To the darkness of ignorance have been added presumption and wantonness, and hence there is scarcely an individual to be found without some idol or phantom as a substitute for Deity. Like water gushing forth from a large and copious spring, immense crowds of gods have issued from the human mind, every man giving himself full license, and devising some peculiar form of divinity, to meet his own views. (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1.5.12)
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Idolatry
To paraphrase D. A. Carson, every sin at its most basic level is in essence a 'de-Godding of God'. We are, in our natures, idolaters. We do not recognize the true God for who He is. Rather, we fabricate our own gods. John Calvin writes,
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I rarely read good writing/teaching on this view of idolatry without feeling like I was just hit with a sledge-hammer.
ReplyDeleteThank God for grace!