FROM THE PASTOR’S HEART
OP-ED BY DR. ROBERT KENNEDY
Please do not get confused by my title and allow your mind(s) to drift to the “American Idol” television program created by Simon Fuller and produced by Fremantle, North America, and 19 entertainment stars. They were using their program to challenge singers with dreams of superstardom to audition and compete in a series of challenging rounds in the hope of living their childhood and lifelong dreams. Instead, I wish to focus your attention on the tragedy of the issue of guns that is being worshipped as idols within the contemporary American culture.
After the shooting at Wal-Mart and a small church in rural Texas, some time ago, one person reflecting said, “Once again, our nation is reeling from senseless and tragic shootings.” Unfortunately, that headline statement could be recited more than 200 times in the first five months of this year, 2022, since it is being reported that there are some 220 mass shootings (as of this writing) that have occurred in the U.S. so far just in these first 176 days of 2022.
Last week, a shooting occurred in which Buffalo wherein ten persons were killed in a racially-biased crime. Another shooting has just taken place in a school in Texas, where 19 children and two teachers have been killed. The article where I noted the headline statement continued, “While the locations may shift, the basic details are familiar and rapidly becoming routine. A lone gunman – usually a white male with anger issues and easy access to high-powered weaponry indiscriminately shoots into a crowd of innocent bystanders. Whether it takes place in a school, movie theater, store, concert (hall), or place of worship, the bloodshed and carnage caused by military-grade rifles in the hands of alienated men has been swift, effective, and deadly. These attacks have become relentless and commonplace.”
What irks me, as I hope must be irking the majority of Americans, whose hearts are filled with compassion, if the surveys are correct, is that while there are calls for gun regulation, guns have become such an idol of the culture that any call to get rid of guns means a call to violence.
Such violence occurred when the apostle Paul and his companion went to Ephesus and preached against idolatry. It was not about funs, it was about their city goddess. And since some people were convinced about what Paul was preaching and thus burned their magical books and small images of Diana, the many were led by some city leaders into an uproar; and the apostles were beaten up, thrown into jail, and finally driven out of town. If it were not for the intervention of the Centurion that oversaw the military guard of the city, the apostles would have been stoned to death (Acts 19).
Another example I think of is what has been called the “Iconoclastic Controversy,” which occurred in the 8th and 9th centuries in Eastern Byzantium Empire. The debate raged for over a century on whether religious images should or should not be allowed. The religious images were bound up in religious belief and practice. And in a society with no concept of separation of church and state, religious orthodoxy (right belief) impacted not only the salvation of individual souls but also the fate of the entire Empire.
The debates over the images entangled both Church leaders and emperors and caused splits in the church until now. It was not just an intellectual debate; it had practical negative consequences. And the debate only came to a close, according to some historians, when a disingenuous agreement was reached between the leaders of the state and the church that restored images. The Orthodox and Roman churches today are celebrating the restoration of images, but it remains a fact of interest to me how the images have often replaced the worship of the true God.
What’s the relationship between the burning of magical books and the Iconoclastic Controversy and the debate on the idolatry of guns? I say that we need to know that our idolatry will destroy our souls and our culture if we do not take the time to understand the nature of idolatry.
As is being said, after each mass shooting, angry voices from all sides of the political spectrum shout their talking points. From the anti-gun forces, the calls are made for sane gun laws. From the NRA and gun lobbyists, we hear about protecting the second amendment with calls for more “good guys” with guns to prevent the “bad guys” from carrying out their plans. Instead of curbing gun sales, we should ensure that every American is armed and ready. Politicians call for thoughts and prayers. Police and first responders are praised. The dead are buried. The wounded are treated, and those who were not directly impacted by the tragedy go on with their daily lives.
However, those in the line of fire or whose loved ones are victims suffer irreparable physical and psychological damage. Nothing is changing. We go from one incident to another. We wait until another mass shooting, lower our flags to half-staff, if we care, wait to see what the president will say and to see if the Congress is taking some action, and soon we move on.
Many times, after the postmortem, we return to the worship of our most cherished idols, namely the guns and the second amendment of the Constitution, and we insist that we are protecting our freedoms. But let me advise that we need to be clear that the idols we worship will one day lead to our personal destruction and the destruction of the culture.
In the Ten Commandments, we are told that we are not to worship images (Exodus 20:4). And it is spelled out in a Psalm “Do not turn to idols or make metal gods for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.” (Psalm 16:4). Do we need more clarity? My grandma used to recite the proverb, “If you play with fire, it will burn you.” Such is my reflection on the second of the Ten Commandments.
