The Patriotic Aspects of Idolatry
Acts 17:26 does not just express the importance of the individual but also the nations. From one man he made every nation of men. ( Acts 17:26) I have made the case in these articles that the diversity God desires in mankind is inherent in the nations. As in other types of blessings the Lord grants man, such as food, sex and drink, their abuse becomes sin. This also is true of the love of country.
Bible-history.com states
“There is ever in the human mind a craving for visible forms to express religious conceptions.”….The special enticements to idolatry as offered by these various cults were found in their deification of natural forces and their appeal to primitive human desires, especially sexual; also through association produced by intermarriage and through appeal to patriotism.”
When idolatrous love of country is present it glorifies man over God. Instead of the God of heaven being the source of blessing the King or the Pharaoh are made gods and are viewed as the source of blessing themselves. This was true in Ur and we have seen it in other degenerating kingdoms in the history of man. The below quote describes the one of the Kings of Ur reign.
“Construction of the ziggurat was completed in the 21st century BC by King Shulgi, during whose 48-year reign the city of Ur grew to be the capital of an empire controlling much of Mesopotamia. To win the allegiance of the many formerly independent cities he controlled, Shulgi proclaimed himself a god and became a great patron of the arts. He had his poets and scribes publicize all sorts of stories about his prowess: he had complete mastery of every weapon of war, could capture gazelles on the run, slay lions unaided, and play every known musical instrument. The King himself claimed that he once ran 200 miles during a fierce hailstorm—which he may have done.
King Shulgi and Ur demonstrate religious idolatry in the construction of the ziggurat. The King proclaims himself ‘god’ reinforcing patriotic idolatry. The lavishness the cities possessions could rightly be described as idolatrous as well. King Shulgi strength, his prowess in war is glorified. He does support intellectual culture of art and poetry, each redemptive in their own way. The struggle to honor God and honor King is always present in the heart of man. The idolatrous extreme leads to the deifying of human being that was first expressed in the garden by Satan.
“whatever benefits come from honorable patriotism are outweighed by the harm done by its idolatrous counterparts, to say nothing of the consequences of still baser passions that masquerade as patriotism.”
The above quote does not have to be true of any nation. It certainly should not have been true of Israel. God created Israel through the prophet Abraham to be an example to the nations. When Abram left Ur he would have been fighting the forces of tribal and patriotic ties that defined the area. The thirst of personal gratification that is present in our culture would have been present in his. Additionally the local deity would have been viewed as the primary reason for the areas prosperity and strength. Abraham’s abandonment of his local god would have been seen both as heretic and as treasonous. The concept of religious and patriotic distinctions or separation of church and state was not present in that era.
It is also possible that despite its idolatry and its moral problems Abraham may have had a real patriotic love for his home. Eamonn Callon, the author of “Love, Idolatry, and Patriotism” makes a distinction between national love that retains enough redemptive value that it might reform a degenerated nation and national love that is that is so degenerated that it needs to be eradicated from the heart of its citizens. He expresses this in sentimental tones, “After all, being told to give up what you love is a harder message for anyone to heed than being told that you should love it better”
George Orwell, sited in Eamonn’s article expresses it in historic tones as it relates to the English empire.
“According to Orwell, patriotism is love for a particular place and the community that resides there and stretches across many generations into the past and future. Even though the distinctive character of the community might be accurately portrayed at a given moment in history, patriots need not be nostalgic conservatives who resist change to the country they love. In an arresting metaphor, he depicts England as "an everlasting animal stretching into the future and the past, and, like all living things, having the power to change out of all recognition and yet remain the same"
Abraham’s obedience to God’s call would break the exaggerated aspects of patriotic love off of his life with consideration of both future and past generations as poetically expressed by Orwell. He exercised strong faith and psychological disciple in order to give up his patriotic love of Ur. We see appropriate patriotic love in Abraham’s commissioning of his chief servant to find a wife for his son Isaac. There are three things that Abraham does that demonstrate a mature understanding of the distinction between patriotic love and patriotic idolatry. It should be noted that he is an old man when he manifests this wisdom. We see him control the present idolatry that was in the geography and generation he lived, he manages past idolatry from his families generations and where he use to live, and finally he builds a future structure for the success of his son Isaac free of idolatry.
“ Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way” He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac."
The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?"
"Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said. "The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land'-he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there." So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.(Genesis 24: 1-9)
Abraham’s primary admonishment of his chief servant was that he, “not allow his son Isaac, to take a wife from among the Canaanites”. The Canaanites of Abraham’s generations were a wicked idolatrous people. This is the region of the world that gave rise to Sodom as we have seen. Then, as now, kingdoms and cultures affected one another. The people of Ur were not exempt from these sins either. They too were idolatrous and sinful. So why would Abraham send his servant back to his home, where the people were idol worshipers to get his son a wife? The reason has to do with this idea of patriotic love and idolatry. Abraham knew what idols, what sins; his son would have to ‘master’. They were the sins and the idols of his own people. Abraham therefore took control of the present by telling his servant. “you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living,” He was managing his past when he said to his servant, “do not take my son back there!” When Abraham did this he limited Isaac’s exposure to the idolatry he grew up with but also acknowledged the value of his people group as well. He does this in a manner that honors his people without the sin of racism and nationalism that can be present when these types of decisions are made by parents on behalf of their children.
Abraham also made and effort the break off idolatry’s hold on his son and future generations back making his chief servant, ‘swear by the God of Heaven and Earth.’ Abraham expresses faith in clear in unambiguous terms when he says. “The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land'-he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.”
The opposite reaction to patriotic love that some people see as a solution man’s problems with nationalism is universalism. Callon states, “If humanity could make a bargain with God to make patriotism disappear, so that all its harms evaporated along with its benefits, maybe we should take the deal. But no such bargain is on offer.” In popular culture this sentiment is best summarized in the lyric of John Lennon’s classic Imagine. “Imagine there's no countries; It isn't hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too, Imagine all the people, Living life in peace...”
The Lord has always had a plan for nation states that worship him based on identities that are built in geographies, generations, and genealogies in which they are placed. The forging of a national identity would be refined in the work that was required in the place God called them. Initially, simply to survive, and then to prosper as creativity and inventiveness were incorporated into cultural norms, traditions and laws. The integral structures of the value of each individual, the traditional family construct, justice, and monotheistic frameworks based on original design, provided the best outcomes because God acknowledged their presence and actively endorsed their implementation.
The Materialistic Aspects of Idolatry
“Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can, No need for greed or hunger, A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people, Sharing all the world.”
Lennon’s lyrics in Imagine appeal to us because they promote peace and generosity. They were difficult for him to apply in his own life. His net worth was estimated at $150,000,000 dollars in the fall of 1980, yet they have value in thinking about the redemptive value of wealth.
The last area we will consider is materialistic idolatry as it affected Abraham’s life. Abraham had real victory in this area of his life. We know that the wealth of Ur did not keep him from following God. When know that he allowed Lot to choose the best of the land. I think Abraham demonstrates his highest level of faith with his wife Sarah. Abraham had two examples in his life where he allowed fear to overcome his love for her. I am referencing Genesis 12 and Genesis 20 when Abraham tells Pharaoh and Abimelech respectively that Sarah is his sister. This being true I would like to consider another part of their relationship. It connects directly to the presentation of redemptive gift of children.
Abraham’s lament about his lack of children is heard clearly in Genesis 15:3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." Despite Abraham’s heartfelt disappointment in this area he does not take another wife. He remains committed to Sarah. There would have been no cultural inhibitions to his taking another wife; in fact the contrary was true. Children were viewed then as a blessing from God, and a financial asset. Most cultures throughout history have viewed children this way. The Genesis 16 passage in which Hagar is taken as Abraham’s concubine is initiated by Sarah. It is Sarah who is covering her shame not Abraham. Abraham sacrifices the wealth associated with having a son and risked a servant of his household being his heir based on his love for his wife. This certainly is the opposite of materialistic idolatry.
Materialist idolatry stated in the simplest terms is selfishness. It is childlike and self absorbed. An article by Chyan Yang published in International Journal of Management in 2008 title the “The Effects of Idolatry and Personality Traits on Impulse Buying: An Empirical Study” addresses the effects materialist idolatry on the personality. The concepts presented are present in our generation and would have been in Abraham’s as well. The author defines idolatry as; “Idolatry, the excessive admiration of devotion to something or someone, is commonly found among adolescents. This personal trait is more emotional than rational.” He states that the most vulnerable population to idolatry is young people and adolescents.
“Idolatry, as a transitional mental phenomenon in the development process of children and young people, is one of the most common phenomena among children (He, 2006). Idolatry is one of the unique characteristics of adolescents (Raviv et al., 1996)”
Yang’s study is completed among Taiwanese adolescents immersed materialist idolatry, Chritopher Lasch, author of The Culture of Narcissism points out its pervasiveness among modern elites.
“The advantages the rich confer on their children dwindle down to money alone. As the new elite discards the outlook of the old bourgeoisie, it identifies itself not with the work ethic and the responsibilities of wealth but with an ethic of leisure, hedonism, and self-fulfillment.”
A sad but eloquent formulation of the selfishness associated with modern American life is expressed by Lasch below. It captures the training of previous wealthy generations for leadership and social responsibility. It romanticizes their commitment to the poor and understates the current generation’s generosity to the poor. This may be due to its 1991 publication. It predates the establishment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that is the catalyst for a great deal of the philanthropy in our generation. Their foundation may give as much as $600,000,000 dollars to charity annually. The quote is valuable to us because it depicts the process of degeneration of different political systems and also their potential to be benevolent, redemptive and avoid materialistic idolatry.
“a new kind of paternalism, which has risen from the ruins of the old paternalism of kings, priests, authoritarian fathers, slave masters, and landed overlords. Capitalism has severed the ties of personal dependence only to revive dependence under cover of bureaucratic rationality. Having overthrown feudalism and slavery and then outgrown its own personal and familial form, capitalism has evolved a new political ideology, welfare liberalism, which absolves individuals of moral responsibility and treats them as victims of social circumstance. It has evolved new modes of social control, which deal with the deviant as a patient and substitute medical rehabilitation for punishment. It has given rise to a new culture, the narcissistic culture of our time, which has translated the predatory individualism of the American Adam into a therapeutic jargon that celebrates not so much individualism as solipsism, justifying self-absorption as "authenticity" and "awareness."
Ostensibly egalitarian and antiauthoritarian, American capitalism has rejected priestly and monarchical hegemony only to replace it with the hegemony of the business corporation, the managerial and professional classes who operate the corporate system, and the corporate state. A new ruling class of administrators, bureaucrats, technicians, and experts has appeared, which retains so few of the attributes formerly associated with a ruling class—pride of place, the "habit of command," disdain for the lower orders—that its existence as a class often goes unnoticed. The difference between the new managerial elite and the old propertied elite defines the difference between a bourgeois culture that now survives only on the margins of industrial society and the new therapeutic culture of narcissism.”
The solution to self absorption and narcissism is generosity. The attributes of “pride of place, the habit of command” develop naturally when the redemptive task of work is present. Work that improves the conditions of a place and a time, that does not exploit the environment or the culture, is especially redemptive. The elite’s role is to create a construct in which all of its citizens have the maximum opportunity for success by promoting individual creativity and talent.
Abraham’s generous spirit, as a semi-nomadic shepherd, was sacrificial and loving. It broke materialist idolatry off of his life. There is a global opportunity to do the same now. In an interesting ‘one eyed view’ of redemptive gifts author Gerard Piel advocates for a Marshall Plan type of investment in the third world as a means of promoting industrialization and reducing the number of children. Piel states;
“The problem is not population; it is poverty. We can reach zero-growth population, if we expand the world economy fourfold and share the proceeds equitably. That would bring the poorest 20 percent out of poverty. The industrialized countries must climb out of their economic torpor and restart their economic engines.”
Piel sees half the picture. Investment in people and in the nations is always the right thing to do. Limiting the amount of people is the wrong thing to do. We have completely lost sight of the fact the people are the greatest gift that God has granted us. The insight and the understanding that children are a blessing from God are inherent in most cultures and most culture’s memory. It is now a spiritual truth that requires spiritual understanding. Part of what has affected the church’s understanding in this area is simply the facts that present themselves.
“The population of the world has more than doubled since 1950 - from 2.5 billion to 5.3 billion. The number of people living in direst poverty has increased to 1.3 billion - close to the total population of the underdeveloped countries in 1950. The population is doubling now again. The number in direst poverty could equal the present world population. A doubling after that would bring the human species close to full occupation of the Earth.”
I am not suggesting that we ignore such facts and depend on faith to feed people. I am suggesting that the church get involved in the types of advocacy the Piel is suggesting and combine faith and works.
“the time has come to bring the vision of a global Marshall Plan into focus again. Getting on with the industrial revolution is the most urgent challenge civilization now faces. If foreign aid was being considered an act of common humanity at mid-century, it is now dictated by the exigencies of common survival.”…. The number in direst poverty could equal the present world population. A doubling after that would bring the human species close to full occupation of the Earth.”
That sounds a little like the fulfillment of the Lord’s command to be fruitful and multiple and fill the Earth. For the majority of people who do not support the proliferation of the species, but who do not want the see the poor begging for bread the following quote should have application. It provides a positive outcome and economic solutions in under developed nations.
“In order to stabilize the world's population at some sustainable level, the industrial revolution must be carried out worldwide. Natural population increase has ceased in the 20 percent of the world population that is represented by the industrialized countries. Fertility is approaching the zero-growth rate in another 20 percent of the population currently living in the pre-industrial countries. That is happening in countries that have gotten on with their industrial revolutions since 1950. The population explosion that distresses so many well-off people in the industrialized countries is confined to the countries where the revolution has lagged and is now arrested. The sooner the industrial revolution reaches people everywhere, the smaller will be the world's population.”
The premise of Piel’s study is that the opportunities that were created for Germany and Japan should be created for Bangladesh and Ecuador. His advocacy assumes common capacity among the people groups of the world if they are provided with common opportunity. It is truly a redemptive work in that sense. It assumes cooperation among nations and among the wealthy. It assumes the type of leadership that is redemptive and shuns materialistic idolatry. It represents leadership that is transformational. Abraham was a transformational leader and he has his modern counterparts. They are the wealthiest men the Earth has ever known and they care about the condition of mankind.
“Black and Porter (2000, p. 432) define transformational leadership as: "leadership that motivates followers to ignore self-interests and work for the larger good of the organization to achieve significant accomplishments; emphasis is on articulating a vision that will convince subordinates to make major changes." These leaders have a profound effect on their followers' beliefs regarding what the organization should become and also on their subordinates' values. They also provide their followers with guidance so that they are able to achieve their goals. Some examples of individuals who are considered transformational leaders include Bill Gates of Microsoft, Steve Jobs of Apple, Michael Dell of Dell Computer Corporation, Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, Lou Gerstner of IBM, and Jack Welch of GE.”
Mithchell Langbert the author of “Abraham as a Transformational Leader” sites seven characteristics that Abraham displayed that made him a transformational leader. It was these traits that broke off religious idolatry, patriotic idolatry, and materialistic idolatry in his life. He was a visionary, had a sense of justice, was humble, charismatic, willing the sacrifice for what he believed in, he dared to be different.
Even within his own generation Abraham’s wealth and strength grew to a national level. The personal power and wealth he gained made him as strong and prosperous as many local kings. He fought five kings in order to rescue his nephew lot and won. Abraham could have easily sought a kingship for himself. Abraham’s humility and meekness never allowed for this. When Lot’s servants and his servants were in conflict Abraham gave Lot the best of the land. He did not receive a reward as we have pointed out from the King of Sodom. He honored his wife in life and insisted on paying her burial plot when it was offered for free. The acceptance of the gift would have meant honor for the gift giver. Abraham refused to use his wife’s death for even the slightest politic advantage of alliance. Abraham’s greatest triumph was the faith to believe that God would raise Isaac from the dead upon his sacrifice of him. Abraham knew the redemptive value of children, and especially Isaac but he was willing to obey God. He destroyed the power of idolatry over his own life. Langbert summarizes his accomplishments well.
“The major accomplishment of Abraham was to spread the belief in a single God in a world filled with paganism. Today's world has been dramatically changed because Abraham spread monotheism and the concomitant philosophy of caring for one's fellow human being. His philosophy eventually became institutionalized as the law of "you shall love your fellow as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). …Abraham's philosophies can serve as a paradigm or touchstone for the successful leader of today”
http://www.bible-history.com/isbe/I/IDOLATRY
http://www.amazeingart.com/seven-wonders/ziggurat.html
http://www.questia.com/read/5018510014 Love, Idolatry and Patriotism. Contributors: Eamonn Callan - author. Journal Title: Social Theory and Practice. Volume: 32. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 2006. Page Number: 525
http://www.questia.com/read/5018510014 Love, Idolatry and Patriotism. Contributors: Eamonn Callan - author. Journal Title: Social Theory and Practice. Volume: 32. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 2006. Page Number: 525
http://www.questia.com/read/5018510014 Love, Idolatry and Patriotism. Contributors: Eamonn Callan - author. Journal Title: Social Theory and Practice. Volume: 32. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 2006. Page Number: 525
http://gatesofpraiseministries.blogspot.com/
http://www.questia.com/read/5018510014 Love, Idolatry and Patriotism. Contributors: Eamonn Callan - author. Journal Title: Social Theory and Practice. Volume: 32. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 2006. Page Number: 525
http://www.lyrics007.com/Beatles%20Lyrics/Imagine%20Lyrics.html
http://www.lyrics007.com/Beatles%20Lyrics/Imagine%20Lyrics.html
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Sean_lennon_net_worth
http://www.questia.com/read/5035328485 The Effects of Idolatry and Personality Traits on Impulse Buying: an Empirical Study. Contributors: Chyan Yang - author, Yau de Wang - author, Han Jen Niu - author. Journal Title: International Journal of Management. Volume: 25. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 2008. Page Number: 633+. © 2008
http://www.questia.com/read/5035328485 The Effects of Idolatry and Personality Traits on Impulse Buying: an Empirical Study. Contributors: Chyan Yang - author, Yau de Wang - author, Han Jen Niu - author. Journal Title: International Journal of Management. Volume: 25. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 2008. Page Number: 633+. © 2008
http://www.questia.com/read/99032064 The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations. Contributors: Christopher Lasch - author. Publisher: W. W. Norton. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 1991. Page Number: 225.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/article1113258.ece
http://www.questia.com/read/99032064 The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in an Age of Diminishing Expectations. Contributors: Christopher Lasch - author. Publisher: W. W. Norton. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 1991. Page Number: 225.
http://www.questia.com/read/5001648729 Worldwide Development or Population Explosion: Our Choice. Contributors: Gerard Piel - author. Journal Title: Challenge. Volume: 38. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 1995. Page Number: 13+.
http://www.questia.com/read/5001648729 Worldwide Development or Population Explosion: Our Choice. Contributors: Gerard Piel - author. Journal Title: Challenge. Volume: 38. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 1995. Page Number: 13+.
http://www.questia.com/read/5001648729 Worldwide Development or Population Explosion: Our Choice. Contributors: Gerard Piel - author. Journal Title: Challenge. Volume: 38. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 1995. Page Number: 13+.
http://www.questia.com/read/5001648729 Worldwide Development or Population Explosion: Our Choice. Contributors: Gerard Piel - author. Journal Title: Challenge. Volume: 38. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 1995. Page Number: 13+.
http://www.questia.com/read/5001778455 Abraham as a Transformational Leader. Contributors: Hershey H. Friedman - author, Mitchell Langbert - author. Journal Title: Journal of Leadership Studies. Volume: 7. Issue: 2. Publication Year: 2000. Page Number: 88. COPYRIGHT 2000
http://www.questia.com/read/5001778455 Abraham as a Transformational Leader. Contributors: Hershey H. Friedman - author, Mitchell Langbert - author. Journal Title: Journal of Leadership Studies. Volume: 7. Issue: 2. Publication Year: 2000. Page Number: 88. COPYRIGHT 2000
http://www.questia.com/read/5001778455 Abraham as a Transformational Leader. Contributors: Hershey H. Friedman - author, Mitchell Langbert - author. Journal Title: Journal of Leadership Studies. Volume: 7. Issue: 2. Publication Year: 2000. Page Number: 88. COPYRIGHT 2000
Acts 17:26 does not just express the importance of the individual but also the nations. From one man he made every nation of men. ( Acts 17:26) I have made the case in these articles that the diversity God desires in mankind is inherent in the nations. As in other types of blessings the Lord grants man, such as food, sex and drink, their abuse becomes sin. This also is true of the love of country.
Bible-history.com states
“There is ever in the human mind a craving for visible forms to express religious conceptions.”….The special enticements to idolatry as offered by these various cults were found in their deification of natural forces and their appeal to primitive human desires, especially sexual; also through association produced by intermarriage and through appeal to patriotism.”
When idolatrous love of country is present it glorifies man over God. Instead of the God of heaven being the source of blessing the King or the Pharaoh are made gods and are viewed as the source of blessing themselves. This was true in Ur and we have seen it in other degenerating kingdoms in the history of man. The below quote describes the one of the Kings of Ur reign.
“Construction of the ziggurat was completed in the 21st century BC by King Shulgi, during whose 48-year reign the city of Ur grew to be the capital of an empire controlling much of Mesopotamia. To win the allegiance of the many formerly independent cities he controlled, Shulgi proclaimed himself a god and became a great patron of the arts. He had his poets and scribes publicize all sorts of stories about his prowess: he had complete mastery of every weapon of war, could capture gazelles on the run, slay lions unaided, and play every known musical instrument. The King himself claimed that he once ran 200 miles during a fierce hailstorm—which he may have done.
King Shulgi and Ur demonstrate religious idolatry in the construction of the ziggurat. The King proclaims himself ‘god’ reinforcing patriotic idolatry. The lavishness the cities possessions could rightly be described as idolatrous as well. King Shulgi strength, his prowess in war is glorified. He does support intellectual culture of art and poetry, each redemptive in their own way. The struggle to honor God and honor King is always present in the heart of man. The idolatrous extreme leads to the deifying of human being that was first expressed in the garden by Satan.
“whatever benefits come from honorable patriotism are outweighed by the harm done by its idolatrous counterparts, to say nothing of the consequences of still baser passions that masquerade as patriotism.”
The above quote does not have to be true of any nation. It certainly should not have been true of Israel. God created Israel through the prophet Abraham to be an example to the nations. When Abram left Ur he would have been fighting the forces of tribal and patriotic ties that defined the area. The thirst of personal gratification that is present in our culture would have been present in his. Additionally the local deity would have been viewed as the primary reason for the areas prosperity and strength. Abraham’s abandonment of his local god would have been seen both as heretic and as treasonous. The concept of religious and patriotic distinctions or separation of church and state was not present in that era.
It is also possible that despite its idolatry and its moral problems Abraham may have had a real patriotic love for his home. Eamonn Callon, the author of “Love, Idolatry, and Patriotism” makes a distinction between national love that retains enough redemptive value that it might reform a degenerated nation and national love that is that is so degenerated that it needs to be eradicated from the heart of its citizens. He expresses this in sentimental tones, “After all, being told to give up what you love is a harder message for anyone to heed than being told that you should love it better”
George Orwell, sited in Eamonn’s article expresses it in historic tones as it relates to the English empire.
“According to Orwell, patriotism is love for a particular place and the community that resides there and stretches across many generations into the past and future. Even though the distinctive character of the community might be accurately portrayed at a given moment in history, patriots need not be nostalgic conservatives who resist change to the country they love. In an arresting metaphor, he depicts England as "an everlasting animal stretching into the future and the past, and, like all living things, having the power to change out of all recognition and yet remain the same"
Abraham’s obedience to God’s call would break the exaggerated aspects of patriotic love off of his life with consideration of both future and past generations as poetically expressed by Orwell. He exercised strong faith and psychological disciple in order to give up his patriotic love of Ur. We see appropriate patriotic love in Abraham’s commissioning of his chief servant to find a wife for his son Isaac. There are three things that Abraham does that demonstrate a mature understanding of the distinction between patriotic love and patriotic idolatry. It should be noted that he is an old man when he manifests this wisdom. We see him control the present idolatry that was in the geography and generation he lived, he manages past idolatry from his families generations and where he use to live, and finally he builds a future structure for the success of his son Isaac free of idolatry.
“ Abraham was now old and well advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed him in every way” He said to the chief servant in his household, the one in charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh. I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, but will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac."
The servant asked him, "What if the woman is unwilling to come back with me to this land? Shall I then take your son back to the country you came from?"
"Make sure that you do not take my son back there," Abraham said. "The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land'-he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there. If the woman is unwilling to come back with you, then you will be released from this oath of mine. Only do not take my son back there." So the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore an oath to him concerning this matter.(Genesis 24: 1-9)
Abraham’s primary admonishment of his chief servant was that he, “not allow his son Isaac, to take a wife from among the Canaanites”. The Canaanites of Abraham’s generations were a wicked idolatrous people. This is the region of the world that gave rise to Sodom as we have seen. Then, as now, kingdoms and cultures affected one another. The people of Ur were not exempt from these sins either. They too were idolatrous and sinful. So why would Abraham send his servant back to his home, where the people were idol worshipers to get his son a wife? The reason has to do with this idea of patriotic love and idolatry. Abraham knew what idols, what sins; his son would have to ‘master’. They were the sins and the idols of his own people. Abraham therefore took control of the present by telling his servant. “you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living,” He was managing his past when he said to his servant, “do not take my son back there!” When Abraham did this he limited Isaac’s exposure to the idolatry he grew up with but also acknowledged the value of his people group as well. He does this in a manner that honors his people without the sin of racism and nationalism that can be present when these types of decisions are made by parents on behalf of their children.
Abraham also made and effort the break off idolatry’s hold on his son and future generations back making his chief servant, ‘swear by the God of Heaven and Earth.’ Abraham expresses faith in clear in unambiguous terms when he says. “The LORD, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father's household and my native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, 'To your offspring I will give this land'-he will send his angel before you so that you can get a wife for my son from there.”
The opposite reaction to patriotic love that some people see as a solution man’s problems with nationalism is universalism. Callon states, “If humanity could make a bargain with God to make patriotism disappear, so that all its harms evaporated along with its benefits, maybe we should take the deal. But no such bargain is on offer.” In popular culture this sentiment is best summarized in the lyric of John Lennon’s classic Imagine. “Imagine there's no countries; It isn't hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too, Imagine all the people, Living life in peace...”
The Lord has always had a plan for nation states that worship him based on identities that are built in geographies, generations, and genealogies in which they are placed. The forging of a national identity would be refined in the work that was required in the place God called them. Initially, simply to survive, and then to prosper as creativity and inventiveness were incorporated into cultural norms, traditions and laws. The integral structures of the value of each individual, the traditional family construct, justice, and monotheistic frameworks based on original design, provided the best outcomes because God acknowledged their presence and actively endorsed their implementation.
The Materialistic Aspects of Idolatry
“Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can, No need for greed or hunger, A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people, Sharing all the world.”
Lennon’s lyrics in Imagine appeal to us because they promote peace and generosity. They were difficult for him to apply in his own life. His net worth was estimated at $150,000,000 dollars in the fall of 1980, yet they have value in thinking about the redemptive value of wealth.
The last area we will consider is materialistic idolatry as it affected Abraham’s life. Abraham had real victory in this area of his life. We know that the wealth of Ur did not keep him from following God. When know that he allowed Lot to choose the best of the land. I think Abraham demonstrates his highest level of faith with his wife Sarah. Abraham had two examples in his life where he allowed fear to overcome his love for her. I am referencing Genesis 12 and Genesis 20 when Abraham tells Pharaoh and Abimelech respectively that Sarah is his sister. This being true I would like to consider another part of their relationship. It connects directly to the presentation of redemptive gift of children.
Abraham’s lament about his lack of children is heard clearly in Genesis 15:3 And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir." Despite Abraham’s heartfelt disappointment in this area he does not take another wife. He remains committed to Sarah. There would have been no cultural inhibitions to his taking another wife; in fact the contrary was true. Children were viewed then as a blessing from God, and a financial asset. Most cultures throughout history have viewed children this way. The Genesis 16 passage in which Hagar is taken as Abraham’s concubine is initiated by Sarah. It is Sarah who is covering her shame not Abraham. Abraham sacrifices the wealth associated with having a son and risked a servant of his household being his heir based on his love for his wife. This certainly is the opposite of materialistic idolatry.
Materialist idolatry stated in the simplest terms is selfishness. It is childlike and self absorbed. An article by Chyan Yang published in International Journal of Management in 2008 title the “The Effects of Idolatry and Personality Traits on Impulse Buying: An Empirical Study” addresses the effects materialist idolatry on the personality. The concepts presented are present in our generation and would have been in Abraham’s as well. The author defines idolatry as; “Idolatry, the excessive admiration of devotion to something or someone, is commonly found among adolescents. This personal trait is more emotional than rational.” He states that the most vulnerable population to idolatry is young people and adolescents.
“Idolatry, as a transitional mental phenomenon in the development process of children and young people, is one of the most common phenomena among children (He, 2006). Idolatry is one of the unique characteristics of adolescents (Raviv et al., 1996)”
Yang’s study is completed among Taiwanese adolescents immersed materialist idolatry, Chritopher Lasch, author of The Culture of Narcissism points out its pervasiveness among modern elites.
“The advantages the rich confer on their children dwindle down to money alone. As the new elite discards the outlook of the old bourgeoisie, it identifies itself not with the work ethic and the responsibilities of wealth but with an ethic of leisure, hedonism, and self-fulfillment.”
A sad but eloquent formulation of the selfishness associated with modern American life is expressed by Lasch below. It captures the training of previous wealthy generations for leadership and social responsibility. It romanticizes their commitment to the poor and understates the current generation’s generosity to the poor. This may be due to its 1991 publication. It predates the establishment of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that is the catalyst for a great deal of the philanthropy in our generation. Their foundation may give as much as $600,000,000 dollars to charity annually. The quote is valuable to us because it depicts the process of degeneration of different political systems and also their potential to be benevolent, redemptive and avoid materialistic idolatry.
“a new kind of paternalism, which has risen from the ruins of the old paternalism of kings, priests, authoritarian fathers, slave masters, and landed overlords. Capitalism has severed the ties of personal dependence only to revive dependence under cover of bureaucratic rationality. Having overthrown feudalism and slavery and then outgrown its own personal and familial form, capitalism has evolved a new political ideology, welfare liberalism, which absolves individuals of moral responsibility and treats them as victims of social circumstance. It has evolved new modes of social control, which deal with the deviant as a patient and substitute medical rehabilitation for punishment. It has given rise to a new culture, the narcissistic culture of our time, which has translated the predatory individualism of the American Adam into a therapeutic jargon that celebrates not so much individualism as solipsism, justifying self-absorption as "authenticity" and "awareness."
Ostensibly egalitarian and antiauthoritarian, American capitalism has rejected priestly and monarchical hegemony only to replace it with the hegemony of the business corporation, the managerial and professional classes who operate the corporate system, and the corporate state. A new ruling class of administrators, bureaucrats, technicians, and experts has appeared, which retains so few of the attributes formerly associated with a ruling class—pride of place, the "habit of command," disdain for the lower orders—that its existence as a class often goes unnoticed. The difference between the new managerial elite and the old propertied elite defines the difference between a bourgeois culture that now survives only on the margins of industrial society and the new therapeutic culture of narcissism.”
The solution to self absorption and narcissism is generosity. The attributes of “pride of place, the habit of command” develop naturally when the redemptive task of work is present. Work that improves the conditions of a place and a time, that does not exploit the environment or the culture, is especially redemptive. The elite’s role is to create a construct in which all of its citizens have the maximum opportunity for success by promoting individual creativity and talent.
Abraham’s generous spirit, as a semi-nomadic shepherd, was sacrificial and loving. It broke materialist idolatry off of his life. There is a global opportunity to do the same now. In an interesting ‘one eyed view’ of redemptive gifts author Gerard Piel advocates for a Marshall Plan type of investment in the third world as a means of promoting industrialization and reducing the number of children. Piel states;
“The problem is not population; it is poverty. We can reach zero-growth population, if we expand the world economy fourfold and share the proceeds equitably. That would bring the poorest 20 percent out of poverty. The industrialized countries must climb out of their economic torpor and restart their economic engines.”
Piel sees half the picture. Investment in people and in the nations is always the right thing to do. Limiting the amount of people is the wrong thing to do. We have completely lost sight of the fact the people are the greatest gift that God has granted us. The insight and the understanding that children are a blessing from God are inherent in most cultures and most culture’s memory. It is now a spiritual truth that requires spiritual understanding. Part of what has affected the church’s understanding in this area is simply the facts that present themselves.
“The population of the world has more than doubled since 1950 - from 2.5 billion to 5.3 billion. The number of people living in direst poverty has increased to 1.3 billion - close to the total population of the underdeveloped countries in 1950. The population is doubling now again. The number in direst poverty could equal the present world population. A doubling after that would bring the human species close to full occupation of the Earth.”
I am not suggesting that we ignore such facts and depend on faith to feed people. I am suggesting that the church get involved in the types of advocacy the Piel is suggesting and combine faith and works.
“the time has come to bring the vision of a global Marshall Plan into focus again. Getting on with the industrial revolution is the most urgent challenge civilization now faces. If foreign aid was being considered an act of common humanity at mid-century, it is now dictated by the exigencies of common survival.”…. The number in direst poverty could equal the present world population. A doubling after that would bring the human species close to full occupation of the Earth.”
That sounds a little like the fulfillment of the Lord’s command to be fruitful and multiple and fill the Earth. For the majority of people who do not support the proliferation of the species, but who do not want the see the poor begging for bread the following quote should have application. It provides a positive outcome and economic solutions in under developed nations.
“In order to stabilize the world's population at some sustainable level, the industrial revolution must be carried out worldwide. Natural population increase has ceased in the 20 percent of the world population that is represented by the industrialized countries. Fertility is approaching the zero-growth rate in another 20 percent of the population currently living in the pre-industrial countries. That is happening in countries that have gotten on with their industrial revolutions since 1950. The population explosion that distresses so many well-off people in the industrialized countries is confined to the countries where the revolution has lagged and is now arrested. The sooner the industrial revolution reaches people everywhere, the smaller will be the world's population.”
The premise of Piel’s study is that the opportunities that were created for Germany and Japan should be created for Bangladesh and Ecuador. His advocacy assumes common capacity among the people groups of the world if they are provided with common opportunity. It is truly a redemptive work in that sense. It assumes cooperation among nations and among the wealthy. It assumes the type of leadership that is redemptive and shuns materialistic idolatry. It represents leadership that is transformational. Abraham was a transformational leader and he has his modern counterparts. They are the wealthiest men the Earth has ever known and they care about the condition of mankind.
“Black and Porter (2000, p. 432) define transformational leadership as: "leadership that motivates followers to ignore self-interests and work for the larger good of the organization to achieve significant accomplishments; emphasis is on articulating a vision that will convince subordinates to make major changes." These leaders have a profound effect on their followers' beliefs regarding what the organization should become and also on their subordinates' values. They also provide their followers with guidance so that they are able to achieve their goals. Some examples of individuals who are considered transformational leaders include Bill Gates of Microsoft, Steve Jobs of Apple, Michael Dell of Dell Computer Corporation, Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com, Lou Gerstner of IBM, and Jack Welch of GE.”
Mithchell Langbert the author of “Abraham as a Transformational Leader” sites seven characteristics that Abraham displayed that made him a transformational leader. It was these traits that broke off religious idolatry, patriotic idolatry, and materialistic idolatry in his life. He was a visionary, had a sense of justice, was humble, charismatic, willing the sacrifice for what he believed in, he dared to be different.
Even within his own generation Abraham’s wealth and strength grew to a national level. The personal power and wealth he gained made him as strong and prosperous as many local kings. He fought five kings in order to rescue his nephew lot and won. Abraham could have easily sought a kingship for himself. Abraham’s humility and meekness never allowed for this. When Lot’s servants and his servants were in conflict Abraham gave Lot the best of the land. He did not receive a reward as we have pointed out from the King of Sodom. He honored his wife in life and insisted on paying her burial plot when it was offered for free. The acceptance of the gift would have meant honor for the gift giver. Abraham refused to use his wife’s death for even the slightest politic advantage of alliance. Abraham’s greatest triumph was the faith to believe that God would raise Isaac from the dead upon his sacrifice of him. Abraham knew the redemptive value of children, and especially Isaac but he was willing to obey God. He destroyed the power of idolatry over his own life. Langbert summarizes his accomplishments well.
“The major accomplishment of Abraham was to spread the belief in a single God in a world filled with paganism. Today's world has been dramatically changed because Abraham spread monotheism and the concomitant philosophy of caring for one's fellow human being. His philosophy eventually became institutionalized as the law of "you shall love your fellow as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). …Abraham's philosophies can serve as a paradigm or touchstone for the successful leader of today”
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http://www.questia.com/read/5018510014 Love, Idolatry and Patriotism. Contributors: Eamonn Callan - author. Journal Title: Social Theory and Practice. Volume: 32. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 2006. Page Number: 525
http://www.questia.com/read/5018510014 Love, Idolatry and Patriotism. Contributors: Eamonn Callan - author. Journal Title: Social Theory and Practice. Volume: 32. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 2006. Page Number: 525
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http://www.questia.com/read/5018510014 Love, Idolatry and Patriotism. Contributors: Eamonn Callan - author. Journal Title: Social Theory and Practice. Volume: 32. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 2006. Page Number: 525
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http://www.questia.com/read/5035328485 The Effects of Idolatry and Personality Traits on Impulse Buying: an Empirical Study. Contributors: Chyan Yang - author, Yau de Wang - author, Han Jen Niu - author. Journal Title: International Journal of Management. Volume: 25. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 2008. Page Number: 633+. © 2008
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http://www.questia.com/read/5001648729 Worldwide Development or Population Explosion: Our Choice. Contributors: Gerard Piel - author. Journal Title: Challenge. Volume: 38. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 1995. Page Number: 13+.
http://www.questia.com/read/5001648729 Worldwide Development or Population Explosion: Our Choice. Contributors: Gerard Piel - author. Journal Title: Challenge. Volume: 38. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 1995. Page Number: 13+.
http://www.questia.com/read/5001648729 Worldwide Development or Population Explosion: Our Choice. Contributors: Gerard Piel - author. Journal Title: Challenge. Volume: 38. Issue: 4. Publication Year: 1995. Page Number: 13+.
http://www.questia.com/read/5001778455 Abraham as a Transformational Leader. Contributors: Hershey H. Friedman - author, Mitchell Langbert - author. Journal Title: Journal of Leadership Studies. Volume: 7. Issue: 2. Publication Year: 2000. Page Number: 88. COPYRIGHT 2000
http://www.questia.com/read/5001778455 Abraham as a Transformational Leader. Contributors: Hershey H. Friedman - author, Mitchell Langbert - author. Journal Title: Journal of Leadership Studies. Volume: 7. Issue: 2. Publication Year: 2000. Page Number: 88. COPYRIGHT 2000
http://www.questia.com/read/5001778455 Abraham as a Transformational Leader. Contributors: Hershey H. Friedman - author, Mitchell Langbert - author. Journal Title: Journal of Leadership Studies. Volume: 7. Issue: 2. Publication Year: 2000. Page Number: 88. COPYRIGHT 2000
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