Unlike chapter 7 in Surprised by Scripture, where Wright took a look at a really big “worldview” issue, chapter 8 gets pretty specific and to a direct point. So what is “Idolatry 2.0”? It’s actually pretty simple: it’s the same old pagan idolatry, but without the pagan names. Let me let Wright explain…
First, Wright reminds us of the ancient Greek philosophy of Epicureanism that basically said, “If there are gods, they are far away, and don’t have anything to do with mankind.” It was a reaction to the rampant paganism of ancient Greek thought that claimed that the gods were everywhere (just read The Odyssey or The Iliad if you’re not convinced of this). And on that point, Epicurus was right: if you go to sea, Zeus is not going to get in a fight with Poseidon because you didn’t offer a nice enough sacrifice before you got on the boat.
Second, that being said, Epicureanism, unlike what some modern people have claimed, was not the foundation of modern science (for that matter, modern science came out from the distinctly Christian worldview). Instead, Epicureanism was the foundation of what Wright calls scientism: the belief that the natural world is all there really is, and that it was completely autonomous from any perceived God, gods, or the supernatural. This mindset, Wright points out, gave eventual rise to the Enlightenment’s claim to scientific autonomy (i.e. scientific inquiry all by itself can solve all our problems). This sort of rebellion against any kind of perceived authority—be it God, a king, or a Pope—has marked the modern western world ever since the time of the Enlightenment.
Third, Wright points out that this mindset has given birth to modern secularism, that basically says, “It’s okay if you believe in God, gods, or fairies, or leprechauns—that’s your private business. But you can’t bring that belief or talk about it in the public sphere. ‘Religion’ is for private use; de facto atheism is the foundation for the popular secular square.
There you have it: that’s the modern western world and its worldview in a nutshell. So what does that have to do with idolatry? Wright’s answer is simple: despite the name “secularism,” and despite all our “scientific-sounding words,” the pagan gods still rule our lives…we just use different names.
Take for example the three pagan gods: Mammon, the god of money; Aphrodite, the goddess of erotic love; and Mars, the god of war. Those were the names given by ancient pagans to three specific gods that tended to run roughshod over human society, wreaking constant havoc wherever they went. So, now that we are in the modern world, has anything really changed? Wright invites us to consider the “prophets” of our modern world: Nietzsche said the driving force in the world is really all about power and power-plays; Marx said it is really all about economics and money; and Freud said it is all about sex.
They’re right, sort of…but they haven’t really discovered anything new. They’re just re-hashing what the ancients already knew. Sex sells, be it Aphrodite, pagan temple prostitutes, Nicki Minaj or Kim Kardashian. Money still has his dominion, be it Mammon, Wall Street, the Koch brothers, or George Soros. And power? Are you kidding me? Mars is always waging war somewhere, be it Africa, the Middle East, or 20th century Europe.
Wright makes a very simple point: “In each of these three cases—Aphrodite, Mammon, and Mars—these ancient and well-known gods have not gone away, have not been banished upstairs, but are present and powerful—all the more so for being unrecognized.”
Then Wright points out that these new “gods” of sex, money, and power are still as much “divine” as the old “gods” of Aphrodite, Mammon and Mars in two distinct ways. First, there is the old biblical truth that you become what you worship, and those who worship these gods become like them. It doesn’t take a genius to see that we moderns are becoming like these gods because in a very practical sense we worship them. We bow down to the outright obscenity and pornography that passes for pop music (let alone the actual porn business!); our politicians bow down to rich donors (and before you get on a political high horse, let’s state the obvious, both Democrats and Republicans do this all the time); and just think of how we glorify war (yes, it sometimes is necessary, but should it ever be glorified?).
Idolatry 2.0: it should now become quite obvious what that means. Wright says it best when he writes: “Our society, claiming to have got rid of God upstairs so that we can live our own lives the way we want…has in fact fallen back into the clutches of forces…that are bigger than ourselves….” Ouch…he’s completely right. Our “modern and enlightened” society is still completely enslaved to the old pagan gods.
The False Enlightenment Claim of Private Religion
Wright ends his chapter by stating that it is utterly impossible to separate religion from society. There can never be a total “separation of Church and State,” if you will. At its heart, religion isn’t just about saying your prayers in private, having daily devotions, and hoping one day to fly off to heaven. Throughout human history, religion is an integral part of societal formation—it impacts every aspect of culture: the arts, literature, music, politics…everything. You simply cannot get away from that fact. And as Wright points out, if you insist on “keeping religion a private affair,” and “making secularism the rule of the public square,” you’re really insisting on atheism as the public religion—and modern atheism has proven itself to be just ancient paganism with scientific-sounding jargon substituted for the names of the gods.
So what impact does that have on how we should understand Christianity’s role in society? That’s certainly food for thought. I’ll say this though: no, it doesn’t mean we should force Christian morality through the courts. I think it means we should live out our Christian faith and morality in the neo-pagan society, regardless of what the government or courts say. Let them do what they do–but bear witness to Christ, and let God take care of the rest.
Science and Religion: The two are not at war
Wright’s final point touches upon something that every these days—both Christian and secular—seems to get wrong: the assumption that if you accept the findings of modern science, that you are going against Christianity and are colluding with atheism. Such an assumption, Wright says, simply confuses science with scientism.
Modern science studies how the natural world works—and it has discovered a lot. There’s nothing to be afraid of, even when it talks about the theory of evolution. Scientism, though, is something radically different—it’s not science at all, but the philosophical assumption that autonomous science can tell all there is to know about reality, and reality consists only of the natural world. Scientific discoveries can be proven or disproven; scientism is an unprovable assumption. It is essentially a worldview, just like Christianity is a worldview.
Unfortunately, many well-meaning Christians have wrongly declared war on science, thinking that science and scientism are the same things. In doing so, they are making a huge categorical mistake. But the supposed “war” between “science and religion,” or “evolution and creation”—that’s a topic for another day!
The point to remember from this chapter is simple: the pagan gods still rule our modern world, precisely because the modern world has regulated “faith,” and more specifically Christianity, to the private world of personal, individualized spirituality.
