Idolatry, alive and promoted today 510-1 - 2 - 2.

Idolatry is a man-made religion worshipping the created rather than the Creator such as in image-worship, fetishism, the worship of trees, rivers, hills, stones, and more. The worship of trees, rivers, hills, stones is closely akin to nature worship, the worship of the sun, moon, and stars, as the supposed powers of nature. Much of this idolatry is found in the New Age, recycled Eastern pagan religion. In Romans chapter one Paul deals with the consequences of denying God as the Creator.

Not too far removed from the worship of pagan gods is today’s hero worship of sports figures. Some worship deceased ancestors in the belief that spirits continue to reside on earth after death still influencing the lives of the living. However, Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

Atheism has become a form of idolatry greatly advanced by best-selling authors such as Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens. People have long argued whether Einstein believed in God, I'll leave that up to them. No God to Stephen Hawking, rather gravity, now where/ from whom did gravity come from?

“Because there is a law like gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing in the manner described in Chapter 6. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.”

[Hawking, Stephen; Mlodinow, Leonard. The Grand Design]

God elegantly repudiates this in The Book of Job starting with chapter 38. Job 38:4, “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.”

As an aside and digging deeper, as I understand it, there is a difference between an "abomination" and the "abomination that make desolate." An abomination would be the false worship of idols rather than of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Idols would include anything/ anybody such as power, money, lust, and sexual perversion sought after rather than God. Abomination that make desolate would be where/ when these “idols” were brought into the “Holy of Holies” as with Antiochus IV. Sound familiar?

Nearly four years ago I wrote that "the abomination of desolation should serve as a warning to anyone/ any country into extreme false worship. In this country millions of babies are sacrificed on the altar of choice. Contemporary idols are greed, thirst for power, homosexuality and many perversions. Our children are being corrupted with non-Biblical teachings. Our churches are so far removed from the teachings of Jesus that they are becoming, IMO, an abomination for which God will hold them responsible."

Hopefully, the election of 2016 will bring our country closer to her Christian beginnings.

Hopefully, the election of 2016 will bring our country closer to its beginning.

IMO, “The lost choose to be lost.” 537 - 2 - 2

In my opinion, “The lost choose to be lost.”

The late Christopher Hitchen and Richard Dawkins were/ are famous atheists to whom atheism is a religion at least in my opinion. Not satisfied just to be atheists, they denigrated believers. Richard Dawkins even calls religion a form of child abuse.

Richard Dawkins wrote The God Delusion and one of his quotes is “We are all atheists about most of the gods that societies have ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.” Believers are trying to pray Richard Dawkins into the kingdom but apparently with no success.

Christopher Hitchen, author of God is not Great, died of cancer in 2011. His wife added a footnote to an unfinished book describing going through the many notes he left behind. She wrote, "When I do, I hear him, and he has the last word. Time after time, Christopher has the last word." Unfortunately for Christopher, he does not have the last word, God most assuredly does

I recall that before Hitchen died believers pleaded with him to turn to Jesus for salvation but he refused to, at least as far as known. Many people were praying for his salvation so perhaps at the end came to faith or his heart was too hardened. God knows.

I would suggest that both Christopher Hitchen and Richard Dawkins chose to be lost in part for the fame and money that they gained as atheistic word-smiths and due to their pride. Both were very invested in their atheistic positions and took part in several interesting debates with believer John C. Lennox.

Turning to scripture:

John 3:17, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Thayer’s definition of condemn/ condemned includes “to separate, put asunder, to pick out, select, choose. to be judged, i.e. summoned to trail that one’s case may be examined and judgment passed upon it,”

John 3:18, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Not to believe in the only begotten son of God is a deliberate choice.

John 3:19, “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

Jesus was the light that came into the world and that light was extinguished for three days. Extinguished by a coalition of evil temple leaders and possibly less evil Roman officials.

John 3:20, “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.”

Thayer’s definition of reproved includes “to reprehend severely, chide, admonish, call to account, to punish.

John 8:12, “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

It is our choice to accept or reject the light by either following or not following Jesus, our Messiah.