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Luminary Interview: Andy Crouch
Rule of Life
Idols Don't Really Work
Christians misunderstand idols as just a made up facade and applied to like mist priorities in the army. I know these were physical totems with demonic beings behind them. That did function initially, because that's how it hooks you. The thing which have started out promising almost everything asking almost nothing eventually delivers nothing demands everything.
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Speaker 2
You're saying that's tied to like, I worship this God, I do this thing, and then I get prosperity for my crops, my wife is fertile, or whatever ancient idolatry. Right. So the idol promises
Speaker 1
a huge amount and asks very little, just a little bit of grain before the altar, a little pour out before you drink your wine, pour a little bit out to the gods on the ground. And then idols, which and then you'll have fertility, you'll have safety, prosperity. So huge promises, very small demands. The problem is idols don't actually, and the only thing is idols actually work. So magic actually, and
Speaker 2
I think there's a demonic element to this spiritual force enters the world. I think Christians misunderstand idols as just a made up facade and made applied to like mist priorities in the army. I know these were physical totems with demonic beings behind them. My Paul's clearly
Speaker 1
saying that. That did function initially, because that's how it hooks you. Like ancient people are not so dumb as to think, just think out of the blue that worshiping an image of a bull would give fertility to the from the skies, you know, but there was a time in human history where a group of people gathered around a figurine of a bull and made sacrifices to it. And the rains came and they hadn't come before. And and they thought, Oh, we found we found the trick, placate the bull, worship it again. The thing is idols which start out working don't keep working. They work less and less well, and they ask more and more and more and more. So the idol demands more and more while it delivers less and less until eventually it delivers
Speaker 2
enough way. Are we talking about an ancient bull
Speaker 3
or Instagram? We are talking
Speaker 1
about the same recurring
Speaker 2
pattern. The same pattern. Just
Speaker 3
just make
Speaker 1
this minor offering and you'll get this amazing result. Oh, well, it's not working so well. So maybe you need to up the ante. The God is a little displeased. Make spend more of your time on this. I'm sure you can get that resulting in. It's normally the thought working so well, soon need to sacrifice a little more common. Are you serious? Are you serious about this worship or not? And the thing which have started out promising almost everything asking almost nothing eventually delivers nothing demands everything. And what is the maximum thing of false God could ask you to give up?
Speaker 2
Yes, that
Speaker 1
is a very good answer because most people say your life. No, as your child. No, not your own life. Yeah, your child's life. One
Speaker 2
of the main reasons that God sent Israel into
Speaker 1
exile is they began to worship the pagan neighbors in the sacrifice of children because the ultimate thing every idol says is, well, if you really monite benefits, show me give me the most valuable thing, which is not your own life. Give me the sacrifice of your child. Of course, this could have no relevance to our own world. We would do works.
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