RUSHWAVE: Establishing Believers in the Christian Faith

Chapter 2: How your God Impacts Everyday Life

Your conception of God is merely one of many in the history of the world, and it affects everything.

Over much of human history societies believed in multiple gods as mystically present in idols. A choice stone would be selected or a suitable tree cut down, and it would be carved into the image of the god — a figure of a man with a muscular physique, a woman with multiple limbs, or a human like figure with the head of a bird and the body of a man. The object would be skillfully crafted and beautifully adorned, perhaps even overlaid with gold, silver, or other precious things. The various idols would then be worshiped as a god.

Idols were often very large, but even in those cases similar idols would be made of the pocket-size variety so they could be placed in the home or taken along while traveling. In this way protection and blessing could be provided by the idols.

The idols in each culture represented a worldview that affected all aspects of everyday life. It would be a serious mistake to deem these idols in different cultures as merely different conceptions of the form the gods took. The image was representative of an entire belief system. One culture may have an idol with the head of a bird and the body of a man, while another culture may have an idol that is entirely an animal. Both cultures worshiped their idols and viewed their gods as being present in the idol in some mystical way. But the conception of the gods as embodied in the idols was not only different in appearance, but also in the nature and character of the gods, the relationship of the gods to man, and numerous aspects of life.

So what parts of everyday life did these conceptions of god affect? The answer is everything, and modern day and ancient religions provide numerous examples.

The gods in these various belief systems differed in their nature and character. They could be viewed as capable of warring with each other, pro-creating, acting impurely towards one another, engaging in deception, displaying fits of temper, or even being tricked themselves.

These gods differed in the powers they possessed. Different gods could control the weather, determine the outcome of wars, make a barren woman conceive, ensure a bountiful crop, bring diseases on one’s enemies, and effect or prevent natural catastrophes such as earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.

The gods determined those rituals and worship practices by which they were appeased and their blessings secured. There was an entire spectrum of activity here depending on the god a culture served: human sacrifices, animal sacrifices, afflicting or cutting one-self, building of sanctuaries, or participation in festivals with specific religious rites and elaborate costumes and dances. If you were a hunter, you would appeal to the hunting god to secure favor in the hunt. If you were a farmer, you would perform those activities that pleased the rain god. And if you were barren, you would seek to please the god of fertility to enable conception.

A person’s god was involved in how to pray effectively. One culture would place certain ritual prayers on a small wheel that could be turned by the wind. Every time the wheel turned, it would be deemed as having the same positive effect as reciting a prayer and thereby secure a good outcome. Another culture would cut themselves with lances when appealing to the gods in an attempt to move them to action.

A person’s god was involved in gaining wisdom for critical decisions. Gaining this wisdom could involve consulting people deemed to have various powers or connections: an astrologer to interpret the stars; a witch-doctor to call up the dead; a priest or priestess to receive an oracle from the gods; or a shaman who in a trance could travel through time and access good and evil spirits.

Moral standards of right and wrong involved the gods. In one culture, the ability to with a straight-face tell a lie and shortchange another person was deemed a virtuous trait worthy of imitation. Committing suicide by throwing oneself on the funeral pyre of a deceased husband was deemed an honorable act of self-sacrifice. And putting a disfigured infant to death was deemed a compassionate way to end their miserable life.

The gods played a role in what was acceptable sexually in society either by approving of certain sexual activity, being indifferent towards it, or in some cases requiring various forms of sexual expression to secure blessing. There was an entire spectrum of activity here, and what would be deemed either criminal or a social taboo in one culture would be met with indifference or even celebrated in another culture. There were cultures with marriage between one man and one woman, marriage between one man and several women, as well as casual unmarried sexual relationships between one man and one woman. There was also homosexuality, lesbianism, transsexualism, incest, bestiality, and other practices.

The gods played a role in how one’s body was connected to the hereafter. A culture which believed in reincarnation may revolt at the idea of amputating a gangrenous limb; doing so would mean that person would come back in the next life without that limb. Better to not even consider amputation and die with that body part, than come back in the next life without it.

Concepts of the afterlife related to one’s god, and even to burial practices. In one tribe burying a live infant along with a dying father would secure benefits for both the child and the father in the afterlife. Failure to conform to this practice would be deemed dishonoring of one’s father and result in being ostracized from the tribe.

A person’s god shaped their perspective on the sanctity of life. In some cultures the lame, disfigured, or mentally ill were deemed at worst cursed or at best useless. Better to just either let them die or put them to death rather than incur the wrath of the gods or burden society. In other cases entire people groups were considered disposable because they either did not possess what was deemed superior physical traits, or they came from a different family line.

People generally continued in their worldview day after day, year after year, in keeping with their upbringing and societal norms. Fathers would obtain the pocket idol to place in their home and protect the family. Mothers would ready the children to attend a religious festival where the high-point was the witnessing of a human sacrifice. Yes, it made everyone squirm, but there was a part of them that wanted to see it. Every morning amulets would be donned to protect from evil spirits. Prayers would continue to be inscribed on wheels in hope the gods would hear. Husbands going off to war would visit the temple to pay homage to the gods that were half-man and half-animal in hope they would be protected in battle, and be able to return to their wives. And this continued on and on, day after day, year after year, with thousands of different tribes, people groups and civilizations rising and falling — many of which are now extinct, and others which continue to the present day.

Your conception of God affects all aspects of your life. Irrespective of whether you believe God has a specific form — you may not believe He is represented in a half-bird and half-man statue — you definitely have a conception of His nature and character: what pleases Him, what His thoughts are towards man, what makes Him angry, and what He deems right and wrong. You have views regarding what He deems are acceptable forms of worship: what religious rites are to be observed, how and when to pray, and what images or pictorial representations of Him are accurate. You also have other related beliefs surrounding your concept of God: what happens after you die, what relationship there is between your body and the hereafter, whether you are rewarded or punished by Him in this life and the next, and the basis on which He effects those rewards and punishments.

But your concept of God affects much more than just aspects of religious service. Your conception affects everyday, practical things also. How does your god prescribe overcoming an addictive, destructive habit? Or is there even a strategy He provides? What about dealing with sickness, pain and disease? Does He even want you to pray about such matters? And if you do pray, will He answer? And if it depends, on what does it depend? What does your God say about human life? Is all life sacred, or are only those who are born “normal” worthy of protection and care? And what constitutes being born “normal”? And what about the intimate things of life such as sexuality. What is the view of your God on this matter? Is there any activity which He would find offensive? Is there anything which would cause Him to become angry? Or is He indifferent no matter what people choose to do?

In considering ancient religions which were characterized by idol worship, it is easy to think modern day religions are somehow different. But this is mistaken for two reasons. First, there are cultures existing today which still worship idols. Second, as previously noted, even if a modern day religion does not consider gods as mystically present in an idol, all religions constitute a conception of God, a mental image of the nature and character of God and His relationship to man. And that conception forms the basis of your entire worldview.

Your conception of God is a ruling, controlling factor in your everyday life. From that conception flows your views regarding life, death, the hereafter, the sanctity of life, right and wrong, sexuality, wisdom, prayer, religious rites, and divine intervention.

from The Nature and Character of God

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