4 - Covid & Its Idols - Part I of a Series

The 1st in a series of posts exploring the Church’s compliance with government orders forbidding public worship through the lens of idolatry.

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

1 Corinthians 10:14

If I were to stop people at random on the street and ask them any kind of question about Covid and the idols that the pandemic revealed, we all know what the reaction would be: a look of alarm, a thought about “What kind of crazy man is this?” and a hasty departure in another direction. Of course, among secular folks, this reaction is to be expected and is, I think, understandable.

But how would Christians react? I am not sure that the response would be much different.

It seems “safe” to say – based on the verse from 1 Corinthians quoted above – that Paul saw idolatry as a serious issue, and a serious threat to the Church. This is consistent with how the Bible treats idolatry throughout. I am doubtful that it is an issue with sufficient profile in today’s Church in this part of the world. Hence, I think that any attempt to address idolatry must get past a number of questions:

How closely does our understanding of idolatry overlap with the Bible’s understanding?

What things – let’s call them “objects” – can serve as idols?

In what ways might idolatry be a problem for the Church, in responding to the secular/pagan world in which we live?

In what ways might idolatry be a problem within the Church?

What are the consequences when the Church mishandles idolatry?

These are questions that I will address in future posts, but today I want to answer another question – one that arises from Paul’s exhortation to “flee from idolatry:” How can Christians flee idolatry unless they recognize the idols from which we are to flee?

Under the theme of Covid and Its Idols, let me briefly describe three idols that have been – for all who have “eyes to see” – clearly visible during the pandemic and that impacted the decision of many, many churches to shut their doors and to not gather in person when the government ordered this:

Safetyism – Faith in safety as a redemptive objective - i.e. the elevation of safety to the level of something to be “worshipped” and as something with the ability to “save,” as evidenced by the strong desire among many people to gain a feeling of safety by use of various control measures: masks, (anti-) social distancing, lockdowns and self-isolation, etc.

Processism – Faith in processes (laws, regulations, and medical and administrative practices) to "save" people from the Covid virus by stopping its spread. This includes faith in human processes to, not just mitigate risks posed by the virus, but to eliminate risks – something that is, alas, not humanly possible.

Statism – Faith in the authority and ability of “big government” to control virtually every aspect of human life, even if this curtails so-called rights (thus confirming the notion that all-powerful government is the giver of “rights,” which are, in truth, privileges). This authority included the power to control the comings-and-goings of healthy adults from one’s place of residence and to forbid Christians from gathering for corporate worship.

I have intentionally styled each of these idols as an “ism” because they belong to a group of political “isms” that attract many believers in our day. Each is an ideology – a set of beliefs, doctrines and policies that claim to be a path to some form of secular/political “salvation.” They are many: Marxism, Communism, Socialism, Fascism, Feminism, Environmentalism Existentialism, and so on.

From a Biblical point of view, each is an idol – and a de facto religion –because each answers the Big Questions about the origins of the universe, the meaning of life, distinctions between good and evil, and our ultimate destiny as human beings, without any reference to God’s revelation in His Word.*

As this series continues, I will explain how and why Safetyism, Processism, and Statism have come to serve as idols for many. For now, let me simply note that they are not new idols; they pre-date Covid, and yet, the pandemic has brought them to new levels of importance.

For instance, “Caesar” – my pet name for civil authority – forbade corporate worship not just for safety, but in deference to Safetyism. The Church, however, does not owe this deference to Caesar and his idol(s). In giving such deference – and I understand that this was done largely without awareness of this and with the intention of “honouring the Emperor” (1 Pe. 2:17), I believe most churches failed to “fear God,” as we ought to have feared God.

* Of course, there are many “isms” that are not political. For a much fuller list of “isms”, see https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary_of_philosophical_isms . BTW, I was tempted to use the term Methodism instead of Processism, but thought better of it, for obvious reasons. J