Mooned by false gods

For many, false gods are "place" and "fact."

As opposed to "Spirit" and "truth."

The devil is not stupid enough to offer us obvious opposites; counterfeits are more tempting. So instead of going for an exact opposite of Jesus "spirit and truth," he opts to coopt us with "place" (not "spirit") and "fact" (not "truth"). How many have fallen into the twin traps of "It's all about the place" or "Just get the facts (doctrines) right."

Some are more concerned with real estate than their real ESTATE.
Just as the woman at the well prodded Jesus, "You Jews have a sacred mountain, and we have another? Which place is holy?" "Neither, chick: it's about Spirit/spirit...not place."
If we can't take the Truth, we feed ourselves on facts.

Anything can be/become an idol...and as St Pete knows, many idols are beautiful.

A common theme in U2's lyrics is the eclipse of the sun by the moon.
It's pretty clear (as cheesy as it sounds_ the "sun" symbolizes Jesus/The Son;
and the moon someone (usually women) who usurp his place as primary focus.

"The sun is sometimes eclipsed by the moon.
I don't see You when she walks in the room"
-"The Fly," in video below


"A corner of your lips
As the orbit of your hips
Eclipse, you elevate my soul"
-"Elevation," a song about the rabbinic practice of elevating sexual temptation into prayer (here).

So, a few potential false gods:

place,
fact,
women....

What else is new; that's quite a trinity!
Calls to mind the song,"Cigarettes and whiskey and wild wild women."





But on the image of seductive women as the moon (not to be confused with the classic flick,"Amazon Women on the Moon"...)

Let's leave the moon referent, and let Len Sweet suggest another idol that can eclipse the sun/Son:

Jesus is the Morningstar, the "Sun of Righteousness." The Bible is more like the moon. It's glory is a reflected glory. An eclipse occurs when the moon moves in a position of direct alignment with earth and sun. When that happens, the moon hides the sun. In some of our churches, the Sun is in eclipse, blocked by the moon. The Word made word has eclipsed the Word made flesh" -Aqua Church, p. 58.

Ah, bibiolatry.

Ask a fundy:

"What if you had to give up one, which would you choose: God or the Bible?"

They actually hesitate!



At a number of camps, conferences and retreats, I simply read the following list of Scriptures; warning that they are all off by only one word. I get one word wrong every time. By the end of the list, the lesson is (hopefully) obvious.

· “Do not take Thy Holy Bible from me!”
· “’Not by might, not by power, but by my Holy Bible,’ says the Lord.”
· But before Mary and Joseph came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Bible.” · “As Jesus was baptized, the Holy Bible descended on him, as a dove in bodily form.”
· “John baptized with water, but I have come to baptize with the Holy Bible and with fire.”
· “There will come a day when all worshippers worship correctly: in the Holy Bible and in truth.”
· “All other sins can be forgiven, even those against the Son of Man, but there is an unpardonable sin that will never be forgiven: the blasphemy against the Holy Bible.”
· “I will send you another Helper, who will counsel you, and will be like me, the Holy Bible.”
· “The Holy Bible will lead you into all truth.” · “You will receive power when the Holy Bible comes upon you” ·
“All of them were filled with the Holy Bible, and began to speak in other tongues as the Holy Bible gave them utterance”
· “Don’t worry about what to say, words will be given you; it will not be you speaking, but the Holy Bible.”
· “Go, therefore, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Bible…”
· “The fruit of the Holy Bible is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, self-control.”
· “On the day of Pentecost, when they were all together in one place, the Holy Bible fell on them.”
· “Don’t be drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Bible”
· “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Bible?”
· “The love of God, the grace of the Lord Jesus, and the fellowship of the Holy Bible be with you all.”
· “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord,” except through the Holy Bible.”
· “Do not grieve the Holy Bible.”
· “The one who has an ear, let them hear what the Holy Bible is saying to the churches”
(more on this here)


I recently caught these quotes from John MacArthur:

"There is no substitute for submitting to ____"
"If you are not a Christian, you need ______ for salvation"
"_____ is perfectly able to open an unbeliever's eyes to the truth of the gospel, convict him of sin, or even do radical surgery on his soul."


Astoundingly, he answers wrongly ("The Bible") every time...in a book (ironically titled "Our Sufficiency in Christ" (link),  
p 144..see also this).

Why do we keep getting mooned??