Pondering Idolatry in NYC

I spent a few days in New York City this week and as always I made a point to take in a musuem. This time I visited the American Museum of Natural History. My visit to the AMNH was especially profound considering the text of this past Sunday's sermon which was Romans 1:18-32. Paul makes the point here that all men "know" there is a God. They may choose to deny His existence but deep in their heart of hearts they know He is there.

In verses 21-25 Paul said this "For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."

The idea is that men know God but rather than worship Him as God they spiral downward into idolatry, which is defined as the worship of created things.

As I was struck by one display in particular while in the African Peoples exhibit which brought Paul's words to mind. The display contained several small artifacts carved to resemble humans, birds, mammals, and reptiles.

The caption under the display stated that while the tribal people of sub-Saharan Africa believed in a creator god they did not believe that they could approach him so instead they worshipped lesser gods in the form of animals who would in turn plead on their behalf before this creator god.

This helped bring even more clarity to Paul's words in Romans. I found it interesting that these people seemed to recognize their unworthiness before God (god) but rather than seek Him in order to learn of Him and His expectations of them, they settled for worship of the creature rather than the Creator.