Dr Paul Allen

Sistine Chapel, fresco Michelangelo, detail of the destruction of the idol of Baal (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “You shall not make for yourself a carved image , or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (v. 4).  - Exodus 20:4–6 Paul in Romans 1:18–32 tells us that fallen humanity’s tendency is not toward atheism but rather to idolatry . Having rejected the God who does exist, sinners are prone not to abandon worship altogether; rather, we make up all manner of other gods to “take the place” of the Creator of heaven and earth. Apart from grace, we remain in Adam , hating the One who has revealed Himself in nature and in the Bible , and we fashion other deities in our own image. Some people make statues to represent these gods — consider the many deities of Hinduism , for example. Others create mental ideas about the god they want to worship — “my God would certainly never condemn anyone to hell

Down the valley from Kathmandu, the ancient capital of Nepal , rests an even older city. In Bhaktapur , the timeworn traditions of Hinduism sink as deep into the dry soil as the white-capped Himalayan Mountains rise in the background. Bhaktapur looks like it was built one brick at a time. Narrow, brick-paved city streets are lined on both sides by three-story brick buildings built into each other over time to become a continuous wall of homes and stores. An occasional small tractor or motorcycle putters slowly by, joined for a few steps by a wandering goat or chicken or dog. Delivery men on bicycles snake through the streets, weaving past groups of children walking in school uniforms, past women washing clothes in a street gutter , around bent laborers carrying huge bundles of straw on one shoulder or men crouching and forming spinning clay into a bowl, past groups of unemployed young men with nothing better to do than stand around, past tranquil street merchants waiting for

Image by jimforest via Flickr “ You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (v. 4). -  Exodus 20:4–6 Paul in  Romans 1:18–32  tells us that fallen humanity’s tendency is not toward atheism but rather to idolatry .  Having rejected the God who does exist, sinners are prone not to abandon worship altogether; rather, we make up all manner of other gods to “take the place” of the Creator of heaven and earth.  Apart from grace, we remain in Adam , hating the One who has revealed Himself in nature and in the Bible , and we fashion other deities in our own image. Some people make statues to represent these gods — consider the many deities of Hinduism , for example.  Others create mental ideas about the god they want to worship — “my God would certainly never condemn anyone to hell.” The fallen human heart, John Calvin reminds us, is an idol factory that is ev

Image via Wikipedia I enjoy watching "The Biggest Loser." On this show, players compete to lose the most weight and win a financial prize at the end of the show. During the past few years, I've seen a mantra recited again and again by players from all walks of life. It sounds something like this: "For the first time in my life, I'm doing something for me." They use this mantra to explain why they've let themselves get so unhealthy. They use it to explain why they're claiming prizes and privileges for themselves that they have the opportunity to share with others. They even use it (with well-timed tears) to justify voting off fellow players. " For the first time in my life, I'm doing something for me." I don't buy it. While there are certainly those among us who are likely to sacrifice often for the benefit of others — and sometimes to the detriment of our own health or well-being — I don't think a biblical analysis of human na