Sunday, August 8, 2010

The Popularity Idol

I was reading my Bible when I came across a little side note. My Bible is full of them. They offer insight on different parts of the Bible. This one was in Leviticus and it talked about idolatry. More than once, the Israelites made idols and worshipped them instead of God. It went on to talk about different idols that we have here in modern society. An idol is anything that has become more important to us that God. It listed an idol that really caught my attention: Popularity. If you think about it, it's so true! All too often, being "popular" pulls us away from God. Sometimes we are afraid to act the way God tells us to. We don't wear our Christian T-shirts to school. We tuck our cross necklace under our shirts, out of sight. We are afraid of what people might think or say. We can't let it be like that! So throw down that idol. Proudly sport an "I Love Hardcore Christian Girls/Boys" T-shirt. Speak up for your God. Popularity lasts only a lifetime. God's love lasts forever. But that doesn't necessarily mean you have to completely give up popularity to love God. All you have to do is believe that God is more important. Have friends that will accept you for who you are: God's child. Amen

13 comments:

  1. Don't forget to vote on the poll! I know I have more than two readers :)

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  2. Just because people "hide" their god symbols doesn't necessarily mean he's less important. According to the dictionary and idol is: an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed. Therefore people may simply believe that these idols of their gods are being worshiped more than the actual god. For example those "I love hardcore christian girls/boys" t-shirts are simply a way to make money off of a religion that promotes a simpleness to one's life. Similar with the necklaces. These things aren't necessary. Maybe you should try using only what's necessary in life and not promote a capitalistic enterprise. If people were to accept you for being "god's child" then you wouldn't need to worry about the outward appearance of being christian.

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  3. Dear Anonymous,
    I understand everything your saying and I get were your coming from, however, I disagree with you in some of your comment. For example, an idol can be and image or material, but it can also stand for the simple things like popularity. In the Bible, when God talks about idols he says do no worship false gods, correct? Then you see people today worshiping Alah, they don't worship a statue they worship a god they cannot physically see, according to God they are still worshiping a false God, or an idol. Similar to people who believe in The Big Bang theory, there is no statue but they still believe it to be right. Popularity is something almost all teenagers and young kids and even adults want to have. Yes, I agree shirts don't mean everything but the way to talk and dress does affect your Christian appearance. Inmodisty can say, "Christians are no different from the rest of us" and so can swearing or gossiping. Those are the more common "I want to be popular" actions, but think about it. Popularity is a lot of teens' false gods.

    Elise

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  4. Dear Elise,

    People can believe in the big bang theory and still be christian. It's not necessarily a god, simply a scientific idea. Its like saying that some people believe in the gravity theory and that is their false god. These theories can exist along with a faith in Christianity. Science doesn't need to be a treated as a religion.

    And also Allah can sometimes be seen as the same god as the Christians. Many people believe it is the same god, simply that they have a different savior or main prophet(i.e. Jesus vs. Muhammad) but still evolved from a basic form of Judaism.

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  5. Dear anonymous,

    This is in reply to your first comment:
    People hiding their God symbols IS showing that popularity is more important. When people hide their crosses, they are hiding who they are. They are often afraid to show that they love God, for the sake of popularity. Also, a dictionary definition is not the same as the word "idol" used in biblical context. Christianity does not promote simpleness. It does say, however, that we cannot take material objects with us when we die. We were put here to glorify our God. If wearing t-shirts and necklaces is someone's way to glorify Him, then they should do that. God doesn't want us to work so hard for comfort and possessions that we forget about Him and push Him aside.

    Dear Elise,
    Go girl! :)

    Dear anonymous,
    (second post)
    Your first sentence does not make any sense to me. The big bang theory basically says there was no Intelligent Design (also known as Creation). That is not a christian belief. If you believe in the big bang theory over or in place of God, that is like a false god. There are differencese between Allah and God, but I do not know what they are.

    Warning: this blog is not a place for anti-religion comments

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  6. Dear Anonymous second post,

    The Big Bang theory says there was no Creator, in the Bible it says "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" Genesis 1:1, how can someone be a Christian and believe that something else happened to cause the earth into existance?

    As for Alah, yes people believe them to be the same god but they believe different things to there religion. Muslims believe that works are what get you into heaven, were Christians believe faith is what gets you into heaven and works are how you show God's love to other people. God is a merciful god and Alah is a god who asks for human sacrifice in some areas, can you explain how those are the same god?

    With care,
    Elise

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  7. I think what that anonymous poster was saying about the big bang theory was that the theory doesn't necessarily say that there isn't a creator. More like God created things farther back. Like God created the big bang and that created everything in turn. That still agrees that God was in the beginning and created everything. That might not be exactly right, but that's what I think.

    -Jack

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  8. I get what you're saying Elise, but I feel that this is just an interpretation of what god says to his people. Allah never explicitly says to Muhammad "sacrifice humans to me." In the entire Qur'an, there is never a mention of a blood sacrifice or a Jihad. These are simply interpretations of people of the word of god. When you look at the two writings (the Bible and the Qur'an) there doesn't appear to me all that large of a difference. I feel that these god's could definitely be the same, but the followers take the teachings from god differently.

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  9. Dear Jack and Anonymous,

    Jack I get what your saying, however, along with the big bang come evolution and evolution is totally opposite of what God has written in the Bible, its says he created man, not he created monkey and that monkey became a man after thousands and millions of years. Also if you look at the moon, the dust that they found does not go back millions of years. Only thousands.

    Anonymous, I see what your saying but in the Qur'an there is parts of the Bible, but they also add stuff and take away important information to the followers. Although Allah didn't tell Muhammad that he wanted human sacrifice, they do believe that is one way to get to heaven, the others is by works. And God does not ask for works to be accepted into heaven only faith.

    Elise

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  10. Dear Jack,

    There are two different ways to interpret the Big Bang Theory. One way is that There was the big bang, which could be God's way of creating the heavens and the earth. Another way is what Elise is kinda talking about. That there was a big bang and everything evolved from single-celled organisms.

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  11. Nah man, like... I'm trying to say that God made the way for everything to happen. not necessarily is he like making everything suddenly and like *BAM* this now exists. I see it as a fusion of the two. God made the big bang, that slowly put everything in motion, so he did create everything, including the first single-celled organisms that everything came from. Scientists have no idea what happened AT the big bang or before. They know up to billionths of seconds after but nothing before. Scientists don't say that there isn't a god because no one knows how things started, and they even say it's likely there is one because they don't have any other way to explain the big bang.

    Also, like, I think that God did create people and everything, but he had to get there by building on previous designs, step by step until he got to a human. The bible also says that Adam came from "the dust of the ground" which could mean single-celled organisms(that eventually evolved into a human). idk... that's how I understand it.

    -Jack

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  12. Elise I think you're missing my main point from my last post. The followers choose what they're parts they're going to follow and how to interpret those lessons/messages/whatever you want to call them. The difference between the two religions is really how those ideas are interpreted. People chose what is written in both the Qur'an and the Bible. It's what the religious leaders at the time found to be most important, but it's not necessarily all the lessons that were taught to those leaders. For example, the oldest Bible manuscripts only date to the fourth century A.D. This is likely due to most people not being able to read or write and relying on oral story telling, but that's how variation comes in. Some people can still likely interpret parts of the bible in similar ways as you seem to view Islamic ideas. There are many Muslims who feel that Allah is asking for a show of faith and choose to use actions as a way of expressing that faith.

    So to sum up, the idea that Allah is asking for works is just an interpretation of some Muslims. I mean I've met Christians who feel that they need to do works to be considered a Christian (to show their abundance of faith and commitment,ect.)

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  13. Jack,
    the only reason that I can think of that make's your logic wrong, is that the Bible states that God created each animal for a specific purpose and the he made each one with care.
    Anonymous,(last post)
    One just because some people did it doesn't make it right. Two just because some people DO it doesn't make it right. just because some people decide to interpret the bible a different way doesn't mean that that way of thinking is wrong. and i am NOT saying that i think you are right. In fact i think you are dead wrong. I know that the Muslim Allah and the Christian God are similar but not the same.I'm not sure of the exact differences but I intend to find out and when I do I will post my findings just to let you know. One thing i do know is that the Qu'ran and the Five pillars specifically state that the only why to paradise is through works. I also know that God ONLY asks for faith.God says that we were put on this earth to glorify him and that we should do so in any way we can, however he never requires that we do. Those christian you mentioned were either mistaken or you misunderstood them and their way of thinking. One or even one million people doing something does not make it the right thing to do. I'll post more when I learn more but I will post on this subject again. Til then peace be with you.
    Alyssa

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