Syncretism: The Subversive Idolatry

By Brother Michel Lankford

This video gives a great litmus test to discern truth from error

 

What is Syncretism?
 
In the blog entry of March 31, we studied the fact that even though we are in the so-called age of grace, God does not accept every single act of worship that we bring to him simply because we do it in the name of Jesus Christ. In point of fact, this series of these next few blogs are about how to worship God in spirit and truth, or how to become worshipers that the father seeks. (John 4:22-24. In order to do that we have to understand what God accepts in worship versus what He does not.
On March 31, we studied the fact that being sincere and well-intentioned does not necessarily mean that God will automatically accept anything and everything we bring to Him (Matthew 7:21). We gave eight examples of worshipers whose gifts and offerings and ministries were rejected because they were being disobedient to God in their worship. Today we will discuss a practice which is come to be known as syncretism.

If you do not know what syncretism is, please do not feel badly. Being uninformed or ignorant is not necessarily a sin, but choosing to remain ignorant when you have opportunity to do better, then that would be sin (James 4:17; Amos 2:4-5; Isaiah 5:20-24). We are all learning and growing. I've been in the Lord's service almost 20 years now, and I only very recently learned what syncretism means and how dangerous it truly is to authentic Christian faith and practice.
Syncretism is the blending, the mixing and the combining of beliefs, ideologies, mythologies and practices of various religions and homogenizing them together into a new faith and practice. It is critical to remember that both in the Hebrew and Christian fulfillment Scriptures, the practice of syncretism is expressly forbidden.
That is why we are told NOT to think according to the pattern of the sinful world, but instead to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2), because God does not want us importing sinful ideas and homogenizing them into our relationship with God. That will defile our worship and sacrifices. Please understand that Romans 12:1-2 is not a New Testament idea. It's an Old Testament idea restated in the New Testament (Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua1:7-8; Psalm 1:1-3; Jeremiah 9:23-24; Jeremiah 10:1-2; Proverbs 3:5-8). So the question is, would you like to prosper? Would you like for Almighty God to bless all your work and efforts? Would you like to be able to obey God so that you can be blessed? If you are wise, and the answer to all those questions is yes, then we simply cannot continue to think according to the pattern of the sinful world. We must submit to God and allow Him to change our thinking to agree with Him (Isaiah 55:6-7), because otherwise we cannot successfully obey Him. It's that simple, (Romans 8:5-8).
God did not, and indeed still does not want us to adapt ungodly, sinful or idolatrous ideas and practices into our worship of Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ. That's why He made certain explicit commands to the children of Israel. Remember, Christians are supposed to learn from these instructions as well. (Romans 15:4):
“These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth. “You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. “You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place. “You shall not act like this toward the Lord your God. ” (Deuteronomy 12:1–4, NASB95).
Did you notice that the very first instruction Almighty God gave to the people of Israel was to absolutely destroy and obliterate everything and anything even remotely connected to the worship of false gods? (Which incidentally, are really demons trying to steal worship that belongs to God; 1 Corinthians 10:20). Why do you think that the Almighty God made that the very first instruction they were to follow when they took possession of the land? Most of you who read this blog are smart people. You love God. You love Jesus Christ. Why did the Almighty give this instruction? Deep down in your heart, you know the answer. God does not want us thinking, believing, talking or behaving in any sort of agreement with people who worship demons instead of God. It's that simple. If we let it hang around, it will make it more difficult to really believe and obey God, it will cause people to fall away from following Almighty God.
*Please note: Asherim in Babylon was given the name Ishtar from where we get Easter
“You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes; (Deuteronomy 12:8, NASB95)
Please Note: God is NOT asking us to worship Him according to what seems right in our own eyes. He is expressly commanding exactly the opposite. He is commanding us to seek, to discover, to learn, and then obey what seems right in God's eyes, and then worship Him accordingly. That's worship. That is esteeming God's opinion as supreme. Anyone who says otherwise is bearing false witness against the Lord God of Hosts, an extremely dangerous practice. His opinion must supersede our opinion in all matters, otherwise it isn't worship. That's putting our own desires and opinions above what God expressly states. That's not worship. That's the definition of rebellion.
““When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ “You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God, for every abominable act which the Lord hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. “Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it. ” (Deuteronomy 12:29–32, NASB95)
God absolutely does not want us to blend or incorporate idolatrous or pagan beliefs, ideologies, mythologies and practices of various religions and homogenizing them together with worshiping of Almighty God. He is expressly forbidden it by His own decrees.
Wait a minute! Aren't those decrees in the Old Testament? Weren't those old laws abolished when Christ died and rose again? No, they were not, and anyone who says they were, is bearing false witness against the Messiah, and calling Him a liar. This again is an extremely dangerous practice which I strenuously recommend avoiding at all costs. Hear what the Lord, the Messiah and Christ of Almighty God has clearly spoken:
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:17–19, NASB95)
Please, make no mistake. According to the commands and teachings of Messiah Himself, in order for the teachings and principles of Deuteronomy 12 which we have just read to suddenly be set aside one or all three stipulations must take place:
1. Earth must pass away.
2. Heaven must pass away.
3. Every promise and prophecy of Scripture must be fully completed and accomplished.
I put it to you plainly. Is Earth still here? Yes. Is heaven still here? Yes. Has every single promise and prophecy of Scripture been completely fulfilled and accomplished? Our atonement for sin has been accomplished, but not everything else God promised is finished yet. For example, there are still components of the promises in the Abrahamic covenant that have yet to be fulfilled. For another example, according to the book of Hebrews, the day of atonement still goes on every year. Jesus our great high priest recalls before God  to recognize the blood that he shed for us. Through Jesus Christ, the method by which the blood is applied to our sin has changed, but the blood requirement itself has never changed.
So in the light of this, can we legitimately ignore, set aside or make null and void God specific instructions which we just read in Deuteronomy12? Well, we could, and we might even make it to heaven, but you should only do that if your best goal is to be absolutely the lowest citizen in the kingdom of God, because that's what Jesus said would happen. That wasn't my idea. Jesus said it. I'm just agreeing with Him. He is after all, the Messiah and the cornerstone of the church whose architect and builder is Almighty God. If you foolishly choose to ignore the Architect's specific instructions, then please do not be surprised if you have a more difficult time believing in applying God's word to overcome your difficulties, storms and trials in this life (Matthew 7:24-25)
The bottom line is that God has already given His specific and direct instructions concerning worship. When we are seeking to worship Almighty God and His Son Jesus Christ, absolutely none of our practices should be imitations of what other false religions do in serving their gods, because as the apostle Paul points out, when we do that, we are really paying homage to demons.
Is this particular concept discussed in Deuteronomy 12 restated in the New Testament? It most certainly is. If I know that something has its origins in worshiping pagan gods, I should not endorse or participate in it, not just for the sake of my own conscience, but also for the sake of other people who could be led astray from following Jesus Christ. Even if I don't personally feel convicted that it's wrong, I should not do it as a testimony that I stand for and with Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:14-22).
The apostle Paul restates the same principle again in 2 Corinthians:
“Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord. “And do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you. “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. ” (2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1, NASB95)

 

 

The Trail of Syncretism

 
In our modern, postmodern and very technologically advanced age we might think that syncretism and idolatry doesn't really affect us that much today. After all, we have the complete translation of the Scriptures. We have computers. With Google and YouTube you can find out almost anything you need to know, so surely the modern Christian church has progressed and advanced beyond the need to be on our guard against idolatry and syncretism. Surely in this modern technologically advanced age we don't have to worry about being deceived into adopting worldly and demonic philosophies into our faith and theology. Surely we have grown and progressed well beyond the need to worry about such things, haven't we? It might be comforting to think so, but if you are truly wise, you will not delude yourself into thinking that we no longer need to be on our guard against the subversive idolatry of syncretism.
Syncretism is not a new problem for the Saints to avoid. Within the first hundred years after the resurrection of Messiah, the apostles were repeatedly sending warning after warning to the church that it should diligently avoid blending Christian beliefs with the pagan philosophies of Gnosticism. Gnosticism effectively denies the physical life, death, and resurrection of Messiah Jesus Christ. In reality it claims Christian Enlightenment while denying the very gospel itself. The letters of the apostles Paul, John and Jude all contain strong elements exhorting the Christian church to avoid blending the gospel with the heresies of Gnosticism.
“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist. ” (2 John 7, NASB95)
After the death of John the apostle (circa 99 to 100 A.D), the church began to get flooded with countless philosophies and ideologies taken straight from pagan demonic religious practices, and brought them into Christianity. The pedigree of each of these ungodly ideas and how they became traditional within Christian faith and practice would take months to track down and weeks to read. It's a task worthy of Samson himself which I have no compulsion to undertake at the moment. However if you would like to know more, I strongly recommend the following resources:
Too Long in the Sun by Richard Rives
Time Is the Ally of Deceit by Richard Rives
In his books, Mr. Rives actually traces the problems of syncretism and the Judeo-Christian faith all the way back into ancient Old Testament times to the present day. He does a phenomenal job.
Frank Viola and researcher George Barna co-authored a book called:
Pagan Christianity: Exploring the Roots of Our Church Practices. In this book, the authors explore how paganism has affected almost every modern Protestant church practice today.
By the time the Roman Catholic Church and its inquisitions held their tyrannical grip that became the dominant force in Christendom (circa 400 A.D.), not only was there virtually no faithfulness to the theology of avoiding syncretism as had been previously taught by the apostles, but under the Roman Catholic Church, adopting heresies into Christian faith and practice was actually commanded and ordered by the Roman Catholic Church. The only reason that practices such as Christmas and Ishtar (among many other practices) have become so entrenched in Christian practice and tradition is because the Roman Catholic Church under Pope Gregory I (540 A.D - 604 A.D), officially ordered that any and all pagan festivals were to be adapted or incorporated into Christian worship. This is again something that Scripture expressly forbids doing, but remember the Catholic Church claims that its authority supersedes all scriptural authority, which is a lie, (Isaiah 8:20).
 
The Modern Push of  Syncretism
 
In modern and postmodern times, things literally have gone from bad to worse. In the 1920s there was an all-out push to incorporate the theory of evolution and combining it with Christianity, in the 50s and 60s the push for the church was to accept worldly psychology into our theology. In the 90s the push was to apply more American business models, consumerism where you attempt to modify church in order to become more seeker sensitive which is basically the attitude of changing Christianity to what the customer wants. Once we became aAt t at modifying Christianity to what we think the consumer wants, the focus then became how do we modify church and adapted to reach the postmodern world and generation X.
In order to do that, the wildly popular emerging church movement is now actively teaching people to deny God, to deny Jesus Christ, to deny the Holy Spirit and to deny the Scriptures, all the while claiming to be evangelical Christians.
The whole basis of the emerging church and postmodern theology is to refuse to believe that there is any such thing as absolute truth. When you deny that there is such a thing as absolute truth, that can be known understood and followed, you are calling Jesus Christ himself a liar, while calling yourself a Christian and in some cases even a minister. Think about it. If you hold to the idea that there is no such thing as absolute truth which can be known, understood and followed, then you are denying Jesus Christ himself, because He IS the truth (John 14:6). If you hold the doctrine that there is no such thing as absolute truth then you are denying the people's only access and possibility of deliverance and freedom (John 8:31-36). If you hold to the false doctrine that there is no such thing as absolute truth, then you are denying the idea that God and His Son can bring salvation and eternal life (John 17:3). If you hold to the false emerging church postmodern doctrine which says that the truth cannot be known or followed, then you are denying a key function of the Holy Spirit (John 16:13; Romans 8:14)
Beloved, if you understand your Bible and church history, you will understand that syncretism has never worked to accomplish what the Bible requires from God followers and disciple. It never helped the people of Israel become more faithful to Almighty God when they did it, and it does not help the Christian church when we do it:
We must remember and not forget this. Both the Hebrew Testament and the New Testament of Scripture expressly forbids the practice which has come to be labeled as syncretism. We are explicitly forbidden throughout the whole Testament of Scripture from blending the Judeo-Christian faith with the beliefs, ideologies, mythologies and practices of pagan religions and worldly philosophies, and homogenizing them together into a different gospel. I beg you now as I have often times before, please do not let yourselves be deceived. We have been warned. If we fail to heed these warnings, we will be led astray, we will be deceived, and the damage to ourselves, our families and our churches will be incalculable: We Have Been Warned. Will we be wise and heed the warnings?":
“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. ” (2 Peter 2:1–3, NASB95)
“Beloved, while eagerly preparing to write to you about the salvation we share, I find it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.” Jude 1:3 (NRSV)
“But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. ” (2 Timothy 3:1–7, NASB95)

We have been warned. Will we heed the warnings or walk in deception?  Each believer must decide to be diligent, to seek and walk the narrow path that truly leads to life. the alternative is to be swept up into the broad, popular, smooth and well traveled road which leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).  Our internal GPS had better be reprogrammed to agree with and obey the written word of God , because of it was good enough for Jesus Christ to overcome the temptations of the devil ,  it's more than adequate for us.  So which road will you choose to travel?

Brother Michel Lankford.