America's gods , August 17, 2005

America is an idolatrous nation. We are a people who have bowed down to a variety of false gods. Witness the debacle of the National Cathedral service that occurred after 9/11. There appeared a priest for every god, not wanting to offend any.Chief among the gods that we worship among the pantheon are two. The first is Mammon. We are preoccupied with getting as much as we can. We want comfort, stuff, and infinite entertainment. We never have enough. According to Mammon, godliness with contentment is not sufficient. This assessment of our materialism is not a post-hippie flashback. Take a look around you. We have more than our parents dreamed of, and more than our grandparents could have possibly imagined. But it is never quite enough, is it?Close behind Mammon is the Baal of statist power. After all, we have to have someone who will guarantee the personal peace and prosperity we cherish so. We want a god who will defend our standard of living no matter what he has to do, or where he has to go to do it. Of course, the sacrifices he requires are considerable. But what is that when compared to the good life he insures?Of course, we couldn’t be alleging that Christians have fallen for these imposters…could we?