As I mentioned in my January 10, 2018, post, “The Magic Bullet and the Man Standing There,” The Worship of the Dead or The origin and nature of Pagan Idolatry and its bearing on the early history of Egypt and Babylonia by Colonel J. Garnier is probably the single most important, substantial and significant of all the thousands of books I have been exposed to in the last forty-plus years as a Christian, student of the Bible, and theologian. Its sweep is almost the entire religious history of the world, the history of the world itself, and the essence of the ignorance man is challenged to overcome in his three days here. And that by which it is overcome.

I referred the reader to chapter 17 of that book, The Moral Aspect of Paganism. I wish you could see my copies of that chapter. Before Kessinger Publishing had a reprint available, I xeroxed the entire book (the going price used was about two hundred dollars). Chapter 17 multiple times. There is hardly a word or line in my copies of that chapter that is not underlined, highlighted, and annotated. Chapter 17 has traveled with me quite a bit, and I have read and reread it dozens and dozens of times. As I have most of the book. It isn’t that Garnier’s history is so accurate; it is that it is so blasted historical. This is archeology, inscriptions, ancient histories, monuments, and statuary. It is the historical background of names read in passing in the Scriptures. It is very educated speculation as to how they all fit together and their relationship to WHAT IT IS THAT IS REALLY GOING ON. Christians have their fantasies of what is going on, and this is the grit of the real stuff on display. C. F. Rehnborg would say, “Okay. This is the real stuff. Here is the real Jesus. This is the key to the New Age of Faith.” Or at least I think he’d say that. I do.

Well, what is the book talking about? Idolatry. Just that, pure and simple. What it is, where it came from, how it is applied, how it grows and spreads, and what it is in your life.

Awk! What? Idolatry in my life? Ha!

Yeah, buddy. Idolatry in your life. In eleven ways to Sunday. You know, there isn’t really much in this life: there is the old life and the Way. There is either the knowledge of good or the knowledge of evil. We are either insane King Saul or walking in the faith of David. The broad way or the narrow. And the scriptures say to flee from idolatry. How do you do THAT? Do you even know what it is? Chapter 17 is a rich field of edumacation. I sincerely hope you will read pages 358 and 359 in that chapter. How does “psychical” there apply to you and to what you do? It refers to what is natural: passions, sentiments, and affections — things of the senses — emotions, sentiments of piety, feelings. I.e., you feel impressed that your religious zeal is noticed by God, that He must think you are really sincere and merit recognition, because you are one devotedly religious son of a gun. Welcome to the home of idolatry. You are hitting a home run in it.

Contrarily, “The Word of God and the Spirit of God appeal to the heart and conscience and the moral and spiritual part of man, opening his eyes to the truth, to the good of righteousness, to the promises of the future, and the mercy of God, changing thereby his mind and affections, producing in him hope in, and love towards God” (end of page 357). The truth is that just as Noah was in the ark, and the ark was Christ, man is in Christ, and Christ is God. Faith is in what is unseen, confidence in work already done. Christ “died” for completed man AT THE BEGINNING, and in God’s eyes man is completed. There is no accomplishment to be done by us, no merit to achieve, no recognition to gain. Says David in Proverbs 30:1, “God is with me. God arrives with me to be consumed” (my take on Chuck Misler’s translation). All we are doing is receiving a free gift.