Dear Friend,

The Pantheon is a remarkably designed, exquisitely beautiful marble temple that was built in ancient Rome to house statues of the Roman gods for display and veneration. It still stands today.

"Pantheon" has a dual meaning. Materially, it refers to the Roman temple described above. Religiously, and literally, it means "of all the gods," and thus refers to all the purported gods of a particular polytheistic people or nation. Let's explore this second meaning.

The Romans adopted the twelve gods of the Greek pantheon and simply renamed them. They believed these twelve deities controlled various areas of their lives Therefore, they dutifully rendered them various forms of worship to win their protective favor - and avoid their destructive wrath! They also held their Caesars, once deceased, to be divine and so required that they, too, be worshiped. When the Romans conquered other nations, they permitted them to keep their traditional gods, so long as they also worshiped the Roman gods and Caesars.

In the Trajan-Hadrian period, statues of the twelve Roman gods, along with others, were placed in the Pantheon temple. This enabled the Romans to see tangible likenesses of the intangible entities which they believed controlled their lives. What does this have to do with us today?

Though America's constitution permits the worship of any deity, many Christians nevertheless believe America is a monotheistic nation, meaning we all (or at least all Christians) worship only one God. But I beg to differ. American Christians profess monotheism, but we practice polytheism. In fact, we have more gods than Rome did! What is an idol god?

An idol is any person or thing we love or long for more than the one true God; or any person or thing we trust to help or save us more than Him; or any person or thing we consistently put first, or before Him - or would cling to instead of Him if we couldn't have both. How can we identify our idols?

That tangible or intangible thing or person will control our lives. Every time it woos us, we wilt. Every time it hungers, we feed it. Every time it is threatened, we cling to it. Every time adversities make us anxious or fearful, we turn to it for comfort, wisdom, or safety. Our idol consumes our time, energy, and money. Without it, we're discontent, discouraged, irritable, hopeless. It is, in short, the central source, inspiration, motivation, and hope of our lives. Rightly or wrongly, we feel we can't live without it.

Where does all this false religion, this passionate infatuation with false gods in our lives, leave the true God? He is abandoned. Forgotten. Not loved. Not worshiped. Not trusted in. Not sought for. Given only a minimum of our time, energy, or money - or none of it! We are treating Him as the Jewish people often treated Him.

During the Exodus, the ancient Hebrews also professed faith in one, true, invisible God. But after leaving Egypt they built a golden calf and Aaron proclaimed their new polytheism: "These be thy gods, O Israel!" (Exodus 32:4). During the times of the judges and kings, Israel waffled between worshiping their one true God - Yahweh - and craving all the gods, or the pantheon, of the nations surrounding them.

Centuries later, Israel's King Jeroboam repeated Aaron's folly. To keep the Jews from worshiping the true, invisible God in Jerusalem, Jeroboam erected golden calves in Israel's northern and southern border towns and, echoing Aaron, proclaimed, "These be thy gods, O Israel" (1 Kings 12:28). Instead of Yahweh, he vainly reasoned, these popular Egyptian gods would protect, provide for, and satisfy all the Jewish people's needs. But they didn't. And Israel, under the control of its resurrected pantheon, slowly self-destructed. Why discuss this?

Because like the ancient Jews and Romans, too many American Christians are practicing polytheism. We have our own pantheon as surely as Rome had its statuary temple and Israel its golden calves. What are our gods?

Let it be proclaimed from Maine to California and from Washington to Florida, "These be thy gods, O American Christians!" - money; property; consumer goods; sex; popularity; academic degrees; offices and titles; religious rituals; theological doctrines; food; entertainment; sports; technology; social media; this world's recognition; and government - either our concept of American government as a superior ideal or our trust in our government's programs or military forces to save us from all problems and dangers regardless of how we live. And yes, our "Caesars," or our preferred presidents. These are the things and people we love, trust, seek, and serve more than our Savior and His sweet Word, Spirit, will, and approval. These are the heart-deities that control our lives - spurring us on, halting us, turning us one way or another - though they cannot satisfy, protect, provide for, or deliver us. What do we do?

I suggest we construct our own massive, marble Pantheon in Washington, DC - right in the middle of the capitol mall where it cannot be missed. In its rotunda, we should erect beautiful statues that tangibly represent the intangible (and tangible) idols cited above. Over the exalted, column-lined entrance to its spacious rotunda, we should inscribe these words in large, bold fonts, "These be thy gods, O America! O American Christians" Why do this?

Not to condemn us, but to convict us. Not to tear us down, but to bring us to our knees. To shock, embarrass, and convince us of our shameful, long-running love affair with false gods. Godly conviction always precedes godly change. And God knows, we need godly change in this strife-torn, disease-riddled, sin-swamped nation of ours!

Specifically, American Christians need to return to loving God only, trusting Him only, praising and worshiping Him only, spending our money only as He pleases, expending our efforts only as He wills, building His kingdom only, serving Him only, and thus honoring Him above the American pantheon. For the rest of our lives! This will make us like first-century Roman Christians.

You see, the Roman Christians were largely God-fearing, wise, and utterly committed to Jesus as the only "way," "truth," and "life" (John 14:6). When they observed the Roman Pantheon, they quickly saw through it and chose a different path. Though in Rome, they did not worship Rome's gods, nor its Caesars. Instead, they loved, trusted, sought, and served Jesus. And Jesus only! They refused to in any way do homage to Rome's cherished gods or rulers. For this they were rejected, slandered, and persecuted by the Romans - but God cherished, spiritually blessed, and kept them through many fiery trials, and over time dramatically increased them!

Today America is the new Rome. So, my fellow Romans, it has been said, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." But I say, in Christ's name and Spirit, "When in America, do not do as the Americans do!" Reject the American pantheon. Worship America's, and every nation's, only true God. Worship Christ! And Christ alone! Seek His favor and avoid His wrath. He alone controls your life.

"Now unto the King, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen." (1 Timothy 1:17).

Worshiping the one, true God only,

Greg Hinnant
Greg Hinnant Ministries