who will eventually abandon their shallow faith.
What is it we want our children to become?
The lesson is simple, if we want them to become concert pianists, then they must practice and dedicate themselves to a daily life at the piano. If we want them to become servants of God, then they must practice and dedicate each day to a life of sacrifice and service. If we want them to become pagan dancers, then….
Maxim: You don’t just wake up one day and become a concert pianist.
We Are What We Practice
How money is budgeted, how time is spent all week long, all year long, how priorities are set, how checklists are made so that we appear “good” may result in nothing to do with depending fully on God, His grace and mercy and lovingly submitting to His call and mission in the world. Where our treasure is, there is our happiness. Where are we when we feel real joy?
A post-modern pagan is one who stoops at the foot of the Cross, but their hearts are far from carrying that cross. Like many first Century Christians who stooped to tie their shoes at the foot of Caesar’s statue so that they appeared to be worshipping him; They comforted themselves by thinking that their hearts were still faithful to Christ. These folks were only deceiving themselves. In like manner, showing up for a Sunday assembly and going through the “shoe-tying” motions only makes for a post-modern kind of self-deception.
When we view Scripture as something to be debated or defended instead of the power of God to revive the dead and to transform and convict, we have a diminutive view of Scripture. We have made winning arguments our god. We have made intellectualism our god.
As a post-modern pagan we may say we believe in God, but live as if we are practicing atheists. We neither trust Him nor rely on Him in daily matters of the heart. He is the “Santa Claus” God we pray to when we want something.
A pagan’s relationship with God is no different than the relationship we have with a birthday candle wish or wishing on a star. Too often our prayers are merely “punctuation” prayers at the end or beginning of an event—more ritualistic than relational. We have very little understanding of walking moment by moment in a continual prayerful relationship with our God. We go through the motions of making requests but have no intention of stepping out in faith, sight unseen, in loving obedience to the Gospel’s Great Commission.
Who or what have we made as our object of worship? Let’s be honest in examining ourselves. Here is a list of reflections for us to consider.
1. What we praise is what we worship. When was the last time you made a statement with “I’m so proud of….”? Did it refer to Christ or someone else? (Galatians 6:14) When was the last time you found yourself unable to stop talking about The Lord?
God demands our whole being...not just our mental assent!
2. What we do in our “off-time” tells more about us then what we do on Sunday morning. How have we spent our leisure time this week? (James 1:27; Romans 12:1-2)
3. What we talk about is what we love. Do we love to gossip? Love to expound on our latest purchases, accomplishments, or hobbies? Who or what do we talk about most? Who or what fills our thoughts throughout the day? (Luke 6:45)
4. What we prioritize in our day is what is most important to us. What did we make time for today? What was our favorite activity? What did we think must be accomplished without delay? (Galatians 6:10)
5. What we have faith in is what we depend on. What did we do today that required full faith and dependence on God? Faith in our own abilities? Faith in our own financial status?
Too often, we are “drinking a cocktail that's a mix of the Protestant work ethic, the American dream, and the gospel. And we've intertwined them so completely that we can't tell them apart anymore. Our gospel has become a gospel of following your dreams and being good so God will make all your dreams come true. It's the Oprah god.” (Johnson)
We have become post-modern pagans if we have not crucified ourselves with Christ, denied our fleshly desires, and taken up our cross, our dedicated, committed lives to walk in faith, without sight, believing that God will accomplish His work in us.
We are pagans if we worship, praise, adore, and exalt things created instead of the Creator. We are pagans if we depend on ANYTHING created instead of the Creator. We are moral pagans if we live our lives to please ourselves while trying to look good to others.
Without transformation by the Holy Spirit and the cutting away of the flesh to make our hearts truly super sensitive to God’s Will (circumcision of the heart), we are leading a carnal, self-indulgent life.
My confession is that I have fought my pagan tendencies most of my life. I am still fighting. I look to those who were once in the faith and now have left, those who are angry, anxious, contentious and poor mentors for a converted pagan. Does our witness produce the type of believer that has become more and more comfortable in their pagan luxuries and life-styles? Do we hold each other accountable for following in the foot steps of our crucified Lord? Have we "little power" (Rev 3:8) because of our lack of devotion and whole-body dedication (soul, mind, heart, and strength) to the God of the Universe?
EXAMINE YOURSELF
Who is our master? Who has dominion over our day, moment by moment? Whose priority is the focus of our life? Who do we shout to, cry to, proclaim, stand up for, fall on our knees before, and continually sacrifice to and praise? (Hebrews 13:15-16) Who do we applaud, witness for, and talk about?
If we are pagans then we are not fooling God when we stop by on Sunday to tie our shoes before His Thrown.
