Confusion in a Pluralistic Society

Micah 4:5

For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever.

Micah 4:5

God sits exalted on the throne of the universe, the sovereign Lord over all creation. Nothing can touch Him. No one can usurp Him. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One God is adored in heaven, and one day He will be confessed by every tongue on earth. He is incomparable, in a class of His own. He has no peers, no rivals.

The Bible speaks about “one God,” but our world speaks about “many gods” and pursues many forms of spirituality. We live in a pluralistic society in which there are many religions. The phrase “God bless America” has become ambiguous in our time because there is no longer a consensus over what we mean when we say the name “God.” Are we referring to Yahweh or Allah or Shiva or Vishnu or Buddha? Or are we simply referring to ourselves?

This confusion is not new. In fact, affirming faith in the living God when the people around you affirm many gods is one of the main themes of the Old Testament story.

Micah’s message is that God will destroy all idols. At first sight the subject of idolatry may seem remote, but it actually comes very close to home.

When you think about the many gods in our pluralistic society, does it make you feel confused? Fearful? Confident? Why?

Details

Date

Monthly Offer

Get your free copy of Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges when you setup a monthly gift of at least £5, or a one-off gift of at least £50…

Donate

Colin Smith

Trustee / Founder and Teaching Pastor

Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on X formerly Twitter.

Linked resources

No linked resources found.

Search

Search

Header Submit Search