On Idols

                For anyone who didn’t know, a few months ago I moved from Charleston, South Carolina to Yokosuka, Japan. It’s definitely been an interesting transition; even using the bathtub has become an adventure (Japanese houses are smart; everything is automated – and all the buttons are in Japanese). I’ve also had time to do some touring while I’ve been here, and last week I had the chance to visit Kamakura, one of the tourist centers of Japan.

Kamakura

                What is there to see in Kamakura? There are plenty of museums and parks, a shopping district, and a beautiful beach, but mainly, it’s full of religious sites: shrines and temples. I must have visited two dozen of them over the weekend, and there were dozens more I didn’t have time to see; you can hardly turn a corner without running into one. The shrines and temples are gorgeous; they have wooden gateways and washing basins and beautifully-constructed buildings.  Inside these buildings are statues of people and gods.

                The picture for this post is one I took last weekend of a woman giving an offering, bowing, and praying to one of these statues. If you thought that praying to statues was a thing of the past, something that doesn’t happen in countries full of tech giants and smart houses, think again.

When people speak against idolatry nowadays, they usually speak about making money or popularity or family into an idol. Because, of course, you’re not going to go home and pray to a little statue in your house. Except that people do this every day all over the world – just because we don’t see it as much in the US, doesn’t mean it’s gone. We talk a lot about “the new idolatry,” but the old idolatry is still alive and well.

Gods with Benefits

But why? Why would people in a modern country want to bow to a physical statue? Perhaps because statues are easy to please. They don’t demand that you love them with all your heart; you can have as many as you want. It’s not a marriage; it’s more like friends with benefits.* Idols don’t care who you sleep with, or how you treat your parents, or if your business practices are squeaky-clean. All they want is a nickel in the donation plate and a bow, and you can pray for whatever you want.

In reality, a lot of the world’s religions, in ancient times and now, didn’t have much to do with morality; they were about myths and rituals and offerings. There was no concept in, say, the Roman mind, of “take up your cross and follow me” or “love the Lord with all your heart” or “love your neighbor as yourself.” Religion was about festivals and ceremonies and stories; morality was the domain of philosophers. The idea that religion as something that requires not only customs and courtesies, but a permanent commitment, a change of heart, a personal relationship, is not a given, even in circles that are nominally Christian.

Just Another Idol

You see, sometimes in nominally Christian circles, we are tempted to make God into nothing more than another idol. We go through the customs and courtesies; we attend the church services in beautiful buildings, say the customary phrases, sing some songs, and drop a few coins in the offering plate. And then we continue doing whatever we want when it comes to business practices, or relationships, or even other religions.

People are the same the world over. How many people will stop by church this Christmas and treat it no differently than the Japanese businessman who stops by the shrine to bow and say a prayer before continuing on with his life? How many of us will take comfort in the rituals and traditions of religion while ignoring the commitment required?

I agree that we shouldn’t make money or success into a metaphorical idol, but that’s not what the Bible is talking about when it talks about idolatry. It’s talking about actual idols, about playing with religion, wanting to dabble in ceremonies and spirituality with without making a commitment. In Jeremiah, God warns the Israelites about worshipping graven images, about praising God with our lips when our hearts are corrupt. 2500 years later, the human race hasn’t changed. This Christmas, let’s take some time to clear out both the new and the old idolatry.

* Which is pretty much exactly how God describes it in the Old Testament – he wasn’t a fan.