If I wanted to be technical, I could call this passage against antinominalism: against those who deny the law. It is better to recall that Schaeffer says that we use the law as a cover, a way of hiding, from love, for love will drive us to do all for the glory of others and the glory of God. Love is the higher calling.
I will come back to Idols after the passage, Paul takes the question he has been given (WHich would have been something like — All the meat in the market comes from sacrificial animals. We do not worship them. Should we go vegan?) and uses it around to a principle: do everything for the glory of God.
14Therefore, my dear friends, flee from the worship of idols. 15I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? 17Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18Consider the people of Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar? 19What do I imply then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons. 21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22Or are we provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
23“All things are lawful,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24Do not seek your own advantage, but that of the other. 25Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience, 26for “the earth and its fullness are the Lord’s.” 27If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience – 29I mean the other’s conscience, not your own. For why should my liberty be subject to the judgment of someone else’s conscience? 30If I partake with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of that for which I give thanks?
31So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. 32Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved.
1Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
I used to think that idols were completely virtual. Then a Hindu temple was built two blocks away from where I used to live, and the neighbourhood blocked up every festival day. And I do not worship or venerate art: I appreciate it. I would find it hard to worship in the Florentine churches I took enough pictures within to theme the pictures until Easter because I would be distracted by them. I’m Presbyterian, and attuned to plain worship, but I am aware that the painters of the frescos were working to glorify God. De gustibus non disputantenm
The idols that infect our society are much more likely to be ideological. The current witch-hunt in Mozilla is an example.
This morning, a number of Mozilla employees took to Twitter with a united, nearly simultaneous message to new Mozilla Corporation CEO Brendan Eich: “Step down.”Brendan Eich’s Prop 8 donations come to light, and internal response is mixed.
The internal response began this morning with two tweets from Mozilla Open Badges project lead Chris McAvoy. “I love @mozilla but I’m disappointed this week,” McAvoy said, referring to the controversial decision to appoint Eich as CEO after he had donated thousands to both California’s Proposition 8 and political candidates who supported it. “@mozilla stands for openness and empowerment, but is acting in the opposite way.” He then made a more pronounced declaration: “I’m an employee of @mozilla and I’m asking @brendaneich to step down as CEO.”Within minutes, many other Mozilla employees followed suit, using similar language or copying each other’s statements outright. Those included Mozilla Festival curator Chloe Vareldi, partnerships lead John Bevan, designer Jessica Klein, and engagement team member Sydney Moyer.
McAvoy added that he feels fortunate to work at a company like Mozilla, “where I can say that without fear of retribution.” Neither McAvoy nor the other quoted employees mentioned Eich’s statement this week about LGBT outreach.
There is a certain inquisitorial stench about all this. Brendon Etch is a good techie: he was one of the founders of Mozilla and wrote Javascript. He has personal stands — but the benefits for lesbians and gays are OK: Mozilla appears to be a good employer. But that is not enough. One must worship the ideology of homosexualism. In a similar way, Stephen Colbert (who I do not particularly like most days) is almost being accused of blasphemy when his offence is satire.
Satirist Stephen Colbert is under fire for what some people are calling a racist tweet sent from the account of his show, “The Colbert Report.”The original message, posted Thursday afternoon but now deleted, was a play on Asian stereotypes. It was pulled directly from a segment on Wednesday’s show mocking Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder for responding to pressure to change his team’s name by instead setting up a charity to aid Native Americans. The tweet read, “I am willing to show #Asian community I care by introducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever.”
Colberts satire brings us back to another issue about idolatry. It is designed as a “publick religion” and one has to make sacrifices and indulgences — while not dealing with the real issues.
The issue for gay men and women is that they do have more health problems as a consequence of the partying lifestyle many of them lead. And these vary — lesbians do not have the same issues as gay men. There are issues around funding health care, around who can attend parties, time off for festivals. Mozilla deals with these. What they should do is sack the openly disloyal, for open-ness and diversity should not be causes for a charge of blasphemy.
On the Asians, the issue is that one of discrimination: historically Chinese in my country were subject to a poll tax (in the hope they would go home). Did not work: my sons are descendants of people who paid this. The diversity people in the USA (and NZ) are worried that most competitive classes have a disproportionate number of Chinese and Indian members, and are trying to bring in some kind of quote system — which is active discrimination.
Rude words? Meh. Most gay men I know (and I work with a few) have been called everything under the sun by patients. As have I: on the days my gay colleague is accused of being boring and straight and I am called a flaming petunia (which does happen) it’s time for a coffee and a good laugh. Being abused is part of the job. What matters is actions.
And when words become crimes, we functionally have blasphemy laws again. We are worshipping idols again. And there is a stench of the demonic within society.