Familiar Deities

10.23.2009

Acts 17:18 18 And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. New American Standard Bible

Try preaching Jesus and the resurrection to people today and you’ll probably get quite a reaction. Many will sneer. Many in America would roll their eyes and say, “Not this again!” Many would think you were proclaiming strange deities.

American culture is not necessarily polytheistic; American culture is not mostly a-theistic (quite the opposite); American culture is anti-theistic – that is in the sense of strange deities (the Trinity). Americans are more comfortable with familiar deities: the deities of self, money, power, possessions, and position(s), to name a few. God to most Americans is Someone who gets things done (for them) like they do. God, (or as He is wont to be called) the Big Man Upstairs, is a doer, a performer – a highly trained Manager/Genie/Producer to get ‘me’ what ‘I’ need. He is needed when necessary and neglected when things are going well.

Preach the resurrected Jesus as Lord and see how far that gets you…

America in my day is like Athens in Paul’s day, full of familiar deities. Part of my daily mission in Christ is to rid myself of any vestige of these familiar deities and preach the strange deity of Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, to the people around me. Familiar deities never die; but strange deities do because they bring salvation to those who believe. I worship strange deities and all that is against the pull and promise of my culture and its familiar deities…

Father in Heaven,

There are many things in my life that I have held dear sought after over the years – familiar deities of what my culture says is important – I just accepted them because they fell in line with the can-do attitude of Americanism. I repent. I reject everything I have been taught, that I may embrace strange but true deity – YOU! And Your Son Jesus Christ, who did for me what no religion on earth could/would ever do: die and come back to life to save a sinner like me! Help me to preach strange deities and to lead people to Jesus Christ, the Lord that they may forsake their familiar ones – I pray in Jesus’ Name, amen.