When Paul goes to Athens, he ends up preaching at the Areopagus (the Hill of Mars), a place surrounded by idols and altars dedicated to various gods. Spotting an altar dedicated to the unknown god, Paul proceeds to tell them about the God who created all things.
What he didn’t do is instructive. He didn’t knock down the idols, or even spend a lot time railing against idol worship. He did argue that the Athenians “ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.” Some sneered, but others believed and joined with them. However, the Athenian’s last words were, “We shall hear you again concerning this.”
However, we do find many times in the Old Testament when God’s servants are cutting down the idols. After he was visited by God, Gideon and his men pulled down altars to Baal and Asherah, cut them up, and offered a burnt offering to God. All of this is done before the amazing battle of Gideon’s three hundred. In fact, it may have been a precondition of victory.
So should Christians be tearing down idols like Gideon or wading into the midst of idolatry and proclaiming the gospel like Paul? Are we living in Athens or Israel? Because Christians are confused about this, we make the mistake of engaging in cultural and political wars against the American idolatry. We bemoan our nation’s drift from God as though we lived in theocratic Israel. We are ready to use Gideon’s axe against Athens’ idols. The result is that few unbelievers say to Christians what was said to Paul, “We shall hear you again concerning this.”
Despite the rich Christian heritage of the United States, we are not a Christian nation and never have been. We live in Athens, and go to church in Israel. And it is within the church that we need to be laying the axe to idols: pride, materialism, ethical relativism, selfishness, individualism, and even church tradition. Too often we get this backward and indignantly crusade against the idols of Americans—and they have many–while tolerating greed, sin, and personal ambition within the church.
And were the church more zealous about cleansing itself of idolatry, more of those in Athens might have ears to hear the good news.
