Wednesday, October 10, 2007

"You shall not make for yourself a carved image--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; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments" (Exodus 20:4-5). 

IDEA: Idolatry was erotic.

PURPOSE: To help listeners understand that idolatry appealed to and approved of the expression of people’s sexual drives.

Do you think that the sexual immorality seen in films and on television affects Christians in the church?

How?

I. Idolatry made a direct connection between sexual drives and religious worship. It was attractive because it was erotic.

You can see that in the city of Corinth. What kind of reputation did it have?

It was known as the most licentious city in Greece, and perhaps the most licentious city in the entire Roman Empire.

To call someone a “Corinthian” was a byword for the grossest style of life imaginable.

Corinth was also a religious city. At its center was the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of fertility.

At one time Aphrodite had at least 1,000 temple prostitutes in her service.

Idolatry and sexual licentiousness went together. Why?

II. Many of the gods and goddesses were connected to fertility rites.

Fertility would come on earth if the gods and goddesses engaged in sex in heaven.

If a man had sex with a temple prostitute on earth, then that would stimulate the gods and goddesses in heaven to cohabit. As a result the crops would grow well.

III. Can you see any of that pagan idolatrous lifestyle at work in our society?