Hellenism & YouWell, six nights have come and gone, and only two more remain to Chanukah 2009. I pray that all have been enjoying the holiday, the posts on the blog and the conversations you have had with your Jewish friends and neighbors. Don't forget: at the heart of Chanukah is evangelism. The Maccabee's revolt was not only to purify their own understanding and worship of God, but also to proclaim the sovereignty of their God over all others. Make sure you fully celebrate the holiday and tell someone about Jesus, the true Light of the world. Faith is not mere belief, but conviction followed by action. Do you remember the history of Chanukah, and the events leading up to the Maccabee's revolt?
Antiochus' goal was to Hellenize (make "Greek" in culture and religion) all the lands of his empire. He didn't necessarily cared what people believed, so long as their actions and language were Greek. He did not enter into debates with the local people over the superiority of Greek philosophy and religion; he simply wanted obedience. Antiochus knew that if he could get people into the actions of Greek life, it's effects would eventually trickle down into their subconscious and become a part of them; and it worked!
The Maccabee family was unique. The majority of the Jewish population of Israel had fully embraced Greek culture, and actually became infuriated with the actions of the Maccabees. Sure, history looks back on them now as heroes, but in their day, they were largely hated by their own. The people liked the Greek culture, because it was so free, sensual, and enlightening. It no longer mattered what the color of a person's skin was, the land from which they came, how many wives/lovers they had, or to which god they had served previously. Under Greek culture, all manners of pleasure and philosophy were accepted and embraced in the name of global empire. Antiochus & Hellenism played to man's greatest weakness: sensuality.
Application
Guess what: Hellenism isn't dead. While there is no longer a quest to make the known world speak Greek, the desire to unify the world under the guise of tolerance and sensuality is in full bloom. And just as was the strategy of Antiochus and his predecessors, it began with the secular and is moving toward the religious.
Have you noticed the trend in global marketing and adverstising? Take a moment the next time you are in Time Square and look up at the billboards. Notice that in this international marketplace there is but one common thread running through it: sensual pleasure. Everything is marketed around making you feel good. There are no philosophical arguments on display, just pithy statements that stroke your senses and make you want to be around other sensual people. Everything is "global," not national or local. Everyone is to be "global," not local. And while these appeals may seem very superficial, their goal is to create a world religion.
The wonderful thing about Greek mythology is its universal appeal. All the gods and goddesses were based on sensuality: anger, sex, wisdom, ego, debauchery, strength, etc. You did not need to actually believe that literal beings lived on a mountain in Greece and threw lightning bolts to adhere to Greek religion; all you needed to do was buy into its principals: the gods behaved like man; thus, man's behavior is like the gods. All behavior was thus rational, explainable, and acceptable. If the gods were guilty of questionable behavior and still heralded, then I can do the same without consequence. Our world is under this same mentality and religion; we've simply removed the mythology from its observance.
Hellenism was all about the spread of global sin, and today's Globalism is its counterpart. May we not, however, make the mistake of the Maccabees and turn our righteous stirrings into nationalism. I love my country, but I love my God and His law eternally more. Be careful then how you live. You may think you are just a modern and hip individual, and not realize that you are actually buying into a sinful identity & religion.
So, what are we to do? Make our own clothes, live in rural farmland, and talk smack about the world around us? Absolutely not. We are to be like Jesus and be in the world, but not of it. (John 17:14-19). Jesus lived as a missionary in a sinful world, building relationships, and eating the local food and drink; yet, never became as they were: sinful. How did He accomplish this task, not only preserving Himself, but cleansing others in the process? Jesus lived for the sole approval of God. He submitted Himself to the Spirit and found wisdom in the word of God alone.
Take a moment now, mediate on the words of Jesus, and go shine the Light of truth.
Antiochus' goal was to Hellenize (make "Greek" in culture and religion) all the lands of his empire. He didn't necessarily cared what people believed, so long as their actions and language were Greek. He did not enter into debates with the local people over the superiority of Greek philosophy and religion; he simply wanted obedience. Antiochus knew that if he could get people into the actions of Greek life, it's effects would eventually trickle down into their subconscious and become a part of them; and it worked!
The Maccabee family was unique. The majority of the Jewish population of Israel had fully embraced Greek culture, and actually became infuriated with the actions of the Maccabees. Sure, history looks back on them now as heroes, but in their day, they were largely hated by their own. The people liked the Greek culture, because it was so free, sensual, and enlightening. It no longer mattered what the color of a person's skin was, the land from which they came, how many wives/lovers they had, or to which god they had served previously. Under Greek culture, all manners of pleasure and philosophy were accepted and embraced in the name of global empire. Antiochus & Hellenism played to man's greatest weakness: sensuality.
Application
Guess what: Hellenism isn't dead. While there is no longer a quest to make the known world speak Greek, the desire to unify the world under the guise of tolerance and sensuality is in full bloom. And just as was the strategy of Antiochus and his predecessors, it began with the secular and is moving toward the religious.
Have you noticed the trend in global marketing and adverstising? Take a moment the next time you are in Time Square and look up at the billboards. Notice that in this international marketplace there is but one common thread running through it: sensual pleasure. Everything is marketed around making you feel good. There are no philosophical arguments on display, just pithy statements that stroke your senses and make you want to be around other sensual people. Everything is "global," not national or local. Everyone is to be "global," not local. And while these appeals may seem very superficial, their goal is to create a world religion.
The wonderful thing about Greek mythology is its universal appeal. All the gods and goddesses were based on sensuality: anger, sex, wisdom, ego, debauchery, strength, etc. You did not need to actually believe that literal beings lived on a mountain in Greece and threw lightning bolts to adhere to Greek religion; all you needed to do was buy into its principals: the gods behaved like man; thus, man's behavior is like the gods. All behavior was thus rational, explainable, and acceptable. If the gods were guilty of questionable behavior and still heralded, then I can do the same without consequence. Our world is under this same mentality and religion; we've simply removed the mythology from its observance.
Hellenism was all about the spread of global sin, and today's Globalism is its counterpart. May we not, however, make the mistake of the Maccabees and turn our righteous stirrings into nationalism. I love my country, but I love my God and His law eternally more. Be careful then how you live. You may think you are just a modern and hip individual, and not realize that you are actually buying into a sinful identity & religion.
So, what are we to do? Make our own clothes, live in rural farmland, and talk smack about the world around us? Absolutely not. We are to be like Jesus and be in the world, but not of it. (John 17:14-19). Jesus lived as a missionary in a sinful world, building relationships, and eating the local food and drink; yet, never became as they were: sinful. How did He accomplish this task, not only preserving Himself, but cleansing others in the process? Jesus lived for the sole approval of God. He submitted Himself to the Spirit and found wisdom in the word of God alone.
Take a moment now, mediate on the words of Jesus, and go shine the Light of truth.
