Ideology is Idolatry
Summary
When we choose an ideological framework, we employ a system of ideas and ideals to bolster our self-styled morality. We want so desperately to have power over others that we create a false reality in which we are always right, always the victim, always justified, and always able to find the culprit. Instead of child abuse at the border, we see criminals getting what they deserve; if a lie suits us, we call it true; if a person challenges us, we argue, on the basis of self-styled ideals, that they are evil. Up is down, black is white, John the Baptist has a demon and Jesus is a drunkard—we say whatever we want based on whatever we believe because we worship our owns thoughts. There’s a word for that in the Bible. It’s called idolatry and the Gospel of Matthew was written to smash it. Richard and Fr. Marc discuss the Matthew 11:11-19. A quick shout out to Fr. Dustin Lyon, a regular listener who suggested that “a reed shaken in the wind” (11:7) from last week’s episode, may refer to a symbol printed on Herodian coins. A point, Fr. Lyon explains, which may enhance our reading of the text. Episode 288 Matthew 11:11-19 Subscribe: feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; Music from https://filmmusic.io: “Scheming Weasel” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)When we choose an ideological framework, we employ a system of ideas and ideals to bolster our self-styled morality. We want so desperately to have power over others that we create a false reality in which we are always right, always the victim, always justified, and always able to find the culprit. Instead of child abuse at the border, we see criminals getting what they deserve; if a lie suits us, we call it true; if a person challenges us, we argue, on the basis of self-styled ideals, that they are evil. Up is down, black is white, John the Baptist has a demon and Jesus is a drunkard—we say whatever we want based on whatever we believe because we worship our owns thoughts. There’s a word for that in the Bible. It’s called idolatry and the Gospel of Matthew was written to smash it.
A quick shout out to Fr. Dustin Lyon, a regular listener who suggested that “a reed shaken in the wind” (11:7) from last week’s episode, may refer to a symbol printed on Herodian coins. A point, Fr. Lyon explains, which may enhance our reading of the text.
Episode 288 Matthew 11:11-19 Subscribe: feedpress.me/the-bible-as-literature; Music from https://filmmusic.io: “Scheming Weasel” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
