The story of God’s prophet, Elijah, and his opposition to King Ahab and Queen Jezebel in Northern Israel is a story of boldness and fear.   It is an appropriate story to consider a fourth reason that Israel went after other gods.   The previous discussion of people in authority leading others astray now focusses on fear in the face of abusive power and the violent control of others.   People can and do use their power to control others to make them do what they want.   At times leaders justify their use of power over others by claiming that it is for a just cause.   King Ahab and Queen Jezebel could have come up with various reasons to justify their opposition to God: openness, tolerance of other religions (which required intolerance of monotheism), diversity, and inclusion.   Whatever the reasons, though, they oppressed God’s people and prophets. In this political and social context, God’s people were intimidated and fearful.   The reason people went after other gods was more than y

Without Bibles, the Old Testament people of God had no basis on which to question the representation of Yahwism by religious authorities.  Priests, prophets, Levites, and even kings could say what true theology, ethics, and worship entailed, but they most often misrepresented these to the people.  King Josiah himself had to learn about the true faith from a discovery of the Law in the temple (2 Kings 22-23).  Upon doing so, he deposed or slaughtered the idolatrous priests as part of his religious reform (2 Kings 23.5, 20; 2 Chronicles 34.5).  The priests had made offerings to Baal, the sun, moon, constellations, and heavenly hosts (2 Kings 23.6).  Not long after Josiah, Judah’s wicked King Zedekiah, with unfaithful officers and priests, led the people in following the ‘abominations of the nations’ (2 Chronicles 36.14). In the northern kingdom, King Jeroboam set up two places of worship with golden calves and non-Levitical priests (1 Kings 12.31; 13.33; 2 Chronicles 13.8-9).  Israel’s p

[a short story] ‘Where are we?’ he asked. ‘Some sort of waiting room, I think.   Just before you arrived, a person sitting over there was called in to that room.’   She nodded to door 1.  There seemed to be about twenty closed doors down the hallway that one could see behind the receptionist. ‘Do you know what goes on in that room?’ ‘I think people go into one of those rooms to sort out what happened to them.   Someone called this whole building the "sorting place."   At least, that is what I have picked up from some conversations.   In the room, some people also sort out people's future "accommodations."    Whenever someone comes out of a room, two or more people escort him or her away.   I’ve seen one person very happy and another who actually looked terrified.' ‘I don’t feel frightened,’ said the boy.   The girl looked at him.   ‘Neither do I.   It was strange to see this.  A curious place.’ The waiting room magazines looked well worn, months ol

  Peer Pressure, Majority Pressure, and Powerful Influencers The Jews were a people who stood out significantly among other peoples and nations.   Their very identity was wrapped up on not being like others in their belief in only one God, not having idols representing gods, avoiding any religious syncretism, not conforming to their sexual ethics, limiting themselves to certain foods, being circumcised, and maintaining certain, identifiably unique practices.   Of the last, we might mention Jewish holy days and festivals, opposition to enslaving fellow Jews, and their own legal system in general that sometimes reflected Ancient Near Eastern laws and often did not.   They were a unique people. Being so different, Jews faced pressure to conform when they found themselves in the presence of other groups.   A polytheistic theology is far more accommodating than Jewish monotheism.   The challenge of having special food laws is mentioned in Daniel 1.   Daniel’s refusal to discontinue his pr

  In mission studies, we discuss the notion of ‘enculturation of the Gospel’ and debate what that means and what are its positive and negative aspects.   Other terms used have included ‘translation of the Gospel’ or even ‘cultural syncretism’.   The question is whether or to what extent the Gospel and the Church can be presented in understandable terms to a given culture, and to what extent they remain true to what they are with any adaptation. In China, the discussion includes the word 'sinicization’.  The term originally had to do with what others called ‘indiginisation,’ where the emphasis fell on replacing foreign workers like missionaries with nationals.  It highlighted the ‘assimilation of minorities in the Chinese empire into Chinese culture and language.’ It now has a much more political meaning: ‘In order to be accepted as “sinicized,” they should have leaders selected by the CCP and operate within a framework of strategies and objectives indicated by the CCP.’ [1]   Ne