01-10-2010, 03:23 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-10-2010, 03:33 PM by LaramieHirsch.)
I was reminded of the story from Numbers 21, where God had Moses fashion a bronze serpent so that any snake-bitten Israelites who looked upon it would not die of snake poison. Moses would hold it up, a Jewish person would look at it if he were bitten by a poisonous snake, and he'd live. One of God's many gifts to the Israelites.
The bronze serpent at that time had become a triumphant symbol for the Israelites. It showed God's triumph against his old enemy, the Serpent, and it was a triumph against the pagan idolatry of its time, for there were many in those days who would worship other gods and deities. God had conquered His old enemy, and to show everyone this, the serpent was used as a sign of His victory.
Later, of course, the Jews began to worship the bronze serpent staff. And so, it was destroyed. What had once been a sign of God's victory was transformed into an occultic deviation from His glory. It was considered a sort of deity, and people burned incense to it. They named it Nehushtan.
God fearing Hezekiah would not have such nonsense, and acting as the king that he was, king Hezekiah had the high places torn down, and the bronze serpent destroyed.
Now....we have our own bronze serpents. In the past, the Church has absorbed other cultures and their pagan symbols, holding them up in a tradition that mimicks what the Israelites did with the bronze serpent. I am talking about Christmas (though, there are plenty of other examples). The Church conquered barbarian Europe, and transformed their winter rituals into seasonal celebrations of Christ.
But those same Christmas traditions are becoming the object of worship. They are the bronze snake, receiving the incense. Think of the conventional Christmas images that were once pagan, and you will understand what this means. The first thing that comes to my mind is Christmas trees.
In an earlier post, fisheaters were suggesting different ways of adoring Christ in their Christmas traditions. I believe this is the way to go for Catholics who want to hold onto what's true when it comes to Christ's birth.
The bronze serpent at that time had become a triumphant symbol for the Israelites. It showed God's triumph against his old enemy, the Serpent, and it was a triumph against the pagan idolatry of its time, for there were many in those days who would worship other gods and deities. God had conquered His old enemy, and to show everyone this, the serpent was used as a sign of His victory.
Later, of course, the Jews began to worship the bronze serpent staff. And so, it was destroyed. What had once been a sign of God's victory was transformed into an occultic deviation from His glory. It was considered a sort of deity, and people burned incense to it. They named it Nehushtan.
God fearing Hezekiah would not have such nonsense, and acting as the king that he was, king Hezekiah had the high places torn down, and the bronze serpent destroyed.
Now....we have our own bronze serpents. In the past, the Church has absorbed other cultures and their pagan symbols, holding them up in a tradition that mimicks what the Israelites did with the bronze serpent. I am talking about Christmas (though, there are plenty of other examples). The Church conquered barbarian Europe, and transformed their winter rituals into seasonal celebrations of Christ.
But those same Christmas traditions are becoming the object of worship. They are the bronze snake, receiving the incense. Think of the conventional Christmas images that were once pagan, and you will understand what this means. The first thing that comes to my mind is Christmas trees.
In an earlier post, fisheaters were suggesting different ways of adoring Christ in their Christmas traditions. I believe this is the way to go for Catholics who want to hold onto what's true when it comes to Christ's birth.
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