Breakout Session: The New Paganism

What is paganism?

For the sake of this breakout the definition of Paganism we are going to use is any world view or religion contrary to that of the Bible. The actual definition is a little more specific than that but for the sake of what we are talking about I think that is a helpful way to define it. When the word was first used it was describing the polytheistic religions of the Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, etc. but today it has evolved to include Norse polytheism, satanism, Wicca (nature worship), etc. We will look at the first century church and see what kind of ideologies and paganism they wrestled with and what that looks like for us today in the modern world.

The Judaizers

Judaizers were people in the church that put an emphasis on following the Old Testament Law. They would say if you weren’t circumcised, if you didn’t follow the Jewish festivals and holidays, and if you weren’t obedient to the law you were not saved. It was a legalistic view of Christianity built on Jewish tradition. The good news of the Gospel is that salvation is by faith alone. It isn’t earned by works of the law. But these people would come into the church and would cause a lot of people to stumble a lot of people to walk away from the faith in exchange for a works based theology. The church in Galatia struggled with a group of Judaizers and Paul let them know about it.

Galatians 3 NASB95

You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.” Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man’s covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it. Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ. What I am saying is this: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, does not invalidate a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise. Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. Now a mediator is not for one party only; whereas God is only one. Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.

It is important for us today that our theology is not one based on works. Like what Paul is telling us, we are free from the law. We are free to follow Jesus in faith. When we start adding requirements to salvation we don’t just hurt people but we distort the very message of the Gospel given to mankind from God. Does this mean that we shouldn’t pursue holiness in our lives? Absolutely not. Following Christ will result in our sanctification. We will begin to grow in those fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Those things are good. Loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and loving our neighbor as ourselves is good. We shouldn’t neglect those things. But when we say those things are necessary for salvation we have missed the point. Good works are a result of the relationship we already have with Jesus not the means by which we have that relationship in the first place.

The Gnostics

The Gnostics were a group that believed in special revelation or secret knowledge. It focused heavily on new revelations and taught that all flesh was evil and everything spiritual was good. It was hyper fixated on angels and demons and spiritualism. We see this today with things like manifestation or name it and claim it theologies where people are obsessed with spiritual gifts and prophecies. Spiritual warfare is real and God has revealed Himself to us through His word. God does give Spiritual gifts and He does speak to His people but the idea of revelation and spiritual gifts in a Gnostic context is elevated and fabricated in a way to divide and not to unify. It takes the beauty of the Gospel and turns it into a get rich quick scheme or a way of elevating yourself above others. You’ll see people say that unless you have the gift of tongues you haven’t recieved the Holy Spirit which is untrue. We see in Scripture 1. that the gift of tongues expresses itself in coherent languages that people interpret and 2. is not a universal spiritual gift that all Christians should have. That’s the beauty of Spiritual gifts everyone has different things to bring to the table for the purpose of glorifying God and building up the church. If your spiritual gift doesn’t do either of those two things if its something that makes you look good and puts you on a pedestal its not a spiritual gift. In the first century you would see people who say that all thing physical are evil and all things spiritual are good but Jesus was born in human flesh. To say all flesh is evil is to say that Jesus was either evil or He is only a spirit but we know Jesus was physically here on the earth. We see the church in the book of Jude struggle with people coming in and claiming to have divine knowledge and revelation. They claimed to understand the spiritual world and all that but look at what Jude does.

Jude 3–16 NASB95

Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. Yet in the same way these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever. It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.

Jude condemns this gnostic heresy by turning their expertise on them. They view these spiritual beings as good but even they fell like the humans at Sodom and Gomorrah. Not all spirits are good. Some are evil. And by dreaming and making up these fantasies Jude says they reject the truth of Scripture and revile angelic majesties. All spirits answer to an authority and that is Jesus. If you claim to love the Holy Spirit but reject the words of Jesus you do not love the Holy Spirit you love the version of the Holy Spirit you have created in your head that lets you do whatever you want. Jude warns the people to keep a look out for these false teachers. They look and sound spiritual but they are a cancer to the church. Jude even quotes a gnostic text (something not included in canon but accepted as scripture by gnostics) to prove them wrong. He reads a quote from the book of Enoch to show them that even by their own standards they are wrong.

Mysticism

Mysticism is very similar to Gnosticism but it doesn’t use Christian iconography. With gnosticism it uses a lot of familiar religious words but mysticism is things like mediums, sorcery/witchcraft, tarot cards, crystals, Ouija boards, and astrology/horoscopes. People go to these things to know their fate, to connect with spirits or nature, etc. People might say that they are spiritual. It isn’t necessarily tied down to a belief system it is just a general spirituality. It is a pretty generic term. You could say things like Buddhism and Hinduism fall under this umbrella. They have mantras and prayers and things they use in attempt to be spiritual. You could say satanism and Wicca fall under this umbrella also. The practices and beliefs of these mystic religions are contrary to the teaching of Scripture. For one Jesus is the subject of our worship. We aren’t trying to connect to spirits or foresee the future, we aren’t trying to reach enlightenment or nirvana and we especially aren’t worshipping satan. We follow Jesus. We have the Holy Spirit but He is not a mystical force He is a person who makes His home with us as God’s people.

Leviticus 19:31 NASB95

‘Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.

Galatians 5:19–21 NASB95

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Acts 19:17–20 NASB95

This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.

1 Timothy 4:7 NASB95

But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness;

As Christians we shouldn’t participate in these things. We shouldn’t use mediums, we shouldn’t practice sorcery/witchcraft, we shouldn’t use tarot cards, crystals, Ouija boards, and astrology/horoscopes. Why? Because God told us not to. These things are the lost world’s attempt to fill a whole in their soul that only God can fill. Sometimes it is even done in blatant rebellion against God. These things don’t honor God, grow our faith, or build up God’s people and so we should want nothing to do with them. Am I telling you not to watch Harry Potter? No. Am I telling you not to lose focus of what is important? Yes. We aren’t people of mysticism and superstition we are people of truth and people of the Word. We have the truth of God in our hands.

Temple Worship

Temple prostitutes

human and animal sacrifice

idolatry

False gods

pornography as the new temple prostitute

1 Corinthians 6:15–20 NASB95

Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be! Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “The two shall become one flesh.” But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

Imperial Cult

Nationalism

Sworn allegiance to the Emperor

Revelation 2:13 NASB95

‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

Hold fast the name of Jesus

Kurios Kaisaros (Caesar is Lord)

Kurios Christos (Christ is Lord)

We are strangers in this land

1 Peter 2:9–12 NASB95

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Moral Relativism

No absolute truth

do what is right in your own eyes

The dangers of Paganism

It is harmful to our walk with Christ

It is a waste of precious time

Ephesians 5:15–17 NASB95

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Where do we go from here?