‘No other gods before me’: 7 false gods of the present age

An interesting article about the things we idolize and how it can shape society.
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The study of the fall of civilizations is believed to be a complex phenomenon considered by sociologists, historians, archaeologists, and other academics using a variety of theories and methodologies. These academics study economic, political, social, environmental, external, cyclical, and technological dynamics. By examining these various factors, scholars aim to understand the multifaceted processes that lead to the fall of civilizations. However, the Bible gives a much simpler answer for the reason cultures fail and end up on the ash heap of history.

Understanding the fall of civilizations

In his book, Idols of Destruction, Dr. Herbert Schlossberg contends:

“In place of these analogies [by academics] the biblical explanation of the end of societies uses the concept of judgment. It depicts them [civilizations] as either having submitted themselves to God or else having rebelled against him … [T]he Old Testament portrays Israel as having become an evil nation, fully deserving the judgment God meted to it. Its rebellion against God was accompanied by a turning to idols, and this idolatry brought the nation to its end. “With silver and gold,” said the prophet Hosea, “they made idols for their own destruction” (Hosea 8:4).
“Idolatry in its larger meaning is properly understood as any substitution of what is created for the Creator. People may worship nature, money, mankind, power, history, or social and political systems instead of the God who created them all. The New Testament writers, in particular, recognized that the relationship need not be explicitly one of cultic worship; a man can place anyone or anything at the top of his pyramid of values, and that is ultimately what he serves. The ultimacy of that service profoundly affects the way he lives. When the society around him also turns away from God to idols, it is an idolatrous society and therefore is heading for destruction.” [1]

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A biblical perspective on societal decline

The first commandment in God’s Big Ten is, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). This commandment does not acknowledge the existence of other gods as real entities. Instead, it emphasizes the exclusive worship and devotion to the one true God. Nothing must ever come before him or be first in one’s heart or life. The Lord is to be loved supremely because he is Supreme and worthy of being supremely adored and obeyed.

John Calvin, the 16th-century theologian, and reformer, has said, “Man’s mind is like a store of idolatry and superstition; so much so that if a man believes his own mind, it is certain that he will forsake God and forge some idol in his own brain.” [3]

This insightful observation rings especially true today. The Western world, long shaped by the precepts of Christianity, now finds itself in what many describe as a post-Christian era. This shift is evident in society’s increasing turn to modern idols, placing faith in various temporal and unreliable constructs rather than in the eternal truths of God. As the foundational values of Christianity are set aside, the guiding light that once led the West through centuries of profound moral and cultural development dims with each passing day. This situation challenges us to reexamine the sources of our deepest convictions and the true nature of our ultimate allegiance.

Continued below.